As far as I am concerned, this is the same kind of propaganda paraded by the likes of "military intelligence" that had thousands of Portuguese troops all lined up at the borders of Goa, curfews, shoot-at-sight orders, supersonic fighters at Dabolim, etc. Reality was quite different, quite the opposite in fact. The thousands of Portuguese troops in all of Goa, Damao & Diu numbered to less than 3000, there were no curfews, no shoot-at-sight orders, no supersonic fighters ever visited Goa (at least as far as I know). There was law and order not by force, but out of sheer habit and a strong moral conscience, which was probably the result of 450 years of Portuguese inculturation. Post invasion, there were curfews, people were indeed shot at by the Indian soldiery who shouted orders in Hindi (few Goans understood Hindi at the time). Bells tolled all over Goa over the death of a young boy who was shot dead at point-blank range, in broad day-light (according to Leo Lawrence). Time magazine has a contemporary article on pre and post invasion. Dabolim was, of course, pot-holed with bomb craters, and despite these craters (which were quietly patched up in the fading light of the evening, according to Mario Cabral e Sa), the last TAIP flight took off overladen with the last of the families of the Portuguese in the dead of night. The Indian airforce, according to Bharat-Rakshak, was scrambled to give chase, but the TAIP flight flew low to avoid radar detection, and Bharat Rakhak records that the plane could not be located by the Indian airforce. My personal experience was that I went to kindergarten right up to 14th December, the day when the school-bus didn't turn up. My mum and I went to the school (at Miramar, where cuurently a Lodge is located) by cab, and were told "eles todos voltaram a Europa" - they've all gone back to Europe). That afternoon saw scores of trucks laden with luggage and personal belongings of the portuguese soldiers and their families going down from Altinho in Pangim (there was a large barracks complete with a swimming pool, next to the Bishop's residence, and is now occupied by the Indian military), and by evening no taxis was to be found as they were commandeered by the Portuguese soldiers (in lieu of communications facilities, I understand, from an article by Gen. Carlos Azaredo). My Dad and I had to go the Hospital Escolar (as the old GMC hospital at Campal used to known by) by horse-carriage to visit my aunt who had delivered a baby girl on the 12th Dec. On the 18th Dec, the first thing I knew was strange-looking planes (looked like Sea Vixens) flying overhead (they were on their way to bomb Bambolim, a purely extravagant exercise from my point of view). All the neighbours came to our place to discuss what was happening. At around 4:00 pm in the afternoon, the archbishop went down the road from Altinho in miltary uniform (if I remember correctly), in a jeep, and saluted Dad as they drove past. Soon after, there was a thunderous noise, and my Dad remarked "Lá vai a ponte de Banastarim" - there goes the Banastarim bridge. Thereafter we all went to the Coelho's house opposite ours, and every-one started praying the rosary. We were there until maybe 7:30pm. It was darkness everywhere, and as far as I can recollect, it was the first time Panjim was in total darkness. The next day saw disorder at Palácio Idalcão, where Dad and I saw someone (probably Prabhakar Sinari) was ordering the burning of the furniture, pictures and documents, right in front of the statue of Abbe Faria. We quickly came back home, and noticed planes circling overhead. Now I know that the planes were cicrling Mormugão, where Gen Vassalo e Silva and his last troops were being rounded up. Interestingly, an article on Navhind Times of 20th October last, says "And when Goa was liberated from the Portuguese rule by the Indian Army on December 19, 1961, the number of Goan families who migrated to Portugal was so large that it almost gained proportion of an exodus." Now why would they, the Goans, do that? You decide. Gabriel. ================================================== From: Roland Francis <roland.fran...@gmail.com> To: "'Goa's premiere mailing list, estb. 1994!'" <goanet@lists.goanet.org> Sent: Tuesday, 23 October 2012 12:03 PM Subject: Re: [Goanet] Why India Invaded Goa
What can I say JC. I was quite out of the loop when it happened, a middle school kid really. On the one hand I was in Bombay and heard people like the polished Triloki Nath Kaul (the Kashmiri Pundit guy in the You Tube snippet) then foreign secretary and other British-educated suave and post-independence polished Indian generation (they no longer exist, the current crop mumbles in English) making a case for Goa's liberation. On the other hand there was this fascist European dictator who badly needed an image makeover communicating to Goans in India, mostly Bombay, through a propaganda weekly, glossy but so full of Goebbels-like repetitions that no one (except yours truly) read every line, page to page. The real facts got lost in mere form and in the din and cacophony of the time. The real facts and substance of the matter were well and truly drowned and hence my bewilderment. Hope you understand. Roland. Toronto.
