Mario is right: *************** When he says that the Portuguese in Goa were * conquerors *. There is no denying this fact. We all know it very well and it is in the world history books.
But Mario is wrong: *************** When he says that this is a Portophile issue. In most cases, this has nothing to do with Portugal or the Portuguese anymore. The Portuguese couldn't care less. In fact, today one could even blame the Portuguese for abandoning the true Goan cause in 1975. One could even blame the Portuguese for handing over Goa on a plate illegitimately because that Portuguese government of 1975 was merely a temporary government * not elected democratically *. So they had absolutely no business to mess about with the Goan issue and they lacked a democratic mandate from the people of Portugal in 1975. Despite protests from prominent Goans in 1975, the temporary Portuguese government not elected democratically decided to recognize the annexation of Goa by India but no doubt this Portuguese action was illegitimate and can be challenged even today. This was the last backstabbing from Portugal to Goans (1975)! This discussion - has to do with us Goans when Nehru said in the Indian Parliament that he would march over Goa regardless of the wishes of Goans. He was not interested at all about what Goans really wanted. And no doubt that there were three clear options all with considerable supporters inside and outside Goa: 1) Independent nation, 2) Merger with Indian Union, 3) Continue under Portuguese rule. - has to do with us Goans when India invaded our territory. A territory that should have been liberated from the Portuguese and handed over to Goans to decide our future in accordance to the real meaning of liberation. In the same way as it happened with the liberation of Kuwait from Iraq. - has to do with us Goans and the fact that according to the Supreme Court of India, Goa was acquired by conquest and subjugation when India took over on the 19th Dec 1961. (ref: Supreme Court of India determination.) - has to do with us Goans when some Goans approached Nehru in 1962 and 1963 for a plebiscite and the request was denied and totally ignored. - has to do with us Goans when the most active freedom fighters approached Nehru with the expectation to be given leading jobs in the supposedly post Dec 1961-"free" Goa but were sent home with the response that they had already done enough and the jobs went to the Indian bureaucrats from Delhi and Bombay instead. - has to do with us Goans when slowly our laws were changed and our comunidade lands were stolen and violated. - has to do with us Goans when we became a minority in our own land. - has to do with us Goans when the central government decides our future. - has to do with us Goans when we failed to guarantee some sort of protection for our distinct Goan identity. - has to do with us Goans when we continue to claim that we have been liberated (wrongly) when in fact we have been conquered and subjugated, yet again! Best regards Paulo -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Mario Goveia Sent: 23 June 2008 15:52 To: goanet@lists.goanet.org Subject: [Goanet] Was Goa liberated or Conquered ? Mario responds: > So, in response to the debate I would say that, in my never humble opinion, the Portuguese in Goa were conquered and Goa was liberated from India's point of view. > Forty seven years later the "debate" remains something that keeps up the blood pressure of many Goan Portophiles, especially those with nostalgic delusions of the supremacy of white Europeans and have entirely too much time on their hands. No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG. Version: 8.0.100 / Virus Database: 270.4.1/1514 - Release Date: 23/06/2008 07:17