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December 19, 1961
December 19, 1961 is celebrated in Goa as Liberation
Day. On December 19 of every year, flowery speeches
are made by politicians, a parade is held and many
celebratory functions are held all over the State.
The question is: Are Goans truly liberated?
TGF says: NO!
Let us examine what we know.
1. In the early 16th century, Goa was ruled by the
Muslim Kings from Golconda. It was a particularly
violent era in the history of the subcontinent. Hindus
& Muslims butchered each other, ravaged each others'
places of worship and confiscated their women.
2. At that very time, the Portuguese were trying to
get a foot into the lucrative spice empire hitherto
controlled by their archenemies, the Muslims (Arabs).
The Arabs controlled the seas (Arabian Sea) and the
tolls for the spices (black pepper) necessary for the
preservation of meats. Refrigeration was not yet
available.
3. The spice capital of the world was Calicut, on the
West Coast of the Indian subcontinent (Malabar,
Kerala). Any spot on the West Coast was better than
having to fight for spice from anchored ships.
4. The devastated Hindus of Goa approached the
Portuguese for help against the Muslim King, Adil
Shah. After initial suspicion, the Portuguese agreed
to help. The Adil Shah forces were defeated. Goa was
gifted to the Portuguese.
5. After a period of relative calm and good relations(
especially during the tenure of Afonso da Albuquerque
), the Portuguese rulers displayed their own brand of
intolerance. This surprised the Goan Hindus. Turmoil
followed with the political use of the Inquisition.
Many Goans lost their lives and loved ones to the
Horrible Inquisition.
6. Towards the beginning of the 19th Century,
Portuguese strength, influence and arrogance waned.
Goa went through a period of relative calm. Life was
simple & peaceful. Little development took place.
7. In the 1940s, the world was in turmoil with the
Second World War. Portugal was neutral. Portugal was
also under the iron grip of Antonio Oliveira Salazar.
Dr. Salazar initially set about putting order to the
absolutely chaotic Portuguese economy and was
immensely popular with the populace. Power went to his
head and turned him into a stubborn and ruthless
dictator.
8. Goa suffered during the Salazar era. The same
ruthlessness which the Portuguese felt in Portugal,
was felt in Goa. The vast majority of Goa's colonial
police were Goans. In fact, the "white Portuguese" ie
the "pakhle" took a lot of rap for the high handed
actions of Goan policemen. [Of note, many of these
very same Goan policemen were invited to join the new
Goa Police (Indian), the day after the December 1961
action!]
9. May educated and thinking Goans began whispering
opposition to the Portuguese. They felt that it was
time for the Portuguese to go.
10. Among the more vocal opponents of Salazar, were
Jose Inacio Francisco Candido (Fanchu) de Loyola, Dr
Ramakrishna Hegde, Tristao de Braganza Cunha,
Laxmikant Bhembre, Purshottam Kakodkar, Dr Pundalik
Gaitonde and eminent Goan physician Dr. Froilano de
Mello. Fanchu de Loyola was one of the leading
intellectuals and a political activist of his day in
Goa. Dr Ramakrishna Hegde, Laxmikant Bhembre,
Purshottam Kakodkar and Dr Pundalik Gaitonde were
vocal opponents of the Dictatorship of Salazar and
made intellectual contributions to Goan political
thought. De Braganza Cunha demanded that civil
liberties be restored in Goa while Froilano, the only
Independent member of the Portuguese Legislative
Assembly openly demanded that Portugal give Goa,
independence. Dr. de Mello was successful in obtaining
the revocation of the discriminatory Acto Colonial.
Sadly neither Froilano nor de Braganza Cunha
survived to see December 19, 1961 and the departure
from Goa of Salazar. Fanchu de Loyola returned to
Portugal where he passed away in 1973 alone and away
from his beloved family and beloved Goa. Sadly too,
Dr. Froilano passed away in 1955 in faraway Brazil,
quite disappointed and let down by his fellow Goans
11. During their struggle against Salazar, not many
Goans supported the Goan Nationalists. Among the
Salazar supporters, was Big Business.
