Why does Goa celebrate Liberation Day on December 19?
Context- Goa Liberation Day, is celebrated annually to mark the success of ‘Operation Vijay’ undertaken by the Indian armed forces to defeat Portuguese colonial forces and liberate Goa in 1961.
What is the history of Goa’s colonization by European powers?
- The Portuguese colonial presence in Goa began in 1510, when Afonso de Albuquerque defeated the ruling Bijapur king with the help of a local ally, Timayya, and subsequently established a permanent settlement in Velha Goa (or Old Goa).
- Over the following centuries, the Portuguese fought frequent battles with the Marathas and the Deccan sultanates. During the Napoleonic Wars, Goa was briefly occupied by the British between 1812 and 1815.
- Goa was Portugal’s most prized possession in India. Portuguese colonial rule also saw the advent and growth of Christianity in Goa.
What was the movement for Goa’s independence?
- By the turn of the twentieth century, Goa had started to witness an upsurge of nationalist sentiment opposed to Portugal’s colonial rule, in sync with the anti-British nationalist movement in the rest of India.
- Leaders such Tristão de Bragança Cunha, celebrated as the father of Goan nationalism, founded the Goa National Congress at the Calcutta session of the Indian National Congress in 1928.
- In 1946, the socialist leader Ram Manohar Lohia led a historic rally in Goa that gave a call for civil liberties and freedom, and eventual integration with India.
- The trauma of Partition and the massive rupture that followed, coupled with the war with Pakistan, kept the Government of India from opening another front in which the international community could get involved.
How was independence achieved?
- Post-1947, Portugal refused to negotiate with independent India on the transfer of sovereignty of their Indian enclaves.
- Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru was keen that Goa should be integrated by diplomatic means.
- In his 1955 Independence Day speech, Nehru was critical of the satyagraha movement in Goa. However, the Indian government reacted sharply to an incident of firing on satyagrahis, and snapped ties with Portugal.
What was ‘Operation Vijay’?
The Indian government finally declared that Goa should join India “either with full peace or with full use of force”. December 18 and 19, 1961 saw a full-fledged military operation termed ‘Operation Vijay’, which was carried out with little resistance and an instrument of surrender was signed, leading to Goa’s annexation by India.
NEWS- Why does Goa celebrate Liberation Day on December 19?
Syllabus- Mains; GS-1; Post Independence History
Source- Indian Express
