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The abolition of the Portuguese monarchy in 1910 raised hopes that the colonies would be granted self-determination. However this proposal was withheld and this led to the emergence of a concrete freedom movement.[5] Lus de Menezes Bragana founded the first Portuguese language newspaper in Goa, the O Heraldo which was critical of Portuguese colonial rule.[6] In 1917, the "Carta Organica" law was passed under which all civil liberties were curtailed. The Portuguese government in Goa practiced fascist repression of civil liberties which included press censorship. Any printed word - even invitation cards - had to be submitted for precensorship. If any newspaper disobeyed this order, the Governor was empowered without any reference to the judiciary, to suspend the newspaper, close down the printing press and impose heavy fines. Newspapers and periodicals were permitted to function only as publicity for the government.[7] Menezes Braganza organized a rally in Margao denouncing the law. For some time, the Goans received the same rights as mainland Portuguese.[8] The Portuguese Patriarch of the Catholic Church in Goa issued approximately 60 official letters addressed to the priests of the Archdiocese instructing them to preach to their congregations that salvation lay with the Portuguese and in dissociating themselves from cultural-political relationship with the rest of India.[9]
1920 - 1940
In 1928, T.B. Cunha founded the Goa National Congress. At the Calcutta session of the Indian National Congress the Goa Congress Committee received recognition and representation in the All-India Congress Committee.[10] In May 1930, Portugal passed the "Acto Colonial" (Colonial Act) which restricted political rallies and meetings. Goa was again relegated to the status of a colony. Compulsory conscription was introduced in Portuguese India. This added to the resentment in Goa.[8][10] The Portuguese Government pressured the Indian National Congress to disaffiliate the National Congress (Goa). The Goans in Bombay city formed the Provisional Goa Congress in 1938.[10]
1940s
By the 1940s, the movement had gained steam, taking cue from the Indian independence movement which had entered its crucial phase. In 1946, the British announced their intention to grant India independence. This boosted the efforts of the counterparts in Goa. With Independence finally in sight, Indian leaders also turned their attention to the freedom movements in Portuguese India and French India. T.B. Cunha was arrested in 1946. A.G. Tendulkar became the president of the Goa Congress and organized a meeting in Londa (outside Goa).[10] On 18 May 1946 Ram Manohar Lohia held a demonstration in Margao, despite being threatened at gunpoint. He was arrested and this motivated the people to hold large-scale protests. About 1500 people were arrested and incarcerated.[5] Goan leaders like T.B. Cunha, Purushottam Kakodkar and Laxmikant Bhembre were deported to Portugal.[8] From October to November 1946, a series of Satyagrahas were held in Goa. Many of the leaders were arrested and the movement died down. The Goa Congress began operating from Bombay[6] This period also saw the creation of new political parties, each having a different agenda about where the allegiance of the people of Goa lay. While one party called for Goa's merger with Maharashtra post liberation, another harked back to its links with the South. Other supported an independent Goa and one group pursued the idea of autonomy within Portuguese rule.[10]
Sensing that the various identifications would harm the cause of Goa's freedom Gandhiji suggested that all should unite for the cause of civil liberties. Responding to this call, in June 1947 all Goan political parties met in Bombay and requested the Portuguese government to Quit India. The Goan leadership felt that with Britain on its way out of India, the Portuguese would soon follow. However on 3 August, Lohia said that Goa's freedom would not coincide with India's and that the Goans would have to continue their struggle, not just for civil liberties but for freedom itself.[10] The failure to see Goa liberated along with India and the mixed signals from the new leadership in New Delhi; along with harsh repression by the Portuguese led to a temporary lull in the movement. The partition of India and the war between India and Pakistan forced the Indian leadership to turn attention away from Portuguese and French colonies.[10] During this time, a separate demand for independence was being raised by Dr. Froilano de Mello, a prominent Goan microbiologist and MP in the Portuguese National Assembly. de Mello sought independence for Goa, Daman and Diu as a separate entity, but within the framework of a Portuguese Commonwealth, similar to the British Commonwealth.[11]
Revolutionary Groups
A revolutionary group called Azad Gomantak Dal was formed which vowed to fight the Portuguese by any means. They carried out raids on police stations and factories and ambushed patrols; attached troops stationed at the border and blew up ammunition dumps. In response the Portuguese increased their military presence by bringing in white and African troops[citation needed]. Another group was the Goa Liberation Army founded by Shivajirao Govindrao Desai.[5] [6]
was arrested for publicly protesting the Portuguese stand the Goa belonged to Portugal in perpetuity.[10] A year later another protest was organized on the same date, this time, including a large number of Indians from outside Goa. About 3000 protesters including women and children entered Goa through various points on the border. The security forces baton charged them or opened fire resulting in a few deaths and hundreds injured.[5] The Indian government did not react to the situation because Portugal was now part of NATO. NATO member nations had a pact to protect each other in case any of them was attacked. Although the treaty did not cover colonies, Portugal's stand that its overseas possessions were not colonies but an integral part of the Nation of Portugal itself. India had to act cautiously and diplomatically if it didn't want to run the risk of NATO forces being involved in Goa.[10] In 1954 the Goa Vimochan Sahayak Samiti (All-Party Goa Liberation Committee)was formed to continue the civil disobedience movement and provide financial and political help to the Satyagrahis. The Maharashtra and Gujarat chapters of the Praja Socialist Party assisted them with the intention that Goa would be merged into Maharashtra. These parties organized several satyagrahas in 1954-55.[10] The Portuguese government charged India with violation of it territorial sovereignty due to the Satyagrahas and appealed to various international powers; forcing Nehru to announce that India disapproved of the Satyagrahas.[10] This stopped the impact of the Satyagraha. A group of satyagrahis planned to cross the border at Terekhol fort , but very few of the expected 500-odd Satyagrahis turned up. The small band managed to seize the fort but the Portuguese recaptured it the next day. The freedom movement lost its momentum with the exception of small satyagrahas and the activities of the All-Goa Political Party Committee.[10] On June 18, 1954 , some Satyagrahis from India managed to infiltrate Goa and hoist the Indian flag there. The demonstrators and suspected sympathizers were arrested. Dr. Gaitonde and Shriyut Deshpande were deported to Portugal.[8]
Subsequent Events
Major General Candeth was appointed as the military Governor of Goa. In 1963 the Parliament of India passed the 12th Amendment Act to the Constitution of India, formally integrating the captured territories into the Indian Union.[5] Goa, Daman and Diu became a Union Territory. Dadra and Nagar Haveli which was previously a part of the Estado da India, but independent between 1954 and 1961, became a separate Union Territory. In October 1962 Panchayat elections were held in Goa followed by assembly elections in December 1962. On 16 January 1967 a referendum was held in which the people of Goa voted against merger with Maharashtra. Portugal recognized Goa's accession into the Indian union only in 1974. In 1987 Goa was separated from Daman and Diu and made a full fledged-state. Daman and Diu continued as a new Union Territory.[5]