1961 Indian annexation of Goa

"Invasion of Goa" redirects here. For the conquest by Portugal in 1510, see Portuguese Conquest of Goa (1510).

Invasion of Goa, Daman and Diu
Date 18–19 December 1961 Location Portuguese India and surrounding sea and airspace Result Decisive Indian victory and incorporation of territories into the Republic of India
Belligerents
Portugal Portuguese India	India
Commanders and leaders
Américo Tomás António de Oliveira Salazar Governor-General of Portuguese India Manuel António Vassalo e Silva	Rajendra Prasad Jawaharlal Nehru Major General K. P. Candeth Air Vice Marshal Elric Pinto V. K. Krishna Menon
Strength
3,995 Army 200 Naval personnel 1 frigate 3 patrol boats	45,000 infantry 1 Light Aircraft Carrier 2 Cruisers 1 destroyer 8 frigates 4 Minesweepers 20 Canberras 6 Vampires 6 Toofanis 6 Hunters 4 Mysteres
Casualties and losses
30 killed 57 wounded 4,668 captured 1 Frigate disabled	22 killed 54 wounded

The 1961 Indian annexation of Goa (also referred to as the Invasion of Goa, the Liberation of Goa, and the Fall of Portuguese India ), was an action by India's armed forces that ended the colonial rule of Portugal in its exclaves in India in 1961. The armed action, codenamed Operation Vijay by the Indian government, involved air, sea and land strikes for over 36 hours, and was a decisive victory for India, ending 451 years of Portuguese colonial rule in Goa. Twenty two Indians and thirty Portuguese were killed in the fighting. The brief conflict drew a mixture of worldwide praise and condemnation. In India, the action was seen as a liberation of historically Indian territory, while Portugal viewed it as an aggression against national soil.

Background

At the time of Union of India's independence from the British Empire in 1947, Portugal held a handful of exclaves on the Indian subcontinent - the districts of Goa, Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli - collectively known as the Estado da Índia. Goa, Daman and Diu covered an area of around 1,540 square miles (4,000 km²) and held a population of 637,591. The Goan diaspora was estimated at 175,000 (about 100,000 within the Indian Union). Religious distribution was 61% Hindu, 36.7% Christian (mostly Catholic), 2.2% Muslim. Economy was primarily based on agriculture, although the 1940s and 1950s saw a boom in mining - principally iron ore and some manganese.

Local resistance to Portuguese rule

Main article: Goa Liberation Movement

Resistance to Portuguese rule in Goa in the 20th century was pioneered by Tristão de Bragança Cunha, a French-educated Goan engineer who founded the Goa Congress Committee in Portuguese India in 1928. Da Cunha released a booklet called 'Four hundred years of Foreign Rule', and a pamphlet, 'Denationalisation of Goa', intended to sensitise Goans to the oppression of Portuguese rule. Messages of solidarity were received by the Goa Congress Committee from leading figures in the Indian independence movement like Dr. Rajendra Prasad, Jawaharlal Nehru, Subhas Chandra Bose, and several others. On 12 October 1938, Da Cunha with other members of the Goa Congress Committee met Subhas Chandra Bose, the President of the Indian National Congress, and on his advice, opened a Branch Office of the Goa Congress Committee at 21, Dalal Street, Bombay. The Goa Congress was also made affiliate to the Indian National Congress and Da Cunha was selected its first President.

In June 1946, Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia, an Indian Socialist leader, entered Goa on a visit to his friend, Dr. Julião Menezes, a nationalist leader, who had founded in Bombay the Gomantak Praja Mandal and edited the weekly newspaper, Gomantak. Da Cunha and other leaders were also with him. Ram Manohar Lohia advocated the use of non-violent Gandhian techniques to oppose the government. On 18 June 1946, the Portuguese government disrupted a protest in Panaji (then spelled as Panjim) against the suspension of civil liberties organised by Lohia, Da Cunha along with others like Purushottam Kakodkar and Laxmikant Bhembre in defiance of a ban on public gatherings and arrested them. There were intermittent mass demonstrations from June to November.

In addition to non-violent protests, armed groups such as the Azad Gomantak Dal (The Free Goa Party) and the United Front of Goans conducted violent attacks aimed at weakening Portuguese rule in Goa. The Indian government supported the establishment of armed groups like the Azad Gomantak Dal, giving them full financial, logistic and armament support. The armed groups acted from bases situated in Indian territory and under cover of Indian police forces. The Indian government - through these armed groups - attempted to destroy economic targets, telegraph and telephone lines, road, water and rail transport, in order to impede economic activity and create conditions for a general uprising of the population.

Commenting on the armed resistance, Portuguese army officer, Capt. Carlos Azaredo (now retired General) stationed with the army in Goa, stated in the Portuguese newspaper O Expresso: "To the contrary to what is being said, the most evolved guerilla warfare which our Armed Forces encountered was in Goa. I know what I’m talking about, because I also fought in Angola and in Guiné. In 1961 alone, until December, around 80 policemen died. The major part of the terrorists of Azad Gomantak Dal were not Goans. Many had fought in the British Army, under General Montgomery, against the Germans."

Diplomatic efforts to resolve Goa dispute

Main article: India-Portugal Relations

Goa, Western India

On 27 February 1950, the Government of India asked the Portuguese government to open negotiations about the future of Portuguese colonies in India. Portugal asserted that its territory on the Indian subcontinent was not a colony but part of metropolitan Portugal and hence its transfer was non-negotiable; and that India had no rights to this territory since the Republic of India did not exist at the time when Goa came under Portuguese rule. When the Portuguese Government refused to respond to subsequent aide-mémoires in this regard, the Indian government, on 11 June 1953, withdrew its diplomatic mission from Lisbon.

By 1954, the Republic of India instituted visa restrictions on travel from Goa to India which paralysed transportation between Goa and other exclaves like Daman, Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli. Meanwhile, the Indian Union of Dockers had, in 1954, instituted a boycott on shipping to Portuguese India. Between 22 July and 2 August 1954, armed activists attacked and forced the surrender of Portuguese forces stationed in Dadra and Nagar Haveli.

On 15 August 1955, 3000-5000 unarmed Indian activists attempted to enter Goa at six locations and were violently repulsed by Portuguese police officers, resulting in the deaths of between 21 and 30 people. The news of the massacre built public opinion in India against the presence of the Portuguese in Goa. On 1 September 1955, India shut its consul office in Goa.

In 1956, Portuguese ambassador to France, Marcello Mathias, along with Portuguese Prime Minister António de Oliveira Salazar, argued in favour of a referendum in Goa to determine its future. This proposal was however rejected by the Ministers for Defence and Foreign Affairs. The demand for a referendum was again made by Presidential candidate General Humberto Delgado in 1957.

Portugal’s Prime Minister, Antonio de Oliveira Salazar, alarmed by India’s hinted threats at armed action against its presence in Goa, first asked the United Kingdom to mediate, then protested through Brazil and eventually asked the UN Security Council to intervene. Mexico offered the Indian government its influence in Latin America to bring pressure on the Portuguese to relieve tensions. Meanwhile, Krishna Menon, India’s defence minister and head of India’s UN delegation, stated in no uncertain terms that India had not "abjured the use of force" in Goa, The U.S. ambassador to India, John Kenneth Galbraith, requested the Indian government on several occasions to resolve the issue peacefully through mediation and consensus rather than armed conflict.

