Invasion of Goa - 1961

[Gauntlet]

I'd like detailed information on this event. I searched the web and I can't find any credible source on what happened and why it happened. So help?

[STIG]

This might help.

OPERATION VIJAY

© Stories of Heroism, Dr. B.C. Chakravorty, edited by Dr. U.P. Thapliyal, Government of India, Ministry of Defence, History Division.

The Portuguese refusal to transfer her Indian settlements of Goa, Daman, Diu and Anjidiv Islands to the Indian Republic, led to Operation Vijay in 1961. They had ruthlessly suppressed a peaceful Satyagraha launched to liberate these territories in 1955. In 1961, they even fired on some Indian coastal steamers and fishing boats near Anjidiv Island. India, therefore, decided to use force to liberate the Portuguese pockets on her soil.
Goa Operations
On 11 December 1961, 17 Inf Div and attached troops were ordered to advance into Goa to capture Panjim and Marmagao. The main thrust on Panjim was to be made by 50 Ind Para Bde Group from the north. Another thrust was to be carried by 63 Inf. Bde from the east. A deceptive thrust, in company strength, was to be made from the south along the Majali-Canacona-Margao axis.
The Eastern Thrust
On December 18th, the 50 Para Bde Group moved into Goa in three columns. The western column (the 2 Sikh LI Group) marched on the Dodamarg-Tivim-Betim-Panjim axis, the central column (1 Para Punjab) on the Benastarim-Panjim axis and the eastern column (2 Para Maratha) on the Dodamarg-Usgao-Ponda axis. The first 2 competed in the race for Panjim. The western column led by armour moved out at 0630 hrs. The armour reached Betim shortly after 1700 hrs without encountering any opposition. The 2 Sikh LI joined it by 2100 hrs, crossing over mines and demolished bridges en-route. Panjim now lay only 549 metres away. But in the absence of orders from above, the unit stayed at Betim for the night. The same night Major Sidhu of the 7 Cavalry was killed when Portuguese guards fired on an unsuspecting Indian rescue party at Aguada Fort.
On December 19th, the 2nd Sikh LI received permission to cross over to Panjim and the two rifle companies landed there at 0735 hrs. The race to Panjim was won. The central column of 1 Para Punjab crossed the border at 0600 hrs. Up to Bicholim it moved as the eastern column but from there it turned on the Banastarim-Panjim axis. It reached Banastarim at 1730 hrs but was held up there on account of the broken bridge. On December 18th, the water obstacle was negotiated and the column reached Panjim by 0830 hrs, 55 minutes after the Sikhs. The eastern most column (2 Para Maratha) moved on the northern route on the Sanquelim-Usgao-Ponda axis. It reached Ponda at 1345 hours and brought order to the town. The eastern column conducted patrolling in the Ponda-Banastarim sector and established contact with the rear elements of 1 Para on December 19th.
The Northern Thrust
The 63 Indian Inf. Bde. moved into Goa from Anmond in two columns. The right column (2 Bihar) moved through a track whereas the left column (3 Sikh) moved down the existing road. Both columns linked up at Mollem and then moved on to Ponda taking separate routes. 3 Sikh could not go beyond Darbandora on December 18th. 2 Bihar went further to settle at Candeapar for the night. Meanwhile the 4 Sikh, the rear battalion, reached Candeapar river crossing at midnight. At 0600 hrs on December 19th, 4 Sikh crossed Candeapar by wading through chest high water and by mid-day rolled into Margao. It then marched on to Dabolim through Verna where a number of Portuguese surrendered at 1530 hrs. Finally it moved to Vasco Da Gama where the Portuguese formally surrendered at 2030 hrs. With the 4 Sikh in the lead, 2 Bihar also pressed on in the direction of Margao. But finding the Sikhs well set on the outskirts of the town it advanced on Verna. The enemy stronghold was attacked on both flanks and their resistance collapsed.
The swift action of 2 Bihar at Verna enabled the 4 Sikh to press on to Dabolim and Marmagao unhindered. The 3 Sikh was put on reserve on December 19th. From here it marched on to Margao and beyond in two columns. Some 400 Portuguese soldiers surrendered before it on December 20th. A diversionary move was made from south along the Majali-Canacon-Margao axis, in company (4 Rajput) strength. It was meant to mislead the Portuguese about the direction of the main Indian thrust. The southern column marched up to Margao overcoming road blocks, mines & broken bridges and helped in restoring order there. The 17 Division ended more than four centuries of Portuguese rule over Goa in just 40 hours. The IAF also played a useful role as its Canberra aircraft, twice bombed the Dabolim airfield whereas Hunters bombed Bombolim Wireless Station.
Daman Operations
Operations in Daman were conducted by the 1 Maratha LI. It launched an attack on Nani Daman from the north after neutralising the Flying Control Tower and Post-175 in a pre-dawn sweep. By 1700 hrs, the two companies had reached the Garden area south of the airfield. The battalion settled in this area for the night. At 1100 hrs on December 19th, the Portuguese made a surrender in Daman without giving any fight. In this push forward, artillery and air support played an effective role. The Army captured 600 soldiers and some guns & mortars in Daman. The Army suffered 1 JCO and 3 ORs killed and 1 JCO and 13 ORs wounded in the Daman operations. Portuguese suffered 10 killed and 2 wounded.
Diu Operations
Diu was the smallest Portuguese possession in India. A two-pronged attack was made on Diu-one from the north-west and the other from the north-east. The north-western thrust on Kob-Forte-Do Passo-De Covo axis was made by two companies of 20 Rajput, to establish a bridge-head and to capture the airfield. But the Rajput effort was frustrated by the well sited MMG and LMG fire across the creek. The Rajputs (B Coy) where, however, successful in their thrust on the Ahmdepur-Gogal axis. They replaced the 4 Madras and successfully attacked Gogla at 1600 hours. The enemy resistance was overcome with heavy pounding of guns. Portuguese garrison showed a white flag and surrendered. In Diu operations the IAF gave very useful support to the Rajputs. Toofani aircraft gave much needed support by bombarding the citadel and the control tower at the airfield on December 18th. On December 19th, the 4 Madras (C Coy) occupied the Island of Panikota and captured 13 Portuguese soldiers.
Anjidiv Island
Anjidiv lies to the south of Goa. The task of capturing this Island was entrusted to the INS Mysore and the INS Trishul. While the INS Mysore was to provide covering fire, the INS Trishul was to land a party on the Island. The assault party called 'Rustum' landed there successfully at 0715 hrs on December 18th. Another party followed at 0746 hrs. At this stage, the Portuguese hoisted a white flag near beach Lima. But this was a deceptive move and the Portuguese soon started firing on the second Indian party nearing the beach. The Army suffered some casualties in this treacherous attack. INS Trishul and the INS Mysore thoroughly shelled the enemy strong points to break the resistance. As a result of this pressure, many Portuguese surrendered on December 18th. More prisoners were taken over on December 19th. At 1425 hrs on December 19th, the Indian Flag was hoisted at Anjidiv.