12. Big Business was quite happily making fortunes
while Portugal was getting the false rap for striping
Goa of its resources. A retrospective analysis will
show that Portugal remained poor while Big Business
grew astronomically.
13. Many Goans went into exile in Bombay and developed
the Freedom movement there. India was fighting its own
Freedom battle with Britain. Allies were to be found
with similar causes.
14. A number of Goans were brave enough to oppose the
Portuguese in Goa. They found themselves promptly
incarcerated.
15. Not all those who were incarcerated in Goan or
Portuguese jails were Freedom Fighters. Many were in
jails for criminal acts such as robbery. Some of these
(like the Mariel refugees from Cuba) slipped into the
ranks of the Freedom Fighters.
16. This takes us into the period 1947-1961. There
were only a limited number of Portuguese officials in
Goa. Many top administrators, law and order officials
and civil authorities were Goans. The vast majority of
Goans lived in the villages and were quite oblivious
of the rumblings in the upper echelons.
17. Goa was clean, inexpensive, and safe. The standard
of living was very high even though several parts of
Goa did not have electricity or structured roads.
Personal security was not an issue. Hence, nobody
really bothered to shut their doors at night. Communal
harmony was the norm. Catholics, Hindus and Muslims
lived peacefully as neighbours and colleagues.
Educational and employment opportunities however, were
limited. Goans traveled to Bombay, East Africa,
Karachi or on board the ship in order to work. Even
so, with Portuguese Government subsidies in situ, life
in Goa was infinitely less expensive compared to life
in India. Goans had access to many items which were
not easily found in India. Scores of Indian business
folks made their livelihood smuggling goods from Goa
to India.
18. The year was 1961. General elections were due in
India. The Congress Party under the rhetoric
leadership of the centre-left Prime Minister Nehru was
heading for defeat. There was much discontent in India
with Nehru and his "all talk little action" 5 year
plans. His right hand man and colleague from London
School of Economics days, ultra leftist VK Krishna
Menon came up with a master diversionary stroke. "Let
us take over Goa". War always encourages support for
the government. It also hides governmental
inefficiency and corruption. So, Nehru went for it.
As it is he thought that Goans were fit only to be
"cooks and butlers". No need to ask them how they
felt.
19. Goans were not consulted and it is unlikely that
many in the group of Freedom Fighters were taken into
confidence either. Consequently, no Government in
Exile was formed.
20. It was December 3, 1961. Huge convoys of Indian
troop had commenced their movement towards Goa. The
Anjadiva incident was used as a pretext to invade Goa.
In order to offset the disparity among the two forces,
Salazar had ordered the mining and booby trapping of
Goa. Goa was to be destroyed if it was to be lost. The
Roman Catholic Patriarch of Goa and the Portuguese
Governor of Goa blocked this plan. Goa was saved from
destruction. Indian troops accepted the surrender of a
the paltry Portuguese force of soldiers and policemen
on December 19, 1961.
21. Huge crowds of Goans came out of their houses.
Relief is a minor word to describe the feeling of that
day. The days of Salazarist oppression were over. The
dictator Dr. Antonio Oliveira Salazar was defeated.
Hooray!
It is very difficult to ascertain what the majority of
Goans in Goa truly felt on December 19, 1961.
Certainly, large crowds gathered in the major cities
to welcome the victorious Indian army. In the
villages, however, a mood of "wait and see" prevailed.
While there was general relief that the Salazar era
had come to an end, many Goans wondered what the new
regime would mean to their own livelihood.
'Would we have a job'?
'Will the new Govt. discriminate against us'?
'Will life now be more expensive'?
'Will our qualifications be recognized'?
'What will our new bosses be like'?
To complicate matters, reports began to trickle out of
Looting of Goan shops and Raping of Goan women.
As expected, these criminal acts weren't as widespread
as rumoured. As expected too, the new administration
denied that any of this ever happened.
