Annexation of Goa: Difference between revisions

{{Short description|1961 Indian military operation}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2022}}

{{Use Indian English|date=October 2022}}

| date              = 17–19 December 1961<br />({{Age in years, months, weeks and days|month1=12|day1=17|year1=1961|month2=12|day2=19|year2=1961}})

| commander1        = {{ublist|class=nowrap |{{flagicon image|Flag of the President of India (1950–1971).svg}} [[Rajendra Prasad]]<br /><small>([[President of India]])</small>|{{flagicon image|Flag of India.svg}} [[Jawaharlal Nehru]]<br /><small>([[Prime Minister of India]])</small>|{{flagicon image|Flag of the Ministry of Defence of India.svg}} [[V. K. Krishna Menon]]<br /><small>([[Minister of Defence (India)|Minister of Defence]])</small>|{{flagicon image|Naval_Ensign_of_India_(1950–2001).svg}} [[Vice Admiral (India)|VAdm]] [[R. D. Katari]]<br /><small>([[Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee]] and <br>[[Chief of the Naval Staff (India)|Chief of the Naval Staff]])</small>|{{flagicon image|Flag of Indian Army.svg}} [[General (India)|Gen.]] [[Pran Nath Thapar|P. N. Thapar]]<br /><small>([[Chief of the Army Staff (India)|Chief of the Army Staff]])</small>|{{flagicon image|Air_Force_Ensign_of_India.svg}} [[Air Marshal (India)|AM]] [[Aspy Engineer|A. M. Engineer]]<br /><small>([[Chief of the Air Staff (India)|Chief of the Air Staff]])</small>|{{flagicon image|Flag_of_Indian_Lieutenant_Generals,_Army_Headquarters.svg}} [[Lieutenant General (India)|Lt. Gen.]] [[Jayanto Nath Chaudhuri|J. N. Chaudhuri]]<br /><small>(GOC-in-C, [[Southern Command (India)|Southern Command]])</small>|{{flagicon image|Rear_Admiral_of_the_Indian_Navy_rank_flag.svg}} [[Rear admiral (India)|Rear admiral]] [[Bhaskar Sadashiv Soman|B. S. Soman]]<br /><small>([[Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet|Flag Officer Commanding Indian Fleet]])</small>|{{flagicon image|Flag of Indian Air Vice Marshal 1950-1980.svg}} [[Air vice-marshal|AVM]] [[Erlic Pinto]]<br /><small>(AOC-in-C, [[Western Air Command|Operational Command]])</small>|{{flagicon image|Flag of Indian Army.svg}} [[Major general|Maj. Gen.]] [[K. P. Candeth]]<br/><small>(GOC, [[17th Infantry Division (India)|17th Infantry Division]]}}

| commander2        = {{ublist|class=nowrap |{{flagicon|Portugal}} [[Américo Tomás]] <br /><small>([[President of Portugal]])</small>|{{flagicon|Portugal}} [[António de Oliveira Salazar|António Salazar]] <br /><small>([[Prime Minister of Portugal]])</small>|{{flagicon|Portugal}}  [[Adriano Moreira]]<br /><small>(Minister of the Overseas Provinces)</small> |{{flagicon|Portugal}}  [[Manuel António Vassalo e Silva|M. A. Vassalo e Silva]]<br /><small>([[Governor-General#Portuguese|Governor-General]])</small>}}

| image            = IN-GDD.svg

| caption          = Location of the Union Territory of [[Daman and Diu]] and state of [[Goa]] in present-day [[India]]

The '''Annexation of Goa''' was the process in which the [[India|Republic of India]] annexed ''{{lang|pt|[[Estado da Índia]]}}'', the then [[Portuguese India]]n territories of [[Goa, Daman and Diu]], starting with the armed action carried out by the [[Indian Armed Forces]] in December 1961. In India, this action is referred to as the "'''Liberation of Goa'''". In [[Portugal]], it is referred to as the "'''Invasion of Goa'''". [[Jawaharlal Nehru]] had hoped that the popular movement in Goa and the pressure of world public opinion would force the Portuguese Goan authorities to grant it independence but since it did not have any effect, he decided to take it by force.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/the-liberation-of-goa/article22339624.ece|title = The liberation of Goa|newspaper = The Hindu|date = January 2018|last1 = Davar|first1 = Praveen}}</ref>

The "armed action" was code named '''Operation Vijay''' (meaning "Victory" in Sanskrit) by the Indian Armed Forces. It involved air, sea and land strikes for over 36 hours, and was a decisive victory for India, ending 451 years of rule by Portugal over its remaining [[Portuguese India|exclaves in India]]. The engagement lasted two days, and twenty-two Indians and thirty Portuguese were killed in the fighting.<ref name="Major K C Praval" /> 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 its national soil and citizens.