Eventually, on 10 December, nine days prior to the invasion, Nehru stated to the press that "Continuance of Goa under Portuguese rule is an impossibility". The American response was to warn India that if and when India’s armed action in Goa was brought to the UN security council, it could expect no support from the US delegation.

On 24 November 1961, the Sabarmati, a passenger boat passing between the Portuguese-held island of Anjidiv and the Indian port of Kochi, was fired upon by Portuguese ground troops, resulting in injuries to the chief engineer of the boat, as well as the death of a passenger. The action was precipitated by Portuguese fears that the boat carried a military landing party intent on storming the island. The incidents lent themselves to foster widespread public support in India for military action in Goa.

The occupation of Dadra and Nagar Haveli

Main article: Indian annexation of Dadra and Nagar Haveli

The hostilities between India and Portugal started seven years before the invasion of Goa, when Dadra and Nagar Haveli were invaded and occupied by pro-Indian Union forces with the support of the Indian authorities.

Dadra and Nagar Haveli were two Portuguese landlocked exclaves of the Daman district, totally surrounded by territory of the Indian Union. The connection between the exclaves and the costal territory of Daman had to be made by crossing about 20 km of Indian Union territory. Dadra and Nagar Haveli did not have any Portuguese military garrison, but only police forces. The Indian Government started to develop isolation actions against Dadra and Nagar Haveli already in 1952, including the creation of impediments to the transit of persons and goods between the two landlocked enclaves and Daman. In July 1954, pro-Indian Union forces, including members of organisations like the United Front of Goans (UFG), the National Movement Liberation Organisation (NMLO), the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the Azad Gomantak Dal, with the support of Indian Police forces, started to launch assaults against Dadra and Nagar Haveli. On the night of 22 July, UFG forces stormed the small Dadra police station, killing police sergeant Aniceto do Rosário and constable António Fernandes while resisting to the attack. On 28 July, RSS forces took Naroli police station.

Meanwhile, the Portuguese authorities asked the Indian Government for permission to cross their territory with reinforcements to Dadra and Nagar Haveli, which was denied.

Surrounded and prevented from receiving reinforcements by the Indian Authorities, the Portuguese Administrator and police forces in Nagar Haveli eventually surrendered to the Indian police forces on 11 August 1954.

Portugal appealed to the International Court of Justice, which, in the decision of 12 April 1960 "Case Concerning Right of Passage Over Indian Territory", was favourable to the Portuguese cause, stating its sovereign rights over the territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli. However, no military actions were taken by the Portuguese authorities to reoccupy the exclaves.

The Indian Government went forward with the official integration of Dadra and Nagar Haveli in its territory, only after the invasion of Goa in 1961. Until then, it enjoyed a de facto independence, although not internationally recognised.

Events preceding the hostilities

Indian military build-up

On receiving the go-ahead for military action and the mandate of the capture of all occupied territories for the Indian government, Lieutenant-General Chaudhari of India's Southern Army fielded the 17th Infantry Division and the 50th Parachute Brigade commanded by Major-General K.P. Candeth. The assault on the enclave of Daman was assigned to the 1st Maratha Light Infantry while the operations in Diu were assigned to the 20th Rajput and 4th Madras battalions. Meanwhile, the Commander-in-Chief of India's Western Air Command, Air Vice Marshal Erlic Pinto, was appointed as the commander of all air resources assigned to the operations in Goa. Air resources for the assault on Goa were concentrated in the bases at Pune and Sambra. The mandate handed to Air Vice Marshal Erlic Pinto by the Indian Air Command was listed out as follows:

1. The destruction of Goa’s lone airfield in Dabolim, without causing damage to the terminal building and other airport facilities.
2. Destruction of the wireless station at Bambolim, Goa.
3. Denial of airfields at Daman and Diu, which were, however, not to be attacked without prior permission.
4. Support to advancing ground troops.

The Indian Navy deployed two warships—the INS Rajput, an 'R' Class destroyer, and the INS Kirpan, a Blackwood class frigate anti-submarine frigate—off the coast of Goa. The actual attack on Goa was delegated to four task groups: a Surface Action Group comprising five ships: Mysore, Trishul, Betwa, Beas and Cauvery; a Carrier Group of five ships: Delhi, Kuthar, Kirpan, Khukri and Rajput centred around the light aircraft carrier Vikrant; a Mine Sweeping Group consisting of mine sweepers including Karwar, Kakinada, Cannonore and Bimilipatan and a Support Group which consisted of the Dharini.

The Portuguese Mandate

In March 1960, Portuguese Defence Minister General Botelho Moniz, told Prime Minister Salazar that a sustained Portuguese campaign against decolonisation would create for the army "a suicide mission in which we could not succeed". His opinion was shared by Army Minister Colonel Almeida Fernandes, by the Army under secretary of State Lieutenant-Colonel Costa Gomes and by other top officers.

Ignoring this advice, Salazar sent the following message to Governor General Vassalo e Silva in Goa on 14 December, in which he ordered the Portuguese forces in Goa to fight till the last man.

Radio 816 / Lisbon 14-Dec.1961: You understand the bitterness with which I send you this message. It is horrible to think that this may mean total sacrifice, but I believe that sacrifice is the only way for us to keep up to the highest traditions and provide service to the future of the Nation. Do not expect the possibility of truce or of Portuguese prisoners, as there will be no surrender rendered because I feel that our soldiers and sailors can be either victorious or dead. These words could, by their seriousness, be directed only to a soldier of higher duties fully prepared to fulfill them. God will not allow you to be the last Governor of the State of India.

Salazar then asked Vassalo e Silva to hold out for at least eight days, within which time he hoped to gather international support against the Indian invasion.

Portuguese Military Preparations

Portuguese military preparations began in earnest in 1954, following the Indian economic blockade, when three army battalions were transported to Goa, raising the Portuguese military presence there to 12,000 men. However, by late 1960, the Army under-secretary of State, Costa Gomes, conducted a survey visit to Goa and proposed a reduction in the military grouping reducing the strength from 12,000 men to around 3,500.

In accordance with Prime Minister Salazar’s instructions to resist the Indian invasion, the Portuguese administration in Goa prepared for war.

One Portuguese Navy' sloop, the NRP Afonso de Albuquerque, was present in Goa at the time of invasion. The vessel was armed with four 120 mm guns capable of two shots per minute, and four automatic rapid firing guns. In addition to the sloop, the Portuguese Navy had three light patrol boats (lanchas de fiscalização), each armed with a 20mm Oerlikon gun, one based in each Goa, Daman and Diu. There were also five merchant marine ships in Goa.

Portuguese ground defences consisted of a total of 3,995 men, including 810 native (Indo-Portugueses - Indo-Portuguese) soldiers, many of whom had little military training and were utilised primarily for security and anti-extremist operations. In addition there were about 1,040 police officers and 400 border guards. These forces were divided amongst the three Portuguese enclaves in India. The strategy employed to defend Goa against an Indian invasion was based in the Plano Sentinela (Sentinel Plan) which divided the territory into four defence sectors (North, Center, South and Mormugão). The Portuguese Army forces in Goa were composed of four motorised reconnaissance squadrons, eight rifle companies (caçadores), two artillery bateries and an engineer detachment, divided by four battlegroups (agrupamentos), with a battlegroup assigned to each sector and tasked with slowing the progression of an invading force. These plans were however unviable because of the desperate shortage of mines and ammunition and of communication equipment.

