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August 25, 2009 - Goanet's 15th Anniversary
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Very often our own heroes are forgotten in the maze of history. Here is an
excerpt from my own project. This pertains to what transpired immediately
following Liberation.
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In 1961, the first sign of liberation was the conferring of Indian citizenship
on subjects who were previously Portuguese nationals. Simultaneously 5 crores
worth of Escudo, which had been Goa’s currency since 1958, was withdrawn from
Bank National Ultramarino,12 and an equivalent amount of Indian currency put in
circulation. Goan loyalty was immediately put to the test. Dr Redualdo da
Costa, President of Junta de Comercio Externo during the Portuguese regime, had
to sign an oath of allegiance to the President of India. Meanwhile, an Indian
“advisor” took up office at the Secretariat building in Panjim and would now
exert influence over all import-export policy decisions. Overnight Dr. Redualdo
da Costa became redundant. He would confess to a visiting British Assitant
Trade Commissionar, that he was told what he ought to do by the advisor and
that the new policies that had come into effect were as baffling to him as
everyone else.
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To this I shall now be adding invaluable information provided by our very own
chaca, Alfred.
best,
selma