What was especially disappointing wasn't the fact that
rape and looting occurred; they do occur after every
military exercise of this nature. The fact that they
were committed by a force which had ostensibly come to
'liberate' Goans, was (and remains) awful. Even worse
were the DENIALS.
The next few years saw military administration headed
by a fair minded Lt. Gen. Candeth ( curiously a South
Indian of Portuguese descent ).
Many Goans left Goa at this time. They weren't very
certain of what the future held for them in Goa .
Besides, life had become 200% more expensive almost
immediately (now that the Portuguese subsidies were no
longer available ).
Even so, most Goans quickly accepted the new reality.
Some aspects of life had become easier. It was now
easier for Goans to travel to and from other Indian
cities like Bombay and Poona where a number of Goans
lived or worked. A few basic items like vegetables and
pulses were now, more readily available. The stocks of
superior quality foreign goods from the Portuguese era
were dwindling. Within a few months, hundreds of Goa
registered (GDA) Datsun, Mercedes Benz, Peugeot and
Opel cars found themselves on the roads of Poona and
Bombay - but Goans were not driving them!. Simple
minded "elite" Goans were also conned into parting
with valuable hand carved furniture and other
collectibles - all by sweet talking, non Goan 'civil
servants". Even so, most Goans took all of that in
stride.
To its credit, the Candeth administration effected a
smooth transition. To his discredit, he started the
destruction of the Communidade System of Goa. There
was a surprising absence of any serious role in this
transitional administration for the any of the many
Goan Freedom Fighters.
The Congress Party went on to win the 1962 elections
and the election pawn i.e. Goa was now, all but
forgotten by Nehru. The euphoria of 1961 & 1962
received a severe setback in 1962 when China decided
to thumb Nehru and his idealistic 1955 Panchshila
agreement, in the face.
Goa was designated as a Delhi controlled Union
Territory. The first democratically held elections in
Goa brought a Luso-Indian known supporter of the
Portuguese colonial effort in Africa
cum"freedom-fighter", mine owner Dayanand Bandodkar to
the helm. His party, the Maharashtravadi Gomantak
Party(MGP) promised to make Goa a part of Maharashtra.
Why the MGP wished to do that defies logic. Goa was
never a part of the Maratha empire nor of any
Maharashtra based kingdom. If anything, that claim
should have been made by Karnataka or Hyderabad.
Moreover, the areas of Maharashtra which bordered Goa
i.e Ratnagiri & Sawantvadi were neglected backwaters.
Logic notwithstanding, the MGP continued on that
platform. Voting patterns indicate that the majority
of Hindu Goans voted for the MGP while the majority of
Catholics and Muslims voted against the MGP. This
political alignment created significant fault lines
between the Hindu and Catholic communities of Goa;
communities which had hitherto lived in peace and
harmony.
The Opinion Poll of 1967 dealt a decisive blow to the
MGP's move to integrate Goa with Maharashtra. The
margin of victory for the anti mergerites could hardly
have been achieved without significant Hindu vote BUT
the Catholics were to face the wrath of the mergerites
who were still in political control of Goa.
For a while, the red faced mergerites toyed with the
idea of Vishal Gomantak (including the costal areas of
Maharashtra) and the Konkan State. However, these
ideas, designed to further dilute the Catholic vote in
Goa, failed to take off.
In a move which can only be explained as a move to
destabilize Catholic Goans, the ruling MGP set in
place a policy of discrimination against Goans when it
came to employment in Goa. Officers in all major
fields with no particularly spectacular expertise were
brought in to positions which could easily have been
filled by Goans. Many Goans found themselves in the
untenable position of being literally bossed around by
less capable deputationists who were specifically
brought in by the MG government. A good number of the
deputationists were good, honest and hard working.
They served Goa well. But the vast majority of them
were substandard space occupiers.
These less competent "bosses" didn't have a clue of
Goa, Goan culture or of the landscape. They didn't
even display a scintilla of interest in improving
anything in Goa. All they did was talk down to Goans,
bad mouth Goans as "lazy, good for nothing, sossegado
feni drinkers" and specialized in merely filling up
posts with their friends and relatives.