Commenting on the Plano Sentinela, Capt. Carlos Azaredo who was stationed in Goa at the time of hostilities states in Portuguese newspaper Expresso on 8 December 2001, "It was a totally unrealistic and unachievable plan, which was quite incomplete. It was based on exchange of ground with time. But, for this purpose, portable communication equipment was necessary".

Regarding the defence of Daman and Diu, although formally under the command of the governor-general and commander-in-chief in Goa, given the isolation and enormous distances of those districts from Goa, the local small Portuguese garrisons would have to be left to themselves, ensuring alone the defense against the Indian invasion, without any possibility of cooperation with the rest of the Portuguese forces.

On 16 December, the Portuguese Air Force was placed on alert to transport ten tons of anti-tank grenades in two DC-6 aircraft from Montijo Air Base in Portugal to Goa assist in its defence. However the aircraft were denied stop-over facilities at the US Wheelus Air Base in Libya. When the Portuguese Air Force was unable to obtain such facilities at any other air base along the way - most nations including Pakistan denying passage of Portuguese military aircraft - the mission was passed on to the civilian airline TAP which offered a Lockheed Constellation (registration CS-TLA) on charter for the job. However, when permission to transport weapons through Karachi was denied by the Pakistani Government, the Lockheed Constellation landed in Goa at 18:00 hours on 17 December with a consignment of half a dozen bags of sausages as food supplies instead of the intended grenades. However the aircraft also arrived with a contingent of female paratroopers to assist in the evacuation of Portuguese civilians.

The Portuguese air presence in Goa was thus limited to the presence of two transport aircraft, one belonging to the Portuguese international airline (TAP) and the other to the Goan airline Portuguese India Airlines (TAIP): a Lockheed Constellation and a Douglas DC-4 Skymaster aircraft. The Indians claimed that the Portuguese had a squadron of F-86 Sabres stationed at Dabolim Airport—which later turned out to be false intelligence. Air defence was limited to a few obsolete anti-aircraft guns manned by two artillery units who had been smuggled into Goa disguised as soccer teams.

Meanwhile, back on 14 December, the Portuguese administration in Goa received orders from the Ministry of the Overseas in Lisbon to transfer the relics of St. Francis Xavier, patron saint of Goa, to Lisbon. Orders were also received ordering the Portuguese forces in Goa to destroy any buildings of non-military Portuguese heritage in Goa. Accordingly, barrels filled with petrol were transported to the Idalcao Palace in Panaji, which served as the administrative headquarters, but were removed on orders from Governor Vassalo e Silva who stated "I cannot destroy the evidence of our greatness in the Orient".

Portuguese civilian evacuation

The military buildup created panic amongst Europeans in Goa, who were desperate to evacuate their families before the commencement of hostilities. On 9 December, the vessel India arrived at Goa's Mormugão port en route to Lisbon from Timor. Despite orders from the Portuguese government in Lisbon not to allow anyone to embark on this vessel, the Governor General of Goa, Manuel Vassalo e Silva, allowed 700 Portuguese civilians of European origin to board the ship and flee Goa. The ship had had capacity for only 380 passengers, and was filled to its limits, with evacuees occupying even the ship's toilets. On arranging this evacuation of women and children, Vassalo e Silva remarked to the press, "If necessary, we will die here." Evacuation of European civilians continued by air even after the commencement of Indian air strikes.

Indian reconnaissance operations

Indian reconnaissance operations had commenced on 1 December, when two Indian Leopard class frigates, the INS Betwa and the INS Beas, undertook linear patrolling of the Goan coast at a distance of 8 miles (13 km). By 8 December, the Indian Air Force had commenced baiting missions and fly-bys to lure out Portuguese air defences and fighters.

On 17 December, a tactical reconnaissance flight conducted by Sqn Ldr I S Loughran in a Vampire NF.54 Night Fighter over Dabolim Airport in Goa was met with 5 rounds fired from a ground anti aircraft gun. The aircraft took evasive action by drastically dropping altitude and escaping out to sea. The anti aircraft gun was later recovered near the ATC building with a round jammed in its breech.

The Indian light aircraft carrier INS Vikrant was deployed 75 miles (121 km) off the coast of Goa to head a possible amphibious operation on Goa, as well as to deter any foreign military intervention.

Commencement of Hostilities

The military actions in Goa

The ground attack on Goa: North and North East sectors

On 11 December 1961, 17 Infantry Division and attached troops of the Indian Army were ordered to advance into Goa to capture Panaji and Mormugão. The main thrust on Panaji was to be made by the 50 Para Brigade Group - one of the Indian army’s most elite airborne units - led by Brigadier Sagat Singh from the north. Another thrust was to be carried by 63 Infantry Brigade from the east. A deceptive thrust, in company strength, was to be made from the south along the Majali-Canacona-Margao axis.

Although the Indian 50 Para Brigade (also called the Pegasus Brigade) was charged with merely assisting the main thrust conducted by the 17th Infantry, its units moved rapidly across minefields, roadblocks and four riverine obstacles to be the first to reach Panaji.

Hostilities at Goa began at 9:45 on 17 December 1961, when a unit of Indian troops attacked and occupied the town of Maulinguém in north east Goa, killing two Portuguese soldiers in the process. The Portuguese 2nd EREC (esquadrão de reconhecimento - reconnaissance squadron) - stationed near Maulinguém - asked for permission to engage the Indians, but permission was refused at about 13:45. During the afternoon of the 17th, the Portuguese command issued instructions that all orders to defending troops would be issued directly by headquarters, bypassing the local command outposts. This led to confusion in the chain of command. At 02:00 on 18 December, the 2nd EREC was sent to the town of Doromagogo to support the withdrawal of police forces present in the area, and were attacked by Indian Army units on their return journey.

At 04:00, the Indian assault commenced with artillery bombardment on Portuguese positions south of the town of Maulinguém, which was launched on the basis of the false intelligence that the Portuguese had stationed heavy battle tanks in the area. By 04:30, Bicholim was under fire. At 04:40, the Portuguese forces destroyed the bridge at Bicholim and followed this with the destruction of the bridges at Chapora in Colvale and at Assonora at 05:00.

On the morning of 18 December, the 50 Para Brigade of the Indian Army moved into Goa in three columns.

1. The eastern column comprised the 2nd Para Maratha advanced towards the town Ponda in central Goa via Usgão.
2. The central column consisting of the 1st Para Punjab advanced towards Panaji via the village of Banastari.
3. The western column - the main thrust of the attack - comprised the 2nd Sikh Light Infantry as well as an armored division which crossed the border at 6:30 a.m. in the morning and advanced along Tivim.

At 05:30, Portuguese troops left their barracks at Ponda in central Goa and marched towards the town of Usgão, in the direction of the advancing eastern column of the Indian 2nd Para Maratha. At 09:00, these Portuguese troops marching towards Usgão, reported that Indian troops had already reached halfway to the town of Ponda.

