Dear John, What you and many others think is independence is not really independence in the eyes of the law.
In all fairness, it is true that Goa sought independence in 1961 (or at least a considerable amount of Goans in and out of Goa sought independence). But in real terms, Goa was not given independence. It would have been independence if Goa was independent from both Portugal and India. But as you know, Goa is today part of India and therefore, not independent. If you are one of those that think that Goa was always a part of India, then you must know that India did not exist as a political entity before the British. It existed as a subcontinent but not as a country or political entity. The state of Portuguese India (including Goa) existed as a political entity centuries before the British arrived. Before the British arrived, the Indian subcontinent was composed by more than 600 princely states, each with its own ruler, often known as Raja, Thakur or Nawab (also commonly known as Maharajas). It was the British that brought all these more than 600 states together (through conquest) under what they called British India, which then became independent and separated between India and Pakistan. I think it is not hard to understand that Goa had nothing to do with either of these two new countries called in 1947 India and Pakistan perhaps with the exception of ethnicity. But if they were all Indians before, I doubt if the Pakistanis or Bangladeshi will accept to be called Indians today, even when referring to ethnicity. So, you see, even ethnicity is a very complex issue with some Goans not accepting to be Indians even today (not me though. I do not have any problems in being ethnically Indian). Goa was conquered by India with effect from the 19th Dec 1961. Later in 1987 became a state of India but that does not mean that we can forget that we have been conquered yet again (in the last 500 years, first two times by Portugal and the third time by India). We were not given a choice to choose our faith through a democratic plebiscite because we were conquered. If we had been given that choice through a plebiscite, then people would probably accept the terminology of liberation. But in reality, what really happened is that India claimed that it was going to liberate us from colonialism but then refused to give our people the right to choose our future through a plebiscite immediately after the events of 1961. Portugal took the case to the UN and it became clear that India was illegally occupying Goa but they managed to make it legal from the Indian point of view through a Supreme Court of India determination that basically concluded that Goa was acquired by an act of conquest on 19 December 1961. It seems to me obvious that one cannot conquer and liberate at the same time. So it is about time we all understand that, make our peace and look forward to a bright future for Goa in India. Best regards Paulo Colaco Dias. -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of JOHN MONTEIRO Sent: 29 October 2007 12:29 To: Goa's premiere mailing list, estb. 1994! Subject: Re: [Goanet] Goa's Independence in Dec 1961 & a State of India inAug 1987 Goa sought Independence in 1961, as far as I recall. There was a lot of tooing and froing between the Portuguese goverment & the Indian Government for quite some time but the but the Portuguese would not relinquish their hold on Goa. Nehru sent in the troops around mid-Dec 1961 & liberated Goa. The reason I was removed from LHS & taken to the UK, aged 11. No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.503 / Virus Database: 269.15.12/1097 - Release Date: 28/10/2007 13:58