Following the end of Portuguese rule in 1961, Goa was placed under military administration headed by [[Kunhiraman Palat Candeth]] as lieutenant governor.<ref>{{Cite web |date=10 July 2003 |title=Obituary of Lt-Gen K. P. Candeth |website=[[Independent.co.uk]] |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/lt-gen-k-p-candeth-36784.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220507/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/lt-gen-k-p-candeth-36784.html |archive-date=7 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |access-date=29 January 2022}}{{cbignore}}</ref> On 8 June 1962, military rule was replaced by civilian government when the Lieutenant Governor nominated an informal [[Goa Legislative Assembly|Consultative Council]] of 29 nominated members to assist him in the administration of the territory.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://goaassembly.gov.in/goa-legislative-assembly-infrastructure_1.php |title=Infrastructure &#124; Goa Legislative Assembly |access-date=29 January 2018 |archive-date=11 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130111181918/http://goaassembly.gov.in/goa-legislative-assembly-infrastructure_1.php |url-status=dead }}</ref>

After India's independence from the [[British Empire]] in August 1947, Portugal continued to hold a handful of [[exclave]]s 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 {{convert|1540|sqmi|km2}} and held a population of 637,591.<ref>Numbers from 1955, thus excluding Dadra and Nagar-Haveli.  The bulk (547,448) was in Goa (composed of the districts of Old and New Goa, Bardez, Mormugão and Salsete, and the offshore island of Anjediva), the remainder in Dammam (69,005) and Diu (21,138).  See Kay (1970) ''Salazar and Modern Portugal'', New York: Hawthorn, p. 295.</ref>  The Goan [[diaspora]] was estimated at 175,000 (about 100,000 within the Indian Union, mainly in Bombay).<ref name="Kay">H. Kay (1970) ''Salazar and Modern Portugal'', New York: Hawthorn.</ref>  Religious distribution was 61% Hindu, 37% Christian (mostly Catholic) and 2% Muslim.<ref name="Kay" /> The economy was primarily based on agriculture, although the 1940s and 1950s saw a boom in mining—principally [[iron ore]] and some [[manganese]].<ref name="Kay" />

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. 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 including [[Rajendra Prasad]], [[Jawaharlal Nehru]] and [[Subhas Chandra Bose]]. On 12 October 1938, 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, [[Mumbai|Bombay]]. The Goa Congress was also made affiliate to the Indian National Congress and Cunha was selected as its first President.<ref name="Frank">Prof. Frank D'Souza, "Frankly Speaking, The Collected Writings of Prof. Frank D'Souza" Editor-in-chief Mgr. Benny Aguiar, published by the Prof. Frank D'Souza Memorial Committee, Bombay 1987. {{Cite web |title=Tristao de Braganza Cunha Saturday, September 26, 1998 |url=http://www.goacom.com/culture/biographies/tristao.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090923182300/http://www.goacom.com/culture/biographies/tristao.html |archive-date=23 September 2009 |access-date=2010-07-20}}</ref>