source

[Gauntlet]

Thank you Stig!

[rajkhalsa]

Some photographs from the Liberation of Goa, from the same source:

Army troops marching in Goa to face the Portuguese Army.

Goans celebrating with the Indian Army in Panjim, Goa.

The solemn ceremony of the Portuguese surrender in Panjim, Goa.

Lieutenant Colonel Sucha Singh, accepts the surrender of Portuguese troops at Panjim, Goa.

Lieutenant General (later General and Chief of Army Staff) J.N. Chaudhuri enters Panjim on 19 December 1961.

General Pran Nath Thapar (sitting far right), Chief of Army Staff, with the Portuguese Governor General at a POW camp in Panjim, Goa.

Press clipping of Satyagrahis marching for Goa's freedom. Goans followed Gandhi's method and used Satyagraha (non-violent resistance) to win freedom, but were violently delt with by the colonial Portuguese government

[Source]

[Lancero]

40 000 vs. 2 000 poor armed. No great military story there

[lankan_tiger]

Originally Posted by Lancero

40 000 vs. 2 000 poor armed. No great military story there

Noo need to show hates

[Lancero]

No hate. Portuguese fascist government back then shuld have given Goa, Daman and Diu long before things arrived at Operation Vijay. Only smart one were the portuguese and indian military. Portuguese military stoped resistance after they became aware that it would be suicidal to keep resisting (Salazar ordered them to be "victorious or dead"). Indian military did their best to avoid a blood shed and portuguese POW were treated with great dignity.
But goans lived well back then (as they live since then with India rule). They are still waiting the referendum on autonomy or independence promised by India in 1961 tought.

[lankan_tiger]

Originally Posted by Lancero

No hate. Portuguese fascist government back then shuld have given Goa, Daman and Diu long before things arrived at Operation Vijay. Only smart one were the portuguese and indian military. Portuguese military stoped resistance after they became aware that it would be suicidal to keep resisting (Salazar ordered them to be "victorious or dead"). Indian military did their best to avoid a blood shed and portuguese POW were treated with great dignity.
But goans lived well back then (as they live since then with India rule). They are still waiting the referendum on autonomy or independence promised by India in 1961 tought.

why do you think india should make goa a seprate country ??

[koolkat]

Nobody is waiting for a referendum in Goa.

[Lancero]

Originally Posted by lankan_tiger

why do you think india should make goa a seprate country ??

I Don't

Originally Posted by koolkat

Nobody is waiting for a referendum in Goa.

http://www.freegoa.com/ - It's worth what it's worth, probably nothing.

[rajkhalsa]

Freegoa is from the same webdesigners as Dalitstan.org and a number of anti-Indian and anti-Hindu sites.