It wasn't very uncommon for a a good number of posts
in Government departments being filled up by
individuals from Kerala or Andhra or Maharashtra or
Delhi, if the Head was from that region. Even clerical
and secretarial posts! And what happened to Goans ?
Well, they were told to "apply in six months time".
A very curious method of creative advertising of posts
was in situ. Advertisements for posts in Goa, appeared
in Goa newspapers well over a month after they
appeared in newspapers in Bombay, Delhi or Trivandrum.
In fact, on most occasions, the advertisements
appeared in Goa a day or two before the last date of
application. Many Goans who had the qualifications and
nerve, packed their bags and left Goa. Most of them,
for good.
The vast majority of the 2.5 million Goans outside Goa
are Catholics. Many just frustrated by the systematic
"cleansing" of opposition votes.
This policy of squeezing out Goan Catholics worked for
the MGP. Vast number of Goan Catholics emigrated to
the UK, Australia, Brazil, Africa, Canada and even
Portugal. The percentage of Catholic Goans in Goa
dwindled from a near 50% to 30%.
This was politically excellent for the MGP. Their vote
block was intact while the vote bank of their
political rivals was effectively demolished. With a
carrot here and a bus license there, the MGP managed
to keep the opposition divided. Many Catholic Goans
were known to be convenient supporters of the MGP. A
" few pieces of silver" did the needful
This electoral Catholic vote cleansing effort was to
eventually come back and hurt the MGP. Many of the
nonGoan deputationists not only served Goa
indifferently but also created a "third party vote
bank" for non Goa based parties.
At the time of Dayanand Bandodkar's untimely death,
the MGP was a powerful, corrupt, ruthless and a
seemingly unstoppable outfit. However divisions
within the MGP, the collapse of the opposition mainly
Catholic UGP and the "third party vote bank" allowed
the entry of the Congress Party into Goan politics and
the ongoing saga of political coups and counter coups.
After Bandodkar's death, the MGP engineered the
passage of the Mundar Act. In this socialist type of
action, many Goan land owners lost their land to the
labourers who wee employed to work in them..
Interesting that the MGP excluded the mines from this
act. If they hadn't, a good part of the mines would
now be owned by the miners who slogged in them. But
then ... the mine owners were the financiers of the
MGP. The mine owners also owned the local newspapers.
So much for Freedom of the Press.
Today, four decades after the Portuguese were thrown
out of Goa, Goa has sadly disintegrated into a place
of religious divisions, unbelievable corruption,
chaotic traffic, environmental degeneration, pollution
and unprecedented police brutality.
It is very easy to blame the Freedom Fighters, many of
who suffered enormously at the hands of the harsh
Salazar regime. There are those who blame the Freedom
Fighters for neglecting to prepare to take over when
the Portuguese were expelled from Goa. At least then,
Goa's future would have been in Goan hands. But that
wasn't to be. It appears that December 19, 1961 may
have come as a surprise to the Freedom Fighters
themselves. It is possible that they were not
consulted before the military action; afterwards
neither. For all their sacrifices, they were given a
tin medal (tamra patra), a paltry pension and sent out
in the world to " don't worry be happy ". It is
important to note (once again) that the brave Goan
Freedom Fighters played no role of significance in
the transitional government of 1961 and No Freedom
Fighter was elected to any office in Goa on a Freedom
Fighter's ticket. In fact, the Congress Party of Nehru
and Indira Gandhi failed to win a single electoral
seat in Goa until the early 1980s despite having
planned and executed the December 1961 action.
The Catholic Church in Goa can only be described as
spineless. During the Portuguese era it was virulently
anti-Indian while now, it is " rolling over and
playing dead" in the face of Rt. Wing activities.
