Goa Liberation Day: Story Of Freedom Following Portuguese Rule

Goa Liberation Day is marked by the day Indian armed forces freed Goa in 1961 following 450 years of Portuguese rule.

Goa Liberation Day is observed on December 19 every year in India and it marks the day Indian armed forces freed Goa in 1961 following 450 years of Portuguese rule. The Portuguese colonised several parts of India in 1510 but by the end of the 19th century Portuguese colonies in India were limited to Goa, Daman, Diu, Dadra, Nagar Haveli and Anjediva Island. The Goa liberation movement, which sought to end Portuguese colonial rule in Goa, started off with small-scale revolts.

Goa Did not Celebrate Independence Day On August 15 1947:On August 15, 1947, when India gained its Independence, Goa was still under Portuguese rule. The Portuguese refused to give up their hold over Goa and other Indian territories. Following a myriad of unsuccessful negotiations and diplomatic efforts with the Portuguese, the former prime minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, decided that military intervention was the only option.

The 36-hour military operation, conducted from December 18, 1961, was code-named ‘Operation Vijay’ meaning ‘Operation Victory,’ and involved attacks by the Indian Navy, Indian Air Force and Indian Army. In a military operation conducted on 18 and 19 December 1961, Indian troops captured Goa with little resistance from the Portuguese side. Thus Goa was freed from the Portuguese rule in 1961.

History:

Goa freedom fighter Mohan Ranade:Mohan Ranade, who led the Goa liberation movement in the 1950s and was lodged in Portuguese jail for 14 years, died at a Pune hospital on June 25, 2019. Trained as a lawyer, Ranade was born in 1929 at Sangli in Western Maharashtra. Inspired by freedom fighters like Vinayak Damodar Savarkar and his brother Ganesh Damodar Savarkar.

Trained as a lawyer, Ranade was born in 1929 at Sangli in Western Maharashtra. Inspired by freedom fighters like Vinayak Damodar Savarkar and his brother Ganesh Damodar Savarkar.

Fight for Goa: Ranade decided to dedicate his life to liberate Goa from the clutches of the Portuguese and thus he entered Goa in 1950 under disguise as a teacher and founded an organisation called Azad Gomantak Dal, which was to raise an armed revolt against Portuguese rule. He was injured during an attack on a police station at Beti in 1955 and was consequently arrested by Portuguese police.

After being arrested by Portuguese police in 1955, he was imprisoned at Fort of Caxias near Lisbon in Portugal where he was kept in solitary confinement for 6 years. Then in 1961 when Goa got liberated from Portuguese rule, Ranade was released in January 1969, after having spent 14 years in prison. He received Goa Puraskar in 1986 for social work and was awarded the Padma Shri in 2001. He has also authored books on the Goa liberation movement.

Role Of Women In Goa's Freedom Struggle: Till 1946, Goan women took an indirect part in freedom struggle, while men fought with guns for nearly four centuries, women of the house encouraged their husbands, brothers and sons and had their share in freedom struggle. Their participation was behind the screen. There are scores of other women who worked underground, unrecognised, and who never made it to history’s recordings, but played a decisive role in Goa’s struggle for freedom, while the rest of India had already gained independence.

Key Events Of Goa Freedom Movement:

● The Goan freedom struggle is as old as the struggle for Independent India, though it gained momentum in June 1946 when Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia, the noted Socialist leader, plunged himself into the freedom movement along with a large number of young Goans, ultimately culminating in the liberation of Goa along with the overland pockets of Daman and Diu on December 19, 1961.

● The Goa War of Independence began with the unwavering and spontaneous resistance of the local people. The measures taken by the Portuguese regime from time to time to bring Goa under complete control were always strongly opposed. As early as 1555, Goa opposed the imposition and collection of excessive land revenue.

● In 1787, in the “Conspiracy of the Pintos” several Goan Catholic Priests, who were seething with discontent on account of the deprivation of the top ecclesiastical seats reserved for European clergy, revolted.

● In January 1835, Bernado Peres da Silva was the first Goan to occupy the highest Executive office with the title of the Prefect of Goa Daman and Diu. However, he was deposed within 18 days by the European residents who were irked by his nomination.

● In 1869, Kustoba Rane raise the banner of revolt to avenge the injustice meted out by implicating him in a rape case. The revolt continued for 3 years, culminating in his assassination.

● The Civil Disobedience Movement instilled a sense of boldness among the Goans and strengthened their moral fabric, prompting numerous Goan patriots to jump into the vortex of the freedom struggle in Goa and outside in self-exile. It electrified all the political groups and nationalists to come under one banner of the National Congress (Goa), which was formed on 17th- 18th August 1946 at the historic meeting at Londa.

● Wake-Up Call: The slogan ‘Jai Hind’ was painted on the statue of Abbe Faria at Panaji to celebrate Liberation.

● Quick Victory: Dec 18, 1961, the Indian government put into action Operation Vijay — the process to annex Goa into the Indian Republic. A 36-hour battle saw Goa liberated from the yoke of a 450-year-long colonial rule. On Dec 19, Portuguese forces surrendered unconditionally.