In June 1946, Ram Manohar Lohia, an Indian Socialist leader, entered Goa on a visit to his friend, [[Juliao Menezes]], a nationalist leader, who had founded the Gomantak Praja Mandal in Bombay and edited the weekly newspaper ''Gomantak''. Cunha and other leaders were also with him.<ref name="Frank" /> [[Ram Manohar Lohia]] advocated the use of non-violent [[Gandhism|Gandhian]] techniques to oppose the government.<ref name="goacom_lambert_m">[http://www.goacom.com/culture/history/history4.html Goa's Freedom Movement] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120214125132/http://www.goacom.com/culture/history/history4.html |date=14 February 2012 }} By: Lambert Mascarenhas</ref> On 18 June 1946, the Portuguese government disrupted a protest against the suspension of civil liberties in [[Panaji]] (then spelt 'Panjim') organised by Lohia, Cunha and others including Purushottam Kakodkar and Laxmikant Bhembre in defiance of a ban on public gatherings, and arrested them.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kamat Research Database – Goa's Freedom Struggle |url=http://www.kamat.com/database/content/goa_freedom/ |access-date=8 May 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=On Rammanohar Lohia's 99th Birth Anniversary |url=http://www.mainstreamweekly.net/article1247.html |access-date=8 May 2022}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=A Liberation From Lies By Prabhakar Sinari |url=http://www.countercurrents.org/comm-sinari061103.htm |access-date=9 November 2009 |publisher=Countercurrents.org}}</ref> The [[Government of India|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.<ref>Francisco Monteiro, Chronology of Freedom Struggle Activities Unleashed by the Indian Union Against the Territories of Goa, Damão and Diu [http://www.colaco.net/1/India-ter.htm] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923205346/http://www.colaco.net/1/India-ter.htm|date=23 September 2022}}</ref> A Portuguese army officer stationed with the army in Goa, Captain Carlos Azaredo, stated in 2001 in the Portuguese newspaper ''[[Expresso (newspaper)|Expresso]]'': "To the contrary to what is being said, the most evolved guerrilla 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 freedom fighters of Azad Gomantak Dal were not Goans. Many had fought in the [[British Army]], under [[Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein|General Montgomery]], against the [[Afrika Korps|Germans]]."<ref name="Azaredo">{{Cite news |last=Castanheira |first=José Pedro |date=8 December 2001 |title=Passagem para a Índia |language=pt |trans-title=Passage to India |work=Expresso |department=Revista |location=Paço d'Arcos |url=http://semanal.expresso.pt/revista/artigos/interior.asp?edicao=1519&id_artigo=ES44188 |access-date=20 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20011209004006/http://semanal.expresso.pt/revista/artigos/interior.asp?edicao=1519&id_artigo=ES44188 |archive-date=9 December 2001}}</ref>

On 27 February 1950, the Government of India asked the Portuguese government to open negotiations about the future of Portuguese colonies in India.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{Cite web |title=Operação Vijay 18 a 19/12/1961 |url=http://www.supergoa.com/pt/40anos/vijay.asp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080226040732/https://www.supergoa.com/pt/40anos/vijay.asp |archive-date=26 February 2008 |language=pt}}</ref> 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 because the Republic of India did not exist at the time when Goa came under Portuguese rule.<ref>Goa was first recognised as equal to the metropolis in the Royal Charter of 1518, and affirmed in subsequent legislation. The term 'province' was first used in 1576, and the term 'overseas provinces' used in virtually all legislation and constitutions thereafter, e.g. Art. 1–3 & Art. 162–64 of 1822 Constitution [http://www.arqnet.pt/portal/portugal/liberalismo/const822.html online], 1826 constitution [http://www.arqnet.pt/portal/portugal/liberalismo/carta826.html online], Art. I & Title X of the constitution of 1838 [http://www.arqnet.pt/portal/portugal/liberalismo/const838.html online], Title V of the Republican constitution of 1911 [http://www.arqnet.pt/portal/portugal/liberalismo/const911.html online] and the 1932 Constitution of the Estado Novo.</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Goa's Freedom Movement |url=http://www.goacom.com/culture/history/history4.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120214125132/http://www.goacom.com/culture/history/history4.html |archive-date=14 February 2012 |access-date=2012-03-14}} Lambert Mascarenhas, "Goa's Freedom Movement," excerpted from Henry Scholberg, Archana Ashok Kakodkar and Carmo Azevedo, Bibliography of Goa and the Portuguese in India New Delhi, Promilla (1982)</ref>

By 1954, the Republic of India instituted visa restrictions on travel from Goa to India which paralysed transport between Goa and other exclaves like Daman, Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli.<ref name="ReferenceA" /> In the same year, India instituted sanctions on Portugal with the aim of the annexation of Goa into India, the sanction would remain until 1961.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Hufbauer |first1=Gary Clyde |url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Economic_Sanctions_Reconsidered/g-uzlJDD7DwC?hl=en |title=Economic Sanctions Reconsidered |last2=Schott |first2=Jeffrey J. |last3=Elliott |first3=Kimberly |publisher=Peterson Institute for International Economics |year=2007 |location=Washington |pages=21 |isbn=978-0881325362 |language=en}}</ref> Meanwhile, the Indian Union of Dockers had, in 1954, instituted a boycott on shipping to Portuguese India.<ref>Sankar Ghose (1993) ''Jawaharlal Nehru: A biography''. Mumbai: Allied. p. 283</ref> Between 22 July and 2 August 1954, armed activists attacked and forced the surrender of Portuguese forces stationed in Dadra and Nagar Haveli.<ref>P.W. Prabhakar (2003) ''Wars, proxy-wars and terrorism: post independent India'' New Delhi: Mittal, p. 39</ref>

