By Valmiki Faleiro valmi...@gmail.com Not many would know that there were almost a score Indian Commissioned Officers of Goan origin who participated in Op Vijay-1 to help relieve Goa of her colonial yoke -- and at least one Goan who died fighting on the side of the Portuguese. Here is a list compiled by this author but which (caveat, caveat!) is by no means claimed to be complete. There could well be additions. The present list:
1. Air Vice Marshal Erhlich Wilmot Pinto, AOC-in-C of the then unified Operational Command, Indian Air Force, responsible for air ops throughout India, was naturally in charge of IAF's ops in Goa, Daman and Diu in 1961. Shifting his base from Poona to Belgaum, he planned and directed air ops in the Portuguese enclaves to ensure nil casualties to the civilian population. From Porvorim. 2. Brigadier Donald Viegas, then a Colonel at Army HQ, was sent to Goa to assist then Maj Gen KP Candeth GOC 17 Infantry Division, appointed Military Governor of Goa, Daman and Diu. Brig Viegas was father of well-known Doordarshan news anchor Usha Albuquerque and uncle of Lt Col George Viegas (Engineers) who participated in the 1971 war in the East Pakistan theatre. From Curtorim. 3. Colonel Peter Mendonca, then a Major, was an Artillery Officer with the 14 Para Field Regiment when he led a sub unit via Anmod-Molem-Darbandora and then, on account of broken bridges, took a diversion via Sanvordem-Quepem-Margao-Vasco da Gama with the 17 Infantry Division into Goa in 1961. From Moira. 4. Captain AF Collaco, then a Commander, was Fleet Operations Officer of the then unified Indian Fleet, aboard the surface action command ship, INS Mysore. He went to Anjediva Island during the ops, re-established radio-telephone contact between the landing parties on the island and the warships, aided in the assault and played a major role in the mopping up ops for which he was awarded a M-in-D. From Margao (?) 5. Group Captain Trevor Joseph Fernandes, then a young Flight Lieutenant, flew one of the six Hawker Hunters of 17 Squadron that disabled the communications and radio centre at Bambolim. He was then part of the escort that provided cover to the second wave of Canberra bombers targeting the Dabolim runway. From Siolim. 6. Lieutenant Colonel Louis Fonseca, then a Major with 1 Armoured Regiment, led 8 Cavalry, a column of AMX battle tanks along the same route as the artillery as mentioned at 3 above, as part of 17 Infantry Division into Goa. From Badem, Salvador do Mundo. 7. Lieutenant Colonel Vitalio de Paula Ribeiro Lobo, engineers, then a Major, built the bailey bridge across the Zuari River at Borim along with his troops in double quick time. He was married to a Correia-Afonso of Benaulim. From Camorlim-Bardez. 8. Lieutenant Colonel Paul Baylon Fernandes, then a Captain, headed the “Black Cats” motorized column of the 17 Infantry Division (taking the same route as the artillery and armour as mentioned at 3 and 6 above). He was retained in Goa to help in the takeover of the administration. From Sarzora. 9. Surgeon Commander Joseph G Rodrigues accompanied the naval task force to Goa on board the R Class destroyer INS Rajput. From Piedade-Divar. 10. Surgeon Commander Frederick Nazareth accompanied the naval task force to Goa on board the surface action command ship, cruiser INS Mysore. From Nachinola. 11 Surgeon Commander Joel de Sa Cordeiro was onboard the carrier INS Vikrant from the time of the carrier’s arrival from the UK. Goa was her first op. From Piedade-Divar. 12. Wing Commander Vishwanath Balakrishna Sawardekar participated in Op Vijay-1, but his specific role is not available. From Sanvordem. 13. Wing Commander Mervyn Jude Pinto ("Top Gun") participated in Op Vijay-1, but his specific role is not available. From Socorro-Porvorim. 14. Wing Commander Remegius (“Remy”) Victor Paul, then a Flight Sergeant, flew in B-24 Liberator bomber aircraft of 6 Squadron from the Pune airbase. From Tivim. 15. Major Gerson RA de Souza served as aide to Military Governor, Major General KP Candeth, in 1961-62. From Moira. 16. Major Cezar PF Lobo, a pilot with the Air Observation Post of the Artillery Regiment, was tasked to take charge and look after the VIP POW a day after Maj Gen Vassalo e Silva surrendered at Alpalqueiros Hill, Vasco da Gama, as Maj Lobo was fluent in the Portuguese language. From Aldona. 