Under the present leadership of Raul Gonsalves, the
Catholic Church has failed its flock on several fronts
: ::: 1. Opposed Family Planning 2. Indiscriminately
transferred parish priests 3. Imposed a dialect of
Konkani which the vast majority of Catholics did not
comprehend 4. Failed to defend Catholics from Rt. Wing
abuse. These are among the factors which have led to
Catholicism in Goa becoming "paper Catholicism".
It was Big Business as usual !! Giving more validity
to the well known adage : The more things change, the
more they remain the same.
To many a Goan who was happy that the Salazar era had
finally come to an end, it has been a massive let
down.
Was this worth it after all?
Many more Goans have migrated and left Goa. Huge
numbers of Goans have applied to reclaim their
Portuguese Nationality and moved to Portugal; among
them are individuals who are known to have been
blatantly antiPortuguese. Portugal has joined the
European Union and continues to improve every day.
Some former Portuguese colonies have seen the benefits
of close cooperation with Portugal. Despite the
violent wars of Independence fought against Salazar's
Portugal, these African countries especially Cabo
Verde have taken actions which are in the interests of
their citizens.
Not so, as far as Goa is concerned. Her future can
only be described as uncertain.
What is certain however is that the right wing Hindu
party, the BJP will take control of Goa and rule Goa
with an iron fist for many years to come. If that
happens, the ghost of Salazar would have returned.
For Salazar too, came to power through the Carmona
coup, at a time when Portugal was in shambles.
Initially, Salazar was very popular for his "clean
up". And look what happened eventually.
History always repeats itself. What a tragedy if it
does as far as Goa is concerned.
Returning to the primary question:
Have Goans been liberated ?. The answer is definitely
NOT.
Goans will only have been liberated when:
* they are able to make their own decisions with the
help of Goan political parties
* their pristine environment is no longer disturbed
* their young women are no longer enslaved by
sex-traders
* their working family members no longer have to go
abroad to find employment
* their senior citizens no longer have to live in fear
* their guests at their beaches are no longer harassed
and molested
* their water table and atmosphere are no longer
polluted by factories which spew dangerous chemicals
* their hospitals are at least as clean as they were
in 1961
* their hearts and minds reconcile to the fact that
religious & caste divisions are man made and are
detrimental to communal harmony
* when Goans of ALL nationalities and walks of life
finally accept that the events of 1961 are "fait
accompli". Goa is now 100% a part of India. It is time
for Goans to put their hearts and minds together and
resolve to assist each other in the future development
of Goa and ALL Goans. Hopefully, they will assist in
the concomitant development of the various facets of
Goan culture - and that includes Marathi and
Portuguese
and * when the Indian civil and military authorities
in Goa decide to take the Goan people into confidence
when they make their decision whether it be regarding
the installation of a chemical factory in in an
inhabited village or using the people's civilian
airport for military purposes. [ The senseless
confrontation in Panjim ]
Until all of the above happens, the event of 1961 will
only be seen as a step towards the success of the
Nehru-Krishna Menon diversion. A diversion whose
usefulness ended with the 1962 general election.
Goa and Goans would just have been used as pawns in a
political process, their land for the generation of
wealth for everybody but Goans.... and eventually
dumped.
Nil else
TGF
Post Script: Many younger Goans fail to understand
why Goans in Goa did not oppose the 1961 action. One
has to understand that these younger Goans are looking
at India today - a nation which is blessed by the best
brains in the world and yet cursed with the most
corrupt politicians and henchmen. The India of 1961
may not have been as rich but it was a beautiful and
peaceful place indeed.
Goa and Goans made the right decision in 1961.
India as a whole needs to make some sensible decisions
now. By contrast, Portugal has accepted reality and
moved on. She has afforded full status to ALL Goans
who qualify along with all the privileges that go with
Portuguese nationality. She has moved quickly after
the end of Salazar's iron fisted dictatorship and
made peace with all the erstwhile colonies who wished
to make peace with her. In doing so, she has grown in
prosperity and stature. Goa and Goans can do the same.
June 18, 2001
http://www.colaco.net/1/letdown.htm
http://www.goa-world.com
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