They were disclosed in US Congress white papers to be websites created by Islamic terror group Lashkar e Taiba, a founding member group of Al Queda. Apparently, not only do they serve as poor propaganda pieces trying to back up Pakistan's claim of 'a hundred revolutions in India', but they also have been used to send messages to Al Queda cells in Europe and America.


As someone who's been to Goa, I have to say Goanese are more patriotic than the average Indian, perhaps even hyper patriotic. Perhaps because the legacy of colonial rule is so recent there. The Indian army went in only after the Goanese themselves launched a popular a Gandhist non-violent mass resistance movement that was crushed by the then Portuguese government. In many cases, the people themselves disarmed the colonial police before Indian troops reached.

But that website blatantly (of course) lies. India never promised a referrendum in Goa, and no Goanese group or people, outside the fantasy mind of that propagandist, ever even asked for referrendum. It's as incongruous a matter as Wyoming asking for a referrendum


But you are right, it was no major military story. After the carnation revolutions that toppled Facist Portugal, India and Portugal enjoy good relations, and a shared history.

[Straker]

Not trying to start a flame war but what was the historical background of the Portuguese colonies? Were they possessions or on some kind of loan basis like Hong Kong and if not why were they not given up during partition (i.e. did they not think now the Brits are getting out should we not go as well)? Did India have a legal basis for taking them as in Portugal said they were leaving and didn't? Just curious I knew the places were former colonies but didn't know they were taken back by force.

[Ordie]

The Portugese wanted complete control of the spice trade between the Indies and Europe by-passing the Ottomans.

They set up colonies along the route via the Cape of Good Hope into the Indian Ocean. There were colonies and trading outposts in Oman, Bahrain, Maldives, several enclaves in India, Mulacca, East Timor, Macao, and in Japan.

When Brazil was colonized and other Eurpoean powers (Britain and Holland) started to enter into Asia, much of the Portugese importance in Asia subsided. Britian and Portugal have an historic alliance and did not challenge each other, however the Dutch were much more aggressive taking away Mulacca.

At the time when Goa was taken over by the Indians, Portugal was one of the poorest and most politically repressed nation in Europe. When the Red Guards took over Macao during the Cultural Revolution, the Portugese wanted to leave. Zhou Enlai and Mao decided it want not time yet. Macao was not considered a colony per se but "Chinese territory under Portugese Administration".

[Lancero]

Originally Posted by rajkhalsa

Freegoa is from the same webdesigners as Dalitstan.org and a number of anti-Indian and anti-Hindu sites.
They were disclosed in US Congress white papers to be websites created by Islamic terror group Lashkar e Taiba, a founding member group of Al Queda.

I wasn't aware of that. Thanks for bringing it up!

Originally Posted by rajkhalsa

As someone who's been to Goa, I have to say Goanese are more patriotic than the average Indian, perhaps even hyper patriotic. Perhaps because the legacy of colonial rule is so recent there. The Indian army went in only after the Goanese themselves launched a popular a Gandhist non-violent mass resistance movement that was crushed by the then Portuguese government. In many cases, the people themselves disarmed the colonial police before Indian troops reached.

Goanese are Indian but they are very proud of their portuguese heritage. Portuguese is still spoken in many homes.

The episode you are refering to occured in 1955, right after a number of portuguese forts were (peacefully) invaded by a number of satyagrahis(who i believe were Indian not Goanese) who raised the India flag. The 20 unharmed satyagrahis who were killed by portuguese troops were 'inocent' victims of a struggle between right-wing portuguese government and communism who was spreading fast in India - remember the communist-led riots that occured in India after the satyagrahis were shot?

My point is: Portuguese acted shamefuly for shooting unharmed protesters. But there was no wide public campaing in Goa, Daman and Diu against portuguese. Proof is the many hundreds of Goanese that visited and brought food to the portuguese POW in 1961 (eventought their european colonialist vs native relationship, wich really existed).
Let me just repeat myself: Goa, Daman and Diu should have been independent, at least from the time the french delivered their indian colonies.

Originally Posted by rajkhalsa

But you are right, it was no major military story. After the carnation revolutions that toppled Facist Portugal, India and Portugal enjoy good relations, and a shared history.

Right On!

Originally Posted by Straker

Were they possessions or on some kind of loan basis like Hong Kong and if not why were they not given up during partition ? Did India have a legal basis for taking them as in Portugal said they were leaving and didn't?

They were colonies until India made a claim for them and instituted a blockade against Goa, Daman and Diu, in an effort to force the Portuguese to leave. The portuguese government then made a constitutional change and made them a province of portuguese mainland. The point was to take away from India any legitimate legal basis in the claim that the territories were colonies.
Salazar was very stubborn and never addmited leaving Goa. He made a desperat effort in the UN and the Internation Court of Justice to back Portugal claims.

[Ordie]

I understand that surrounding state of Gujarat is completely `dry' (No booze). And that Daman and Diu's autonomus nature allows it to become a booze haven lined up with bars, clubs, and liquior stores.

I guess Daman and Diu could become the next Las Vegas or Macau to cater the new Indian Yuppies.