File:Liberation cheer.jpg

Indian troops are greeted by Goans as they march through the streets of Panaji, shortly after the Portuguese retreat.

By 10:00, Portuguese forces of the 1st EREC, faced with the advancing 2nd Sikh Light Infantry, began a south-bound withdrawal to the town of Mapuca where, by 12:00, they came under the risk of being surrounded by Indian forces. At 12:30, the 1st EREC began a retreat from the town of Mapuca, making way through the Indian forces, with its armoured cars firing ahead to cover the withdrawal of the personnel carrier vehicles. This unit relocated by ferry further south to Panaji.

At 13:30, the bridge at Banastarim was destroyed by the Portuguese, just after the retreat of the 2nd EREC, thus cutting off all road links to the capital city of Panaji.

By 17:45, the forces of the 1st EREC and the 9th Caçadores Company of the Portuguese Battlegroup North had completed its ferry crossing of the Mandovi River to Panaji, just minutes ahead of the arrival of the Indian armoured forces. The Indian tanks had reached Betim, just across the Mandovi River from the capital town of Panaji without encountering any opposition. The 2 Sikh LI joined it by 21:00, crossing over mines and demolished bridges en route. In the absence of orders, the unit stayed at Betim for the night. The same night Major Sidhu of the 7th Cavalry was killed when Portuguese guards fired on an unsuspecting Indian unit at Aguada Fort.

At 20:00 hours, a Goan by the name of Gregório Magno Antão crossed the Mandovi River from Panaji and delivered a ceasefire offer letter from Major Acácio Tenreiro of the Portuguese Army to Major Shivdev Singh Sidhu, the commanding officer of the Indian units camped there. The letter stated "The Military Commander of the City of Goa states that he wishes to parley with the commander of the army of the Indian Union with respect to the surrender. Under these conditions, the Portuguese troops must immediately cease fire and the Indian troops do likewise in order to prevent the slaughter of the population and the destruction of the city."

The order to cross the Mandovi River was received on the morning of 19 December, upon which two rifle companies of the 2nd Sikh Light Infantry advanced on Panaji at 07:30 and secured the town without facing any resistance. On orders from Brigadier Sagat Singh, the troops entering Panaji removed their steel helmets and donned the Parachute Regiment’s maroon berets. Fort Aguada was also captured on that day when the Indian 7th Cavalry attacked the fort with assistance from the armoured division stationed at Betim, and freed its political prisoners.

The advance from the East

Meanwhile, in the east, the 63rd Indian Infantry Brigade advanced in two columns. The right column comprising the 2nd Bihar and the left column consisting of the 3rd Sikh linked up at the border town of Mollem and then advanced upon the town of Ponda taking separate routes. By night fall, the 2nd Bihar had reached the town of Candeapur, while the 3rd Sikh had reached Darbondara. Although neither column had encountered any resistance, their further progress was hampered because all bridges spanning the river had been destroyed.

The rear battalion comprised the 4th Sikh Infantry, which reached Candeapar in the early hours of 19 December, and not to be bogged down by the absence of the Borim bridge(already blown up), went across the Zuari river in their military tankers and then waded across a small creek, in chest high water, to reach a small dock known as Embarcadouro de Tembim in Raia, presently under survey No.44/5 of Raia Village, from where there exists a connecting road to Margao (Old Portuguese Planta 4489 & 4493). At Tembim the 4th Sikh Infantry rear battalion, took some rest in a cattle shed on the small dock, and sprawled on the ground and in the balcony of a house adjacent to the dock, drank some water, retrieved their tankers and then proceeded to Margao... Margao - the administrative centre of Southern Goa - by 12:00. From here, the column advanced towards the harbour of Mormugão. En route to this target, the column encountered fierce resistance from a 500-strong Portuguese unit at the village of Verna, where the Indian column was joined by the 2nd Bihar. The Portuguese unit surrendered at 15:30 after fierce fighting, and the 4th Sikh then proceeded to Mormugão and Dabolim Airport, where the main body of the Portuguese army awaited the Indians.

A decoy attack was staged south of Margao by the 4th Rajput company to mislead the Portuguese. This column overcame minefields, roadblocks and demolished bridges, and eventually went on to help secure the town of Margao.

By the evening of 19 December, most of Goa had been overrun by advancing Indian forces, and a large party of more than two thousand Portuguese soldiers had taken position at the military base at Alparqueiros at the entrance to the port town of Vasco da Gama. Per the Portuguese strategy code named Plano Sentinela the defending forces were to make their last stand at the harbour, holding out against the Indians until Portuguese naval reinforcements could arrive. Orders delivered from the Portuguese President called for a scorched earth policy - that Goa was to be destroyed before it was given up to the Indians.

The air raids over Goa

A Canberra PR.9 taking off. The Indian Air Force used the small and lightweight Canberra bombers.

The first Indian raid was conducted on 18 December on the Dabolim Airport and was in the form of 12 English Electric Canberra aircraft led by Wing Commander N.B. Menon. The raid resulted in the dropping of 63,000 pounds of explosives within minutes, completely destroying the runway. In line with the mandate given by the Air Command, structures and facilities at the airfield were left undamaged.

The second Indian raid was conducted on the same target by eight Canberras led by Wing Commander Surinder Singh, which again left the airport’s terminal and other buildings untouched. Two transport aircraft—a Lockheed Constellation belonging to the Portuguese airline TAP and a Douglas DC-4 belonging to the Goan airline TAIP—were parked on the apron. On the night of 18 December, the Portuguese used both aircraft to evacuate the families of some government and military officials in spite of the heavily damaged runway. During the first hours of the evening, airport workers hastily recovered part of the runway. The first aircraft to leave was the TAP Constellation commanded by Manuel Correia Reis, which took off using only 700 metres; the debris from the runway damaged the fuselage with 25 holes and a flat tire. In order to take off in the short distance, the TAP pilots had jettisoned all the extra seats and other unwanted equipment so that they could do a 'short take-off'. The second to leave was the TAIP DC-4, piloted by TAIP Director Major Solano de Almeida. Both aircraft used the cover of night and very low altitudes to break through Indian aerial patrols and escape to Karachi, Pakistan.

A third Indian raid was carried out by six Hawker Hunters, and was targeted at the wireless station at Bambolim, which was successfully attacked with rockets and gun cannons.

The mandate to support ground troops was served by the de Havilland Vampires of No. 45 squadron which patrolled the sector but did not receive any requests into action. In an incident of friendly fire, two Vampires fired rockets into the positions of the 2nd Sikh Light Infantry injuring two soldiers, while elsewhere, Indian ground troops mistakenly opened fire on an IAF T-6 Texan, causing minimal damage.

In later years, commentators have maintained that India's intense air strikes against the airfields were uncalled-for, since none of the targeted airports had any military capabilities and did not cater to any military aircraft^{[citation needed]}. As such, the airfields were defenceless civilian targets. To this day, the Indian navy continues to control the Dabolim Airport, although this is now used as a civilian airport as well.

The storming of Anjidiv Island

The Indian Naval Command assigned the task of securing the island of Anjidiv to the INS Trishul and the INS Mysore. Under covering fire from the ships, Indian marines under the command of Lt. Arun Auditto stormed the island at 14:25 on 18 December, and engaged the Portuguese defenders. The Portuguese ceased fire, and raised a white flag, thus luring the Indian marines out of their cover, before opening fire again, killing 7 marines and wounding 19. Among the casualties were two officers. The Portuguese defences were eventually overrun after fierce shelling from the Indian ships offshore. The island was secured by the Indians at 1400 on the next day.

