Marshall Mendonza wrote [1] the Chinese invasion took Nehru completely by surprise especially after all that Hindi-Chini bhai- bhai stuff after the Panchasheel declaration. The utter defeat of the Indian army and the loss of territory to the Chinese broke Nehru's spirit. He was not his normal self after that and was a broken man.
[2] He slowly deteriorated in health and mind which culminated in his death in 1964. [3] The exact cause of his death is neither here nor there and he well have died from a heart failure. I am open to correction. == jc comment: Marshall is quite correct about #1, but not so about # 2. re #3; The death was following an acute (sudden) event. The term "heart failure" is too general, but this is not the forum for a discussion on that topic. Having said that, allow me to say this: Nehru was guided by his side-kick, the lefty Krishna Menon. Nehru was also a politician who (like ALL politicians) did everything (including make ANY promises) to get what he wanted. The invasion of Goa was part of the political expediency at the time. Anytime a governing party is at risk of losing an election, expect a war or some anti-other religion nonsense, a bogus VideoCD, or the laying of foundation stones for projects which have not a farthing's chance of commencing in the next 10 years. While Nehru may have made that speech about 'wanting to preserve the identity of Goa', he did absolutely nothing to ensure that. If he was serious about it - he would have organised it in the ANNEXATION document itself. But, he did not. Now, if Marshall knows otherwise for sure, I am open to correction. BTW: Goa Freedom Fighter, journalist and author, the now late Lino Leitão had something to say about that this in his piece on TGF. http://www.colaco.net/1/nizgoemcar.htm jc