On 15 August 1955, 3000–5000 unarmed Indian activists<ref>Sankar Ghose (1993) ''Jawaharlal Nehru: A biography''. Mumbai: Allied. p. 282</ref> attempted to enter Goa at six locations and were violently repulsed by Portuguese police officers, resulting in the deaths of between 21<ref>"Indian Volunteers Invade Goa; 21 Die; Unarmed Indians March into Goa", ''New York Times'', 15 August 1955</ref> and 30<ref>Christophe Jaffrelot, The Hindu Nationalist Movement in India, Published by Columbia University Press, 1998</ref> people.<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=29 August 1955 |title=India: Force & Soul Force |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,823878,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081215050523/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,823878,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=15 December 2008 |access-date=8 May 2015 |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]}}</ref> The news of the incident built public opinion in India against the presence of the Portuguese in Goa.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lambert Mascarenhas |title=Ancient Goan History – GOACOM – Goa – India – Information and Services in Goa. Goa News, Goa Konkani News, Goa Sunaparant News, Goan Konakani News, Goa Video News, Goa Yellow Pages |url=http://www.goacom.com/culture/history/history4.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120214125132/http://www.goacom.com/culture/history/history4.html |archive-date=14 February 2012 |access-date=8 May 2022}}</ref> On 1 September 1955, India shut its consul office in Goa.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Francisco Monteiro – India supported banditry in Goa |url=http://www.colaco.net/1/India-ter.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923205346/http://www.colaco.net/1/India-ter.htm |archive-date=23 September 2015 |access-date=8 May 2015 |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

Prime Minister Salazar, alarmed by India's hinted threats at armed action against Portugal's presence in Goa, first asked the United Kingdom to mediate, then protested through [[Brazil]] and eventually asked the [[United Nations Security Council]] to intervene.<ref name="ComradesatOdds">{{harvp|Rotter|2000|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=uPx4vb99RUoC&pg=PA185 185]}}</ref> [[Mexico]] offered the Indian government its influence in Latin America to bring pressure on the Portuguese to relieve tensions.<ref>{{cite letter |publication-place=Washington, D.C. |date=8 December 1961 |department=[[Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs]] |publisher=[[United States Department of State]] |editor1-first=Phillips |editor1-last=Talbot |subject=1962. Re Delhi 1611 Dept, Lisbon 606 Dept. Assistant Secretary Talbot called in Ambassador Nehru to discuss Goa morning eighth. He said current situation re Goa has caused Portuguese Government to express deep concern to US. Within USG queries also have been coming to Talbot as to whether GOI would use force to settle issue (Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in India) |first1=Dean |last1=Rusk |author1-link=Dean Rusk |first2=Rogers B. |last2=Horgan |recipient=[[John Kenneth Galbraith]] |language=English |url=https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/ho/frus/kennedyjf/46453.htm |id=Department of State, Central Files, 753D.00/12 – 561 |access-date=29 August 2021 }}</ref> 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.<ref name=ComradesatOdds/> The US 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.<ref>US Department of State, Central Files, 753D.00/12 – 1161 [https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/ho/frus/kennedyjf/46453.htm] Document 68</ref><ref>US Department of State, Central Files, 753D.00/12 – 1261 [https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/ho/frus/kennedyjf/46453.htm] Document 69</ref>

On 24 November 1961, ''Sabarmati'', a passenger boat passing between the Indian port of [[Kochi]] and the Portuguese-held island of [[Anjadip Island|Anjidiv]], was fired upon by Portuguese ground troops, resulting in the death of a passenger and injuries to the [[chief engineer]]. The action was precipitated by Portuguese fears that the boat carried a military [[landing operation|landing party]] intent on storming the island.<ref name="autogenerated3">{{Cite book |last=Couto |first=Francisco Cabral |title=O fim do Estado Português da Índia 1961: um testemunho da invasão |date=2006 |publisher=[[Tribuna da História]] |isbn=978-9728799533 |editor-last=Pissarra |editor-first=José V. |location=Lisbon |pages=22–102 |trans-title=Remembering the Fall of Portuguese India in 1961}}</ref> The incidents lent themselves to fostering widespread public support in India for military action in Goa.