Naval battle at Mormugão harbour

The NRP Afonso de Albuquerque

On the morning of 18 December, the Portuguese sloop Afonso de Albuquerque was anchored off Mormugão Harbour. Three Portuguese patrol boats were also present at Goa and Daman and Diu. Besides engaging Indian naval units, the Afonso de Albuquerque was also tasked with providing a coastal artillery battery for the defence of the harbour and adjoining beaches, as well as providing vital radio communications with Lisbon after on-shore radio facilities had been destroyed in Indian airstrikes.

At 09:00, three Indian frigates led by the INS Betwa took up position off the Harbour, awaiting orders to attack the NRP Afonso and secure sea access to the port. At 11:00, Indian planes bombed Mormugão harbor. At 12:00, upon receiving clearance from HQ, the INS Betwa, accompanied by the INS Beas entered the harbour and opened fire on the NRP Afonso with their 4.5-inch guns while transmitting requests to surrender in morse code between shots. In response, the NRP Afonso lifted anchor, headed out towards the enemy and returned fire with its 120 mm guns.

Besides being outnumbered by the Indians, the Afonso was also at a severe disadvantage since it was in a confined position that restricted its maneuverability, and also because its four 120 mm guns were capable of only two rounds a minute, as compared to the 60 rounds per minute cadence of the guns aboard the Indian frigates. A few minutes into the exchange of fire, at 1215, the Afonso took a direct hit in its control tower, injuring its weapons officer. At 12:25, an anti-personnel shrapnel bomb fired from an Indian vessel exploded directly over the ship, killing its radio officer and severely injuring its commander, Captain António da Cunha Aragão, after which the First Officer Pinto da Cruz took command of the vessel. The ships propulsion system was also badly damaged in this attack.

At 12:35, the NRP Afonso swerved 180 degrees and was run aground against Bambolim beach. At that time, against the commander's orders, a white flag was hoisted under instructions from the sergeant in charge of signals. But the flag coiled itself around the mast and as a result was not spotted by the Indians, who continued their barrage. The flag was immediately lowered.

Eventually at 12:50, after having fired nearly 400 rounds at the Indians, hitting two of the Indian vessels, and having taken severe damage, the order was given to initiate the abandonment of the ship. Under heavy fire, directed both at the ship as well as at the coast, non-essential crew including weapons staff left the ship and made their way to the shore. They were followed at 13:10 by the rest of the crew, who along with their injured commander, disembarked directly onto the beach after setting fire to the ship. Following this, the commander was transferred by car to the hospital at Panaji.

In all, the NRP Afonso lost 5 dead and 13 wounded in the battle.

The sloop's crew formally surrendered with the remaining Portuguese forces on 19 December 1961 at 2030 hrs.

As a gesture of goodwill, the commanders of the INS Betwa and the INS Beas later visited Captain Aragão as he lay recuperating in bed in Panaji.

The Afonso - having been renamed as Saravastri by the Indian Navy - lay grounded at the beach near Dona Paula, until 1962 when it was towed to Bombay and sold for scrap. Parts of the ship were recovered and are on display at the Naval Museum in Bombay.

The military actions in Daman

The ground attack on Daman

Daman, approximately 72 km² in area, is located at the southern end of Gujarat bordering Maharashtra and just about 193 km north of Bombay. The countryside is broken and interspersed with marsh, salt pans, streams, paddy fields, coconut and palm groves. The river Daman Ganga splits the capital city of Daman into two-halves — Nani Daman (Damão Pequeno) and Moti Daman (Damão Grande). The Portuguese garrison in Daman was headed by a Governor, Major António José da Costa Pinto, with 360 Portuguese Army soldiers, 200 policemen and about 30 customs officials under him. The strategically important features were Daman Fort and the Air Control Tower of the Daman Airport.

The Portuguese Army garrison included two companies of caçadores (light infantry) and a battery of artillery, but these were armed with insufficient and old ammunition. The Portuguese also placed a 20 mm anti-aircraft gun ten days before the invasion to protect the artillery. Daman had been secured with small minefields and defensive shelters had been built.

The advance on the enclave of Daman was conducted by the 1st Maratha Light Infantry under the command of Lt-Col SJS Bhonsle in a pre dawn operation on 18 December. The plan was to capture Daman piecemeal in four phases, to start with the area of the airfield, then progressively to area garden, Nani Daman and finally Moti Daman to include the fort.

The advance commenced at 04:00 when one battalion and three companies of Indian soldiers progressed through the central area of the northern territory, aiming to seize the airfield. However, the surprise was lost when the Indian A Company tried to capture the Air Control Tower and the Indian battalion suffered three casualties. The Portuguese lost one soldier dead and six taken captive. The Indian D Company captured a position named "Point 365" just before the next morning. At the crack of dawn, two sorties by Indian Air Force Mystere fighters struck Portuguese mortar positions and guns inside Moti Daman Fort.

At 04:30, the Indian artillery commenced the bombardment of Damão Grande. The artillery attack, coupled with difficulties in transportation, isolated the Portuguese command post in Damão Grande from the forces in Damão Pequeno. At 07:30, a Portuguese unit stationed at the fortress of São Jerónimo opened mortar fire on Indian forces attempting to capture the airstrip.

At 11:30, Portuguese forces resisting an Indian advance on the eastern border at Varacunda ran out of ammunition and withdrew westwards to Catra. At 12:00, to delay the Indian advance following the withdrawal from Varacunda, the Portuguese artillery battery on the banks of the Rio Sandalcalo is ordered to open fire. The commander of the battery, Captain Felgueiras de Sousa, instead dismantled the guns and surrendered to the Indians. By 12:00, the airfield was assaulted by the Indian A and C companies simultaneously. In the ensuing exchange of fire the A Company lost one more soldier killed while seven were wounded.

By 13:00, the remaining Portuguese forces on the eastern border at Calicachigão-A exhausted their ammunition and retreated towards the coast. By 17:00, in the absence of any resistance, the Indians had managed to occupy most of the territory, with the exception of the airfield and Damão Pequeno, where the Portuguese were making their last stand. By this time, the Indian Air Force had conducted as many as six air attacks, severely demoralising the Portuguese forces. At 20:00, after a meeting between the Portuguese commanders, a delegation was dispatched to the Indian lines in order to open negotiations, but was fired upon, and was forced to withdraw. A similar attempt by the artillery to surrender at 08:00 of the next day was also fired on.

The Indians assaulted the airfield the next morning, upon which the Portuguese surrendered at 11:00 without a fight. The Portuguese garrison commander Major António José da Costa - although wounded - was stretchered to the airfield, as the Indians were only willing to accept a surrender from him. Approximately 600 Portuguese soldiers (including 24 officers) were taken prisoner. The Indians suffered 4 dead and 14 wounded, while the Portuguese suffered 10 dead and two wounded. The 1st Light Maratha Infantry was decorated for the battle with one VSM for the CO, two Sena Medals and five Mentioned in Dispatches.

