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Shri De Figueirado & De Tavares, Esq. After any military 'conquest', there is always the rule of the traditional military - in modern times. Nothing special about it. Any history book, if read, will tell. No need to query on the forums. Could you comment on the following: -----After the second world war Portugal came under the grip of a tyrant by the name of Antonio Oliveira Salazar. The affects of the tyranny were felt not only in Portugal but even in Goa. Many Goans got fed up with the Portugese and went into exile in Bombay and launched a Freedom movement. India was already fighting for its freedom from the British and thus they became allies. Many Goans Freedom fighters were imprisoned by the Portugese. In the meanwhile, India got its independence from the British. The Goan freedom struggle went on quite unnoticed. From 1950 onwards Goa was in relative peace. There were very few Portugese officials in Goa and most of the top administrators and senior officials were Goans. Goa was quite clean, cheap and very safe. Though Goa did not have electricity and proper roads, the standard of living of most Goans was very high. There was complete harmony among people of all religions and faiths. Employment opportunities were very limited. It was 1961 and the Congress government headed by Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru was almost heading for defeat in the upcoming general elections. Pandit Nehru was facing a lot of criticism for his policies on China and the massive failure of his 5 year plans. The Indian economy was stagnating and the people were dis-illusioned with the state of affairs. There were mass incursions from the Chinese Army on the Indian side. Despite all this, it was a time when the global status of India was held in high-esteem. Pandit Nehru on sensing his defeat in the upcoming elections decided to assert himself. On 3rd December, 1961 the Indian troops moved towards Goa. Dr. Salazar realizing the disparity between the Portugese forces and the Indian forces instructed the complete mining of Goa. But this was luckily prevented by timely intervention from the Portugese Governor of Goa and the Roman Catholic Patriarch of Goa. The Portugese surrendered on 19th December, 1961. Thousands of Goans came out in the open to welcome the Indian Army. Goa had finally been liberated or annexed by India. Subsequent events of looting shops and raping Goan women were all suppressed by the government. The Goans were extremely disenchanted by the actions of the Indian Armed forces. The fact that these crimes were committed by a force that had actually come to liberate the Goans was appalling. And more worse was the denials by the Government of India. A revelation that stunned the world was that Government of India had neither consulted the Goans or the freedom fighters before sending its forces and no goverment in exile had been formed. The United Nations refused to recognize the merger of Goa with India and it still considers it an act of annexation by India. Life became very expensive for the ordinary Goans as there were no subsidies like the ones given by the Portugese. Despite all this, the people of Goa had always wanted to be merged with India. Some critics argue that the Goans were not given a choice, while the defenders say that all princely states had an option of joining either India or Pakistan. And there is no way Goans would have chosen Pakistan over India. **But from my perspective the war for Goa was just an eye-wash for the the largely ignorant masses of the country who were swayed in euphoria and exhilaration. The Congress party went on it win the 1962 general election and the Goa strategy had paid off well for Pandit Nehru. Though it cannot be denied that the liberation and merger of Goa was the right thing to do from the Indian perspective BUT the motive was still quite unclear. Many political analyst often do the mistake of misinterpreting The Goan merger as a political stunt. Sure it was a political stunt by Panit Nehru to come back to power but the main intention of this act was not just garnering votes, it had larger international implications. The Goa liberation was a double-edged sword. A different kind of a strategic battle was being fought unknown to the Indian masses. Pandit Nehru after the sweet taste of sucess from the merger of Goa and a huge victory in the general elections was playing mind games on the international arena. He was more confident of his bigger challenge. Goa was just a confidence building measure but it had good ramifications for the Goans. Goa is today strongly an intrinsic part of the Union of India. It has tremendously contributed to the spirit of India. There are no major rumblings for any cessations and the few ones existing have no mass support. I would like suggestions from readers while there can be no denying that Goa had to liberated, haven't our leaders played dirty politics compromising issues like national security for their own power games? We are very proud of being a democratic nation, but do we really have the freedom in society? What has democracy given us except power-hungry political leaders for so many years now? Pandit Nehru was clinging to power until his death. Why could he not revolutionize our society with a good work culture and nationalism like Chairman Mao Tse-Tung did in China? AlmeidaG(ji) www.goa-world.com www.panjim.net www.yahoogroups.com/group/gulf-goans/ www.yahoogroups.com/group/goa-goans/ www.yahoogroups.com/group/konkani/ >On Wed, 20 Oct 2004, DeFigueiredo, Gabriel wrote: > >>agreed between "the ministry of defence and the civil aviation department", both Central Govt agencies. This could have occurred soon after the "annexation" of March 1962. There appears to have been NO input from the Goa Govt at all, presumably been ordered ever since to "shut up and bear up". > >AFAIK, the first elected government of Goa took over after elections in December 1963. Prior to that, subsequent to the end of Portuguese colonial rule in a military action, there only was a military government in place -- >albeit with some advisory council -- in place. Maybe someone who was around in those times, like 'Chacha' Alfred Tavares (his term!) could disabuse us >of any incorrect notions. >>Cheers, >>Gabriel. Handoo, my dear chaps, Handoo, Nehru's trouble-shooter in Goa, and, reportedly, his illegitimate (read, bastard) first-cousin. Author of much subsequent mishandled 'governance' in Goa. At that time, there being no civil authority in Goa, decisions were arrived at in military tradition, as per doctrine of occupied lands and spoils-of-war. Alfred de Tavares. Stockholm, 2004-10-22 >P.S. I hope these questions get asked on the "Liberation" Day! _______________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Declare Yourself - Register online to vote today! http://vote.yahoo.com