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;<ref>{{cite book |title=Wars, Proxy-wars and Terrorism: Post Independent India |via=[[Google Books]] |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qYK0BhcgwaQC |publication-place=[[New Delhi]], [[India]] |first=Peter Wilson |last=Prabhakar |editor1-first=Naurang |editor1-last=Rai |publisher=Mittle Publications |isbn=978-8170998907 |year=2003 |edition=1st |chapter=3. Liberation of Goa, Daman and Diu |page=39 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qYK0BhcgwaQC&pg=PA39 }}</ref> the use of these [[economic warfare]] tactics by India caused a deep economic depression in Goa with subsequent hardship for the inhabitants and, in attempt to remedy the situation and with land travel precluded, Salazar established a new airline to communicate the enclaves of [[Portuguese India]] with its ports.<ref name=teotonio>{{cite book |series=Goa University Publication Series |editor1-link=Teotonio de Souza |editor1-first=Teotonio R. |editor1-last=de Souza |editor2-first=B. Sheik |editor2-last=Ali |volume=II |title=Goa Through The Ages: An Economic history, volume 2 |publication-place=New Delhi |publisher=[[Goa University]]; Concept Publishing Company |edition=2nd |chapter=Chapter 11: The Economic Scene in Goa (1926–1961) |page=276 |first=Silvia M. |last=de Mendonça-Noronha |year=1990 |isbn=978-8170222590 |via=[[Google Books]] |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dwYDPnEjTb4C&pg=PA276 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dwYDPnEjTb4C }}</ref> In July 1954, pro-Indian forces, including members of organisations like the United Front of Goans, the National Movement Liberation Organisation, the [[Communist Party of India]], the [[Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh]] and the Azad Gomantak Dal, with the support of Indian Police forces, began 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, who resisted the attack. On 28 July, RSS forces took Naroli police station.<ref name="lele" />

Meanwhile, the Portuguese authorities asked the Indian Government for permission to cross the Indian territory with reinforcements to Dadra and Nagar Haveli, but no permission was given.<ref>{{cite book |title=Blueprint To Bluewater: The Indian Navy 1951–65 |first=Satyindra |last=Singh |date=1992 |url=http://indiannavy.nic.in/bptobw.pdf |edition=1st |language=English |isbn=978-8170621485 |publisher=Lancer International |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060706083838/http://indiannavy.nic.in/bptobw.pdf |archive-date=6 July 2006 |publication-place=[[New Delhi]], [[India]]}}</ref> 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 a decision dated 12 April 1960,<ref>[http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/files/32/4521.pdf "Case Concerning Right of Passage Over Indian Territory"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111220044651/http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/files/32/4521.pdf |date=20 December 2011 }}</ref> stated that Portugal had sovereign rights over the territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli but India had the right to deny passage to armed personnel of Portugal over Indian territories. Therefore, the Portuguese authorities could not legally pass through Indian territory.

The [[Indian Navy]] deployed two warships—the [[INS Rajput (D141)|INS ''Rajput'']], an 'R' Class destroyer, and {{INS|Kirpan|1959|6}}, a [[Blackwood class frigate|Blackwood class]] 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: ''[[INS Mysore (C60)|Mysore]]'', {{INS|Trishul|F143|2}}, ''[[INS Betwa (1959)|Betwa]]'', ''[[INS Beas (1958)|Beas]]'' and ''[[INS Cauvery|Cauvery]]''; a Carrier Group of five ships: ''[[INS Delhi (1948)|Delhi]]'', {{INS|Kuthar|F146|2}}, ''Kirpan'', {{INS|Khukri|F149|2}} and ''Rajput'' centred on the light aircraft carrier ''[[INS Vikrant (1961)|Vikrant]]''; a Mine Sweeping Group consisting of mine sweepers including ''[[INS Karwar|Karwar]]'', ''[[INS Kakinada|Kakinada]]'', ''[[INS Cannonore|Cannonore]]'' and ''[[INS Bimilipatan|Bimilipatan]]'', and a Support Group which consisted of ''[[INS Dharini|Dharini]]''.<ref name="BR-Kore">{{Cite web |last=Kore |first=V.S. |title=Liberation of Goa: Role Of The Indian Navy |url=http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/NAVY/History/1950s/Kore.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130204131726/http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/NAVY/History/1950s/Kore.html |archive-date=4 February 2013 |access-date=12 June 2014 |website=Bharat Rakshak}}</ref>

In March 1960, [[Ministry of National Defence (Portugal)|Portuguese Defence Minister]] General [[Júlio 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 [[Afonso Magalhães de Almeida Fernandes]], by the Army under secretary of State Lieutenant-Colonel [[Francisco da Costa Gomes]] and by other top officers.<ref name="books.google.co.in">{{Cite book |last=Porch |first=Douglas |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ncoOAAAAQAAJ&q=salazar+goa+sacrifice+troops&pg=PA36 |title=The Portuguese Armed Forces and the Revolution |date=1977 |isbn=978-0856643910 |access-date=8 May 2022}}</ref>