The Daman air raids

In the Daman sector, Indian Mysteres flew 14 sorties, continuously harassing Portuguese artillery positions.

Naval Action at Daman

Like the Vega in Diu, the patrol boat Antares at Daman under the command of 2nd Lt. Abreu Brito was ordered to sail out and fight the imminent Indian invasion. The boat stayed in position from 0700 on 18 December and remained a mute witness to repeated air strikes followed by ground invasion until 1920 when it lost all communications with land.

With all information pointing to total occupation of all Portuguese enclaves in India, Lt. Brito attempted to save his crew and boat by escaping to Karachi in Pakistan. The boat traversed 530 miles (850 km), escaping detection by Indian forces to arrive at Karachi at 2000 on 20 December.

The military actions in Diu

The ground attack on Diu

Diu is a 13.8 km by 4.6 km Island (area about 40 km²) located at the southern tip of Gujarat. The island is separated from the mainland by a narrow channel running though a swamp. The channel could only be used by fishing boats and small craft. No bridges existed to cross the channels at the time of hostilities.

Diu was attacked on 18 December from the north west along Kob Forte by two companies of the 20th Rajput - with the capture of the Diu Airfield being the primary objective - and from the northeast along Gogal and Amdepur by the Rajput B Company and the 4 Madras.

These Indian army units ignored requests from Wg Cdr MPO (Micky) Blake, planning-in-charge of the Indian Air Force operations in Diu, to attack only on first light when close air support would be available. The Portuguese defences repulsed the attack backed by 87.6mm artillery and mortars, inflicting heavy losses on the Indians. The first attack was made by the 4 Madras on a police border post at 01:30 on 18 December at Gogol and was repulsed by 13 Portuguese police officers. Another attempt by the 4 Madras at 02:00 was again repulsed, this time backed with Portuguese 87.5mm artillery and mortar which suffered due to poor quality of munitions. By 04:00, ten of the original 13 Portuguese defenders at Gogol had been wounded and were evacuated to a hospital. At 05:30, the Portuguese artillery launched a fresh attack on the 4 Madras assaulting Gogol and forced their retreat.

Meanwhile, at 03:00, two companies of the 20th Rajput attempted to cross a muddy swamp separating them from the Portuguese forces at Passo Covo under cover of dark on rafts made of bamboo cots tied to oil barrels. The attempt was to establish a bridgehead and capture the airfield.

This attack was repulsed with fairly heavy losses by a well entrenched unit of between 125 and 130 Portuguese soldiers armed with small automatic weapons and sten guns as well as light and medium machine guns. According to Portuguese sources, this post was defended by only eight soldiers.

As the Rajputs reached the middle of the creek, the Portuguese on Diu opened fire with two medium and two light machine-guns, capsizing some of the rafts. Major Mal Singh of the Indian army along with five men pressed on his advance and crossed the creek. On reaching the far bank, he and his men assaulted the LMG trenches at Fort-De-Cova and silenced them. The Portuguese MMG fire from another position wounded the officer and two of his men. However, with the efforts of company Havildar Major Mohan Singh and two other men, the three wounded were evacuated back across the creek to safety. As dawn approached, the Portuguese increased the intensity of fire and the battalion’s water crossing equipment suffered extensive damage. As a result, the Indian battalion was ordered to fall back to Kob village by first light.

Another assault at 05:00 was similarly repulsed by the Portuguese defenders. At 06:30, Portuguese forces retrieved rafts abandoned by the 20th Rajput, recovered ammunition left behind and rescued a wounded Indian soldier who was given treatment.

At 07:00, with the onset of dawn, Indian air strikes commenced, forcing the Portuguese to retreat from Passo Covo to the town of Malala. By 09:00 the Portuguese unit at Gogol also retreated allowing the Rajput B Company (who replaced the 4 Madras) to advance under heavy artillery fire and occupy the town. By 10:15, the Indian cruiser the INS Delhi, anchored off Diu, commenced the bombardment of targets on the shore. At 12:45, Indian jets fire a rocket at a mortar at Diu Fortress causing a fire in close proximity to a munitions dump, forcing the Portuguese to order the evacuation of the fortress - a task completed by 14:15 under heavy bombardment from the Indians.

At 18:00, the Portuguese commanders agreed in a meeting that, in view of repeated air strikes and the inability to establish contact with headquarters in Goa or Lisbon, there was no way to pursue an effective defence and decided to surrender to the Indians. On 19 December, by 12:00, the Portuguese formally surrendered. The Indians took 403 prisoners, which included the Governor of the island along with 18 officers and 43 sergeants.

In surrendering to the Indians, the Diu Governor stated that he could have kept the Army out for a few weeks but he had no answer to the Air Force. The Indian Air Force was also present at the ceremony and was represented by Gp Capt Godkhindi, Wing Cmdr Micky Blake and Sqn Ldr Nobby Clarke. 7 Portuguese soldiers were killed in the battle.

Major Mal Singh and Sepoy Hakam Singh of the Indian army were awarded Ashok Chakra (Class III).

On 19 December, the 4th Madras C Company landed on the island of Panikot off Diu, where a group of 13 Portuguese soldiers surrendered to them there.

The Diu air raids

A retired "Black Archers" Toofani (MD450 Ouragan) on display at the Indian Air Force Museum, Palam, New Delhi. These formed the backbone of the air strikes on Diu.

The Indian air operations in the Diu Sector were entrusted to the Armaments Training Wing led by Wg Cdr Micky Blake. The first air attacks were made at dawn on 18 December and were aimed at destroying Diu's fortifications facing the mainland. Throughout the rest of the day, the Air Force had at least two aircraft in the air at any time, giving close support to advancing Indian infantry. During the morning, the air force attacked and destroyed Diu Airfield's ATC as well as parts of Diu Fort. On orders from Tactical Air Command located at Pune, a sortie of two Toofanis attacked and destroyed the airfield runway with 4 1000 lb Mk 9 bombs. A second sortie aimed at the runway and piloted by Wg Cdr Blake himself was aborted when Blake detected what he reported as people waving white flags. In subsequent sorties, the Indian Air Force attacked and destroyed the Portuguese ammunition dump as well a patrol boat that attempted to escape from Diu.

In the absence of any Portuguese air presence, Portuguese ground based anti-aircraft units attempted to offer resistance to the Indian raids, but were overwhelmed and quickly silenced, leaving complete air superiority to the Indians. Continued air attacks forced the Portuguese governor of Diu to surrender.

Naval action at Diu

The Indian naval cruiser INS Delhi was anchored off the coast of Diu and offered a barrage of from its 6-inch guns at the Diu Fortress where the Portuguese were holed up. The Commanding Officer of the Indian Air Force operating in the area reported that some of the shells fired from the New Delhi were bouncing off the beach and exploding on the Indian mainland. However, no casualties were reported from this.

At 04:00 on 18 December, the Portuguese patrol boat Vega encountered the New Delhi around 12 miles (19 km) off the coast of Diu, and was attacked with heavy machine gun fire. Staying out of range, the boat had no casualties and minimal damage, the boat withdrew to the port at Diu.