17. Lieutenant Commander John Eric Gomes was onboard Frigate No.2, INS Cauvery, one of the three Indian assault warships that disabled the destroyer NRP Afonso de Albuquerque, the only Portuguese warship then in Goa. The defending destroyer took a direct hit from a 4-inch shell fired by the INS Cauvery. Lt Cdr Gomes was retained in Goa to help in the takeover of the administration. From Margao. 18. Captain Pinto. Dr. Suresh Kanekar, freedom fighter who later did his masters in Psychology in Poona and doctorate in the US and lives there, says in his book Goa's Liberation and Thereafter: Chronicles of a Fragmented Life, "Brigadier K.S. Dhillon's adjutant was Captain Pinto, a Goan, who naturally knew the language of the natives" (Kanekar, 2011, Page 146). Brig Dhillon commanded the 63 Infantry Brigade that entered Goa from Anmod on 18 December 1961. 19. Lieutenant Jose de Figueiredo Melo was on the anti-submarine frigate INS Kirpan, first deployed at Karwar on 28 November 1961 and was then part of the INS Vikrant carrier group. The Kirpan was the first Indian warship to enter Goan waters on 15 December 1961. From Saligao. There may be other Goan Officers who participated in Op Vijay-1 that the author is presently not aware of … [There were others who were seconded a bit later to help run the administration. Lieutenant Commander (later Commander) Cajetan Francis Dias of Ambora-Salcete, for instance, was sent as the Deputy Captain of Ports in April 1962.] According to Portuguese General Carlos de Azeredo ( Passagem para a Índia in O Expresso of 8 December 2001), then 28-year old future General Sunith F Rodrigues – hailing from a "remarkable family that provided five priests but only one General" – accompanied the 1961 Op Vijay-1 forces to Goa, although he did not participate in the ops. [He was a pilot at the Air Observation Post of the Artillery in Adampur at the time.] Gen Rodrigues was nine years old when his father, a journalist with the Times of India in Bombay, wrote some scathing articles against the Portuguese and the family was denied entry into Goa until the colonial yoke was unshackled in December 1961. The future chief of the Indian Army did not need a Portuguese visa when entering Goa! His cousin-brother (father’s brother’s son), John Rodrigues, a police sub-inspector in Bombay, was deputed to Goa immediately after 19 December 1961. According to a report quoted by author Shrikant Y Ramani, fatalities at Anjediva Island on 18 December 1961 included a Goan who fought for the Portuguese, Damuno Vassu Canencar [Damu Vassu Kanekar] (Ramani, Operation Vijay: The Ultimate Solution, 2008, Page 342). -- Excerpted from revised text of the book, Patriotism In Action: Goans in India’s Defence Services by Valmiki Faleiro, first published in 2010 by ‘Goa,1556’ (ISBN: 978-93-80739-06-9). Revised edition awaits publication. Photos follow (No.1 courtesy Bharat-Rakshak, Nos. 2 to 15 from self collection): [not included here] 1. Air Vice Marshal Erhlich Wilmot Pinto 2. Brigadier Donald Viegas 3. Group Captain Trevor Joseph Fernandes 4. Lieutenant Colonel Louis Fonseca 5. Lieutenant Colonel Vitalio de Paula Ribeiro Lobo 6. Lieutenant Colonel Paul Baylon Fernandes 7. Surgeon Commander Joseph G Rodrigues 8. Surgeon Commander Frederick Nazareth 9. Surgeon Commander Joel de Sa Cordeiro 10. Wing Commander Vishwanath B Sawardekar 11. Wing Commander Mervyn J Pinto 12. Wing Commander Remegius (“Remy”) Paul 13. Major Cezar PF Lobo 14. Lieutenant Commander John Eric Gomes 15. Lieutenant Jose de Figueiredo Melo Photos not available with author: 1. Colonel Peter Mendonca 2. Captain AF Collaco 3. Major Gerson RA de Souza 4. Captain Pinto (named by Dr. Suresh Kanekar in his 2011 book, Page 146) 5. Damu V Kanekar (named by Shrikant Ramani in his 2008 book, Page 342) *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*- Join a discussion on Goa-related issues by posting your comments on this or other issues via email to goa...@goanet.org See archives at http://lists.goanet.org/pipermail/goanet-goanet.org/ *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-