The Portuguese forces were organised as the Armed Forces of the State of India (FAEI, ''Forças Armadas do Estado da Índia''), under a unified command headed by General [[Paulo Bénard Guedes]], who combined the civil role of Governor-General with the military role of Commander-in-Chief. Guedes ended his commission in 1958, with General Vassalo e Silva being appointed to replace him in both the civil and military roles.<ref name="Alves Lopes">{{Cite book |last=Lopes (2007) |first=José Alves |title=Estado Português da Índia – Rememoração Pessoal |publisher=Revista Militar |location=Lisboa}}{{ISBN?}}</ref>

The naval component of the FAEI were the Naval Forces of the State of India (FNEI, ''Forças Navais do Estado da Índia''), headed by the Naval Commander of Goa, Commodore Raúl Viegas Ventura. The only significant [[Portuguese Navy]] warship present in Goa at the time of invasion was the [[aviso|sloop]] [[NRP Afonso de Albuquerque|NRP ''Afonso de Albuquerque'']].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Portuguese Navy 1875 |url=http://www.battleships-cruisers.co.uk/portuguese_navy.htm |access-date=9 November 2009 |publisher=Battleships-cruisers.co.uk}}</ref> It was armed with four 120&nbsp;mm guns capable of two shots per minute, and four automatic rapid-firing guns. In addition to the sloop, the Portuguese Naval Forces had three light [[patrol boat]]s (''lanchas de fiscalização''), each armed with a 20&nbsp;mm Oerlikon gun, one based in each of Goa, Daman and Diu. There were also five [[merchant marine]] ships in Goa.<ref name="invasao6">{{Cite web |title=A invasão: Damão e Diu |url=http://www.areamilitar.net/analise/analise.aspx?NrMateria=52&p=6 |access-date=8 May 2015 |website=ÁreaMilitar}}</ref> An attempt by Portugal to send naval warships to Goa to reinforce its marine defences was foiled when President [[Gamal Abdel Nasser|Nasser]] of [[Egypt]] denied the ships access to the [[Suez Canal]].<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cpfVVXV3-t4C&pg=PA219 |title=India's Foreign Policy in the 21st Century |publisher=Kalpaz Publications |year=2006 |isbn=8178355000 |editor-last=Chopra |editor-first=V. D. |page=219}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Spokane Daily Chronicle - Google News Archive Search |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1338&dat=19611223&id=LQ4zAAAAIBAJ&pg=6593,5399334 |website=news.google.com}}</ref><ref>Egypt and India, A study of political and cultural relations, 1947–1964; Zaki Awad, El Sayed Mekkawi, [http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/14518/3/03_preface.pdf Preface] page i/.</ref>

Indian [[reconnaissance]] operations had commenced on 1 December, when two [[Leopard class frigate]]s, the INS ''Betwa'' and the INS ''Beas'', undertook linear patrolling of the Goa coast at a distance of {{convert|8|mi|km|0}}. By 8 December, the [[Indian Air Force]] had commenced baiting missions and fly-bys to lure out Portuguese air defences and fighters.{{citation needed|date=May 2022}}

The Indian light aircraft carrier [[INS Vikrant (1961)|INS ''Vikrant'']] was deployed {{convert|75|mi|km}} from the coast of Goa to head off a possible amphibious operation on Goa and deter any foreign military intervention.

Although the 50th Para 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.<ref name="Mohan2001">{{Cite journal |last=Mohan |first=P. V. S. Jagan |date=November–December 2001 |title=Remembering Sagat Singh (1918–2001) |url=http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/MONITOR/ISSUE4-3/jagan.html |url-status=dead |journal=[[Bharat Rakshak Monitor]] |volume=4 |issue=3 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130204131720/http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/MONITOR/ISSUE4-3/jagan.html |archive-date=4 February 2013 |access-date=12 June 2022}}</ref>

At 20:00, 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 [[7th Light Cavalry|Indian 7th Cavalry]] camped there. The letter read: "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."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Castro |first=Paul |date=19 June 2011 |title=Archive of Goan Writing in Portuguese: Telo de Mascarenhas – A carta de Rendição (1974) |url=http://archiveofgoanwritinginportuguese.blogspot.com/2011/06/telo-de-mascarenhas-carta-de-rendicao.html |website=Archive of Goan Writing in Portuguese}}</ref>