At 07:00, news was received that the Indian invasion had commenced, and the commander of the Vega, 2nd Lt Oliveira e Carmo was ordered to sail out and fight until the last round of ammunition. At 07:30 the crew of the Vega spotted two Indian aircraft on patrol missions and opened fire on them with the ship's 20 mm Oerlikon gun. In retaliation the Indian aircraft attacked the Vega twice, killing the captain and the gunner and forcing the rest of the crew to abandon the boat and swim ashore, where they were taken prisoners of war.

Portuguese surrender

File:Surrender with locals.jpg

Lt Col Sucha Singh, CO 1 PARA, of India's Maroon Beret Parachute regiment accepts the surrender of Portuguese forces at a military camp in Bambolim.

Despite orders from Lisbon, Governor General Manuel António Vassalo e Silva took stock of the numerical superiority of the Indian troops, as well as the food and ammunition supplies available to his forces and took the decision to surrender. He later described his orders to destroy Goa as "um sacrifício inútil" (a useless sacrifice).

File:Vasco Da gama POW camp.jpg

The Indian Chief of Army Staff, Gen. Pran Thapar (far right) with deposed Governor General of Portuguese India Manuel António Vassalo e Silva (seated centre) at a POW facility in Vasco Da Gama, Goa

In a communication to all Portuguese forces under his command, he stated, "Having considered the defence of the Peninsula of Mormugão… from aerial, naval and ground fire of the enemy and … having considered the difference between the forces and the resources… the situation does not allow myself to proceed with the fight without great sacrifice of the lives of the inhabitants of Vasco da Gama, I have decided with … my patriotism well present, to get in touch with the enemy … I order all my forces to cease-fire."

The official Portuguese surrender was conducted in a formal ceremony held at 20:30 on 19 December when Governor General Manuel António Vassalo e Silva signed the instrument of surrender bringing to an end 451 years of Portuguese Rule in Goa. In all, 4668 personnel were taken prisoner by the Indians - a figure which included military and civilian personnel, Portuguese, Africans and Indians (Goans). This comprised 3412 prisoners in Goa, 853 in Daman and 403 in Diu.

Portuguese non-combatants present in Goa at the time of the surrender - which included Mrs Vasalo D'Silva, wife of the Portuguese Governor General of Goa - were transported by 29 December to Bombay from where they were repatriated to Portugal. Manuel Vassalo, however remained along with approximately 3300 Portuguese combatants as POWs in Goa.

Upon the surrender of the Portuguese governor general, Goa, Daman and Diu was declared a federally administered Union Territory placed directly under the President of India, and Major-General K. P. Candeth was appointed as its military governor. The war had lasted two days. India lost 34 killed and 51 wounded. Portugal lost 31 killed, 57 wounded, and 4668 captured.

Those Indian forces who served within the disputed territories for 48 hours, or flew at least one operational sortie during the conflict, received a General Service Medal 1947 with the Goa 1961 bar.

Portuguese actions post-hostilities

On 18 December, even as Indian forces were rolling into Goa, a special emergency session of the United Nations Security Council was convened at the request of the Portuguese government. At the meeting, called to consider the Indian invasion of Portuguese territories in Goa, Daman and Diu, Adlai Stevenson, the US representative to the UN, criticised the Indian military action. He then submitted a draft resolution that called for a ceasefire, a withdrawal of all Indian forces from Goa, and the resumption of negotiations. This resolution was co-sponsored by France, UK and Turkey, but failed after the Soviet Union, India’s long-time Cold War ally, exercised its veto.

The New York Times of 19 December 1961 reporting the Western response to the invasion of Goa stated: "Adlai E. Stevenson warned the Security Council early today that the United Nations was in danger of dying as the result of a Soviet veto killing a Western resolution to tend the Indian invasion of Goa. The resolution would have urged India to accept an immediate cease-fire and recall her invasion troops from Goa and two other Portuguese enclaves on the Indian coast. Moscow, however, hailed the invasion as a liberation drive and accused the United States of hypocrisy in its criticism of India's military moves. Observers believed the Russians were trying to fan resentment against NATO, to which both Portugal and the United States belong."

Canadian political scientist AR Bandeira has argued that the sacrifice of Goa was an elaborate public relations stunt calculated to rally support for Portugal's wars in Africa.

Upon receiving news of the fall of Goa, the Portuguese government formally severed all diplomatic links with India and refused to recognise the incorporation of the seized territories into the Indian Republic. An offer of Portuguese citizenship was instead made to all Goan natives who wished to emigrate to Portugal rather than remain under Indian rule. This was amended in 2006 to include only those who had been born before 19 December 1961. Later, in a show of defiance, Salazar's government offered a reward of US$10,000 for the capture of Brigadier Sagat Singh, the commander of the maroon berets of India’s parachute regiment who were the first troops to enter Panaji, Goa’s capital.

On receiving news of the fall of Portuguese India, Lisbon went virtually into mourning, and Christmas celebrations were extremely muted. The US embassy placed a curtain in front of its Christmas display in the ground-floor window of the U.S. Information Office. Cinemas and theatres shut down as tens of thousands of Portuguese marched in a silent parade from Lisbon's city hall to the cathedral, escorting the relics of St. Francis Xavier.

Portuguese Prime Minister Salazar, while addressing the National Assembly on 3 January 1962, invoked the principle of national sovereignty, as defined in the legal framework of the Constitution of the Estado Novo. "We can not negotiate, not without denying and betraying our own, the cession of national territory and the transfer of populations that inhabit them to foreign sovereigns," said Salazar.

Relations between India and Portugal thawed only in 1974, when, following an anti-colonial military coup d'état and the fall of the authoritarian rule in Lisbon, Goa was finally recognised as part of India, and steps were taken to re-establish diplomatic relations with India. In 1992, Portuguese President Mário Soares became the first Portuguese head of state to visit Goa after its annexation by India; following Indian President R. Venkataraman’s visit to Portugal in 1990.

Internment and repatriation of POWs

Following their surrender, the Portuguese soldiers were interned by the Indian Army at their own military camps at Navelim, Aguada, Pondá and Alparqueiros and were kept under harsh conditions which included sleeping on cement floors and hard manual labour. By January 1962, most POWs had been transferred to the newly established camp at Ponda where conditions were substantially better.

Air Marshal S Raghavendran, who met with some of the captured Portuguese soldiers, wrote in his memoirs several years later "I have never seen such a set of troops looking so miserable in my life. Short, not particularly well built and certainly very unsoldierlike." In one incident, recounted by Lt. Francisco Cabral Couto (now retired general), an attempt was made on 17 January, by some of the prisoners to escape the camp. The attempt was foiled, and the Portuguese officers in charge of the escapees were threatened with court martial and execution by the Indians. This situation was defused by the timely intervention of a Jesuit military chaplain. Following the foiled escape attempt, Capt. Carlos Azaredo (now retired general) was beaten with rifle butts by four Indian soldiers while a gun was pointed at him, on the orders of Captain Naik, the 2nd Camp Commander. The beating was in retaliation for Azaredo's telling Captain Naik to "Go to Hell" and was serious enough to make him lose consciousness and cause severe contusions. Captain Naik was later punished by the Indian Army for violating the Geneva Convention. During the internment of the Portuguese POWs at various camps around Goa, the prisoners were visited by large numbers of Goans - described by Capt. Azaredo as "Goan friends, acquaintances, or simply anonymous persons" - who offered the internees cigarettes, biscuits, tea, medicines and money. This surprised the Indian military authorities who first limited the visits to twice a week, and then only to representatives of the Red Cross.

