2016-12-19 Mon

The Portuguese rule in India started after Vasco Da Gama’s discovery of Goa. Since 1510 AD Portugal ruled few parts of India including Goa, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu.

Later the name "Estado Da India" or “State of India" was adopted and included all Portuguese territories in the Indian Ocean from Southern Africa to South – East Asia governed by a Viceroy or Governor from Goa since 1510.

Seven years after India gained Independence from the British, Dadra & Nagar Haveli became independent in 1954. However, Goa, Daman & Diu were liberated by Indian government almost two decades after the Independence of India

On the other hand, Azad revolutionary groups were formed which vowed to fight the Portuguese using direct action strategies which were brutally suppressed. Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru along with Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel launched a campaign through the UN in an attempt to persuade the Portuguese to leave India peacefully.

After the failure of diplomacy with the Portuguese, Nehru ordered the Indian Armed Forces to take Goa by force. In a military operation conducted on 18 and 19 December 1961, Indian troops captured Goa with little resistance. The governor-general of Portuguese India signed an instrument of surrender.

Goa became a part of Indian Union in 1962. Since May 1987, Goa became the 25th State of India while Daman & Diu are administered as Union Territories.

In the memory of the martyrs of Goa, India post issued a Rs. 5.00 commemorative postage stamp. Issued to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of Goa Liberation movement, the stamp depicts the Fort Aguada Lighthouse which is a 16th century Portuguese-built Lighthouse in the background with the “Satyagrahis” holding the “Indian Tricolour”.