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{{unreferenced section|date=May 2022}}

[[Daman district, India|Daman]], approximately 72&nbsp;km² in area, is at the south end of [[Gujarat]] bordering [[Maharashtra]], approximately 193&nbsp;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, Daman and Diu|Daman]] (Damão in Portuguese) into halves—Nani Daman (''Damão Pequeno'') and Moti Daman (''Damão Grande''). The strategically important features were Daman Fort (fortress of São Jerónimo) and the air control tower of [[Daman Airport]].<ref name="shore">{{Cite news |last=Shorey |first=Anil |date=21 February 1999 |title=The forgotten battles of Daman and Diu |work=[[The Tribune (Chandigarh)|The Tribune]] |url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/1999/99feb21/sunday/head3.htm |access-date=8 May 2022}}</ref>

{{unreferenced section|date=May 2022}}

[[File:Dassault MD 450 Ouragan 02.jpg|thumb|A [[Dassault Ouragan|MD450 Ouragan]] on display at the [[Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and Military History]] (Brussels, Belgium). Similar aircraft in service with the Indian Air Force, locally known as Toofani, formed the backbone of the air strikes on Diu.]]

The Indian cruiser INS ''Delhi'' was anchored off the coast of Diu and fired a barrage from its 6-inch guns at the Portuguese occupied Diu Fortress. The Commanding Officer of the Indian Air Force operating in the area reported that some of the shells fired from the ''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 NRP ''Vega'' encountered the ''Delhi'' around {{convert|12|mi|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 led by Flt. Lt. PM Ramachandran on patrol missions and opened fire on them with the ship's 20mm 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.<ref name="bharat-rakshak.com">{{Cite web |title=The Liberation of Goa: 1961 |url=http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/History/1960s/Goa02.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131120034108/http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/History/1960s/Goa02.html |archive-date=20 November 2013 |access-date=8 May 2015 |df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/history/1961goa/1352-p-m-#gsc.tab=0|title=The sinking of N.R.P. Vega – a first person narrative|work=bharat-rakshak.com|access-date=8 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200908044733/http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/history/1961goa/1352-p-m-|archive-date=8 September 2020|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

Opening the debate, Portugal's delegate, Vasco Vieira Garin, said that Portugal had consistently shown her peaceful intentions by refraining from any counter-action to India's numerous "provocations" on the Goan border. Garin also stated that Portuguese forces, though "vastly outnumbered by the invading forces," were putting up "stiff resistance" and "fighting a delaying action and destroying communications in order to halt the advance of the enemy." In response, India's delegate, C. S. Jha said that the "elimination of the last vestiges of colonialism in India" was an "article of faith" for the Indian people, "Security Council or no Security Council." He went on to describe Goa, Daman, and Diu as "an inalienable part of India unlawfully occupied by Portugal."<ref name="Keesing" />

 

Despite his 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).{{Citation needed|date = June 2022}}

The official Portuguese surrender was conducted in a formal ceremony held at 20:30 hours 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, 4,668 personnel were taken prisoner by the Indians—a figure which included military and civilian personnel, Portuguese, Africans and Goan.<ref name="Azaredo" />

When they received 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, Prime Minister Salazar's government offered a reward of US$10,000 for the capture of Brigadier Sagat Singh, the commander of the [[maroon beret]]s of India's parachute regiment who were the first troops to enter Panaji, Goa's capital.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Datta |first=Rakesh |date=26 June 2005 |title=Not all generals are leaders |work=[[The Tribune (Chandigarh)|The Tribune]] |url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/2005/20050626/spectrum/book3.htm |access-date=9 November 2022}}</ref>

Salazar, while addressing the Portuguese 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.<ref>[http://www.supergoa.com/pt/40anos José Manuel Barroso, Só soldados vitoriosos ou mortos, 2 January 2001] {{dead link|date=March 2022}}</ref> He went on to state that the UN's failure to halt aggression against Portugal, showed that effective power in the U.N. had passed to the Communist and Afro-Asian countries. Salazar also accused Britain of delaying for a week her reply to Portugal's request to be allowed the use of certain airfields. "Had it not been for this delay," he said, "we should certainly have found alternative routes and we could have rushed to India reinforcements in men and material for a sustained defence of the territory."<ref name="Keesing" />