The captivity lasted for six months "thanks to the stupid stubbornness of Lisbon" (according to Capt. Carlos Azeredo). The Portuguese Government insisted that the POWs be repatriated by Portuguese aircraft - a demand that was rejected by the Indian Government who instead insisted on aircraft from a neutral country. The negotiations were delayed even further when Salazar ordered the detention of 1200 Indians in Mozambique allegedly as a bargaining chip in exchange for Portuguese POWs. By May 1962, most of the POWs had been repatriated—being first flown to Karachi, in chartered French aircraft, and then sent off to Lisbon by three ships: Vera Cruz, Pátria and Moçambique. On arrival at Tejo in Portugal, returning Portuguese servicemen were taken into custody by military police at gunpoint and without immediate access to their families who had arrived to receive them. Following intense questioning and interrogations, the officers were charged with direct insubordination on having refused to comply with directives not to surrender to the Indians. On 22 March 1963, the governor general, the military commander, his chief of staff, one naval captain, six majors, a sub lieutenant and a sergeant were cashiered by the council of ministers for cowardice and expelled from military service. Four captains, four lieutenants and a lieutenant commander were suspended for six months.

Ex-governor Manuel António Vassalo e Silva was greeted with a hostile reception when he returned to Portugal. He was subsequently court martialed for failing to follow orders, expelled from the military and was sent into exile. He returned to Portugal only in 1974, after the fall of the regime, and was given back his military status. He was later able to conduct a state visit to Goa, where he was given a warm reception.

International reaction to the capture of Goa

"The casualties were minimum. I am in favour of all wars being like the war between India and Portugal – peaceful and quickly over!" - J. K. Galbraith, former US ambassador to India

United States of America

The United States' official reaction to the invasion of Goa was delivered by Adlai Stevenson in the UN Security Council, where he condemned the armed action of the Indian government and demanded that all Indian forces be unconditionally withdrawn from Goan soil.

To express its displeasure with the Indian action in Goa, the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee attempted, over the objections of President John F. Kennedy, to cut the 1962 foreign aid appropriation to India by 25 percent.

Referring to the perception, especially in the West, that India had previously been lecturing the world about the virtues of nonviolence, US President Kennedy told the Indian ambassador to the US, "You spend the last fifteen years preaching morality to us, and then you go ahead and act the way any normal country would behave.... People are saying, the preacher has been caught coming out of the brothel."

In an article titled "India, The Aggressor", The New York Times on 19 December 1961, stated "With his invasion of Goa Prime Minister Nehru has done irreparable damage to India's good name and to the principles of international morality."

Life International, in its issue dated 12 February 1962, carried an article titled "Symbolic pose by Goa's Governor" in which it expressed its vehement condemnation of the military action.

The world's initial outrage at pacifist India's resort to military violence for conquest has subsided into resigned disdain. And in Goa, a new Governor strikes a symbolic pose before portraits of men who had administered the prosperous Portuguese enclave for 451 years. He is K. P. Candeth, commanding India's 17th Infantry Division, and as the very model of a modern major general, he betrayed no sign that he is finding Goans less than happy about their "liberation". Goan girls refuse to dance with Indian officers. Goan shops have been stripped bare by luxury-hungry Indian soldiers, and Indian import restrictions prevent replacement. Even in India, doubts are heard. "India", said respected Chakravarti Rajagopalachari, leader of the Swatantra Party, "has totally lost the moral power to raise her voice against the use of military power"

— "Symbolic pose by Goa's Governor", Life International, 12 February 1962

Soviet Union

The head of state of the Soviet Union, Leonid Brezhnev, who was touring India at the time of the war, made several speeches applauding the Indian action. In a farewell message, he urged Indians to ignore Western indignation as it came "from those who are accustomed to strangle the peoples striving for independence... and from those who enrich themselves from colonialist plunder". Nikita Khrushchev, the de facto Soviet leader, telegraphed Nehru stating that there was "unanimous acclaim" from every Soviet citizen for "Friendly India". The USSR had earlier vetoed a UN security council resolution condemning the Indian invasion of Goa.

China

In an official statement, released long after the action in Goa, Peking stressed the support of the Chinese government for the struggle of the people of Asia, Africa and Latin America against "imperialist colonialism". China neither condemned nor applauded the invasion, despite Portuguese rule of Macau, as at the time, it was enjoying cordial relations with India, although the Sino-Indian War would begin only months later.

Pakistan

In a letter to the U.S. President on 2 January 1962, Pakistani President General Ayub Khan stated: "My Dear President, The forcible taking of Goa by India has demonstrated what we in Pakistan have never had any illusions about—that India would not hesitate to attack if it were in her interest to do so and if she felt that the other side was too weak to resist."

Africa

Before the invasion the press speculated about international reaction to military action and recalled the recent charge by African nations that India was "too soft" on Portugal and was thus "dampening the enthusiasm of freedom fighters in other countries". Many African nations - themselves former European colonies - reacted with delight to the capture of Goa by the Indians. Radio Ghana termed it as the "Liberation of Goa" and went on to state that the people of Ghana would "long for the day when our downtrodden brethren in Angola and other Portuguese territories in Africa are liberated." Adelino Gwambe, the leader of the Mozambique National Democratic Union stated: "We fully support the use of force against Portuguese butchers."

The Catholic Church

In December 1961, just days before the annexation of Goa by Indian troops, the Vatican appointed Dom José Pedro da Silva, a Portuguese priest as the auxiliary bishop of Goa, and granted him the right to succeed as the Patriarch of the Church in Goa. Although the Vatican did not voice its reaction to the annexation of Goa, it delayed the appointment of a native head of the Goan Church until the inauguration of the Second Vatican Council in Rome, when Msgr Francisco Xavier da Piedade Rebelo was consecrated Bishop and Vicar Apostolic of Goa in 1963. Simultaneously, the Church in Goa was placed under the patronage of the Cardinal of India and its links with the Church in Portugal were severed.

Cultural Depiction

Saat Hindustani (1969), the debut film of Amitabh Bachchan with an ensemble cast, was about Operation Vijay. It won the 1970 Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration, and the Lyric-Writer of the Best Film Song on National Integration Award for Kaifi Azmi. Trikal, a film by Shyam Benegal also has a storyline on the backdrop of 1960s Goa.

See also

• History of Goa
• Portuguese Conquest of Goa (1510)
• Goa Inquisition
• Cuncolim Revolt
• Portuguese India
• Goa liberation movement
• Portuguese Indian rupia
• Portuguese Indian escudo
• NRP Afonso de Albuquerque

References

Citations

Bibliography

• Rotter, Andrew Jon (2000). Comrades at Odds: The United States and India, 1947-1964. Cornell University Press. ISBN 0-8014-8460-X. 
• Couto, Francisco Cabral. Remembering the Fall of Portuguese India in 1961. ISBN 972-8799-53-5.  (Partial online version at GoaBooks2)

External links

• Time Magazine Coverage of the conflict
• Photo gallery of the Liberation of Goa
• File: Ram Manohar Lohia
• File: The Protests of 18 June 1946
• File: Foreign journalists rescue a protestor shot by Portuguese police officers
• Portugal-India relations (Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India)