Now Reading: Goa Joined India After 36-Hour Operation Vijay in 1961
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Goa Joined India After 36-Hour Operation Vijay in 1961
Goa was not part of British India and remained under Portuguese rule when India became independent in 1947. Portugal had established control there in 1510. After years of failed diplomacy and a…
The Story in Brief
Goa was not part of British India and remained under Portuguese rule when India became independent in 1947. Portugal had established control there in 1510. After years of failed diplomacy and a local freedom movement, India launched Operation Vijay on December 17-18, 1961. The Army, Navy and Air Force advanced into Goa, Daman and Diu, and Portuguese Governor General Manuel António Vassalo e Silva signed the surrender instrument on December 19. The campaign lasted about 36 hours and ended more than four centuries of Portuguese rule. Goa became a Union Territory before attaining full statehood on May 30, 1987.
The Indian Opinion
The lazy version of this history presents Goa’s integration as solely a military conquest, while another exaggerates diplomacy as the only force at work. Both miss the local satyagrahas, underground resistance and years of failed negotiations before Operation Vijay. The operation also caused casualties among Indian personnel, a detail often omitted in celebratory retellings. December 19 remains the sharper date for liberation, while May 30, 1987 marks statehood. Any account should keep those two milestones separate.
Sources (2): timesnownews.com, businesstoday.in
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.