In the months after the conflict, the Portuguese Government used broadcasts on [[Rádio e Televisão de Portugal|Emissora Nacional]], the Portuguese national radio station, to urge Goans to resist and oppose the Indian administration. An effort was made to create clandestine resistance movements in Goa, and within Goan diaspora communities across the world to use general resistance and armed rebellion to weaken the Indian presence in Goa. The campaign had the full support of the Portuguese government with the ministries of defence, foreign affairs, army, navy and finance involved. A plan was chalked out called the 'Plano Gralha' covering Goa, Daman and Diu, which called for paralysing port operations at Mormugao and Bombay by planting bombs in some of the ships anchored at the ports.<ref>{{Cite news |last=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=19 December 2011 |title=Records show colonizers were not done with Goa |work=The Times of India |location=Panaji |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/goa/Records-show-colonizers-were-not-done-with-Goa/articleshow/11162999.cms |access-date=6 January 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Xavier |first=Constantino |date=3 May 2014 |title=Lost in delusion |work=The Goan |url=http://www.thegoan.net/View-From-Afar/Lost-in-delusion/Column-Post/00473.html#.U_oc_flLpfs |url-status=dead |access-date=8 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140704151803/http://www.thegoan.net/View-From-Afar/Lost-in-delusion/Column-Post/00473.html |archive-date=4 July 2022}}</ref>

On 20 June 1964, [[Casimiro Monteiro]], a Portuguese [[PIDE]] agent of Goan descent, along with Ismail Dias, a Goan settled in Portugal, executed a series of bombings in Goa.<ref>{{Cite web |title=PressDisplay.com |url=http://www.pressdisplay.com/pressdisplay/viewer.aspx?noredirect=true&bookmarkid=LNDP1YIXVM48 |website=www.pressdisplay.com}}</ref>

Relations between India and Portugal thawed only in 1974, when, following an [[Carnation Revolution#Decolonisation|anti-colonial military coup d'état]] and the fall of the [[Estado Novo (Portugal)|authoritarian rule]] in [[Lisbon]], Goa was finally recognised as part of India, and steps were taken to re-establish diplomatic relations with India. On 31 December 1974, a treaty was signed between India and Portugal with the Portuguese recognising full sovereignty of India over Goa, Daman, Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Treaty Between the Government of India and the Government of the Republic of Portugal On Recognition of India's Sovereignty Over Goa, Daman, Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Related Matters [1974] INTSer 53 |url=http://www.commonlii.org/in/other/treaties/INTSer/1974/53.html |access-date=8 May 2022}}</ref> In 1992, [[President of Portugal|Portuguese President]] [[Mário Soares]] became the first Portuguese head of state to visit Goa after its annexation by India, following [[President of India|Indian President]] [[Ramaswamy Venkataraman]]'s visit to Portugal in 1990.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bhargava |first=ed. S.C. Bhatt, Gopal K. |title=India. |publisher=Kalpaz publ. |year=2005 |isbn=8178353938 |location=Delhi |pages=453}}</ref>

==Prisoners of war==

In one incident, recounted by Lieutenant Francisco Cabral Couto (now retired general), on 19 March 1962 some of the prisoners tried to escape the Ponda camp in a garbage truck. 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 Ferreira da Silva, a [[Society of Jesus|Jesuit]] military chaplain.<ref name=autogenerated3 /><ref>{{Cite book |last=de Morais |first=Carlos Alexandre |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7yxuAAAAMAAJ&q=972-33-1134-8 |title=A queda da Índia Portuguesa: crónica da invasão e do cativeiro |publisher=Editorial Estampa |year=1995 |isbn=9723311348 |location=Lisbon}}</ref> Following the foiled escape attempt, Captain Carlos Azeredo (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 Azeredo's telling Captain Naik to "Go to Hell", and was serious enough to make him lose consciousness and cause severe [[contusion]]s. Captain Naik was later punished by the Indian Army for violating the [[Geneva Convention]].<ref name="Azaredo" />

By May 1962, most of the prisoners had been repatriated—being first flown to [[Karachi]], [[Pakistan]], in chartered French aircraft, and then sent off to Lisbon by three ships: ''Vera Cruz'', ''Pátria'' and ''Moçambique''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=AEIOU |title=AEIOU.pt |url=http://historiaeciencia.weblog.com.pt/arquivo/049503.html |access-date=8 May 2022}}</ref> On arrival at the [[Tagus|Tejo]] in Portugal, returning Portuguese servicemen were taken into custody by [[military police]] at gunpoint 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 [[cashiering|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.<ref name="books.google.co.in" />

==International reactions==

 

Also in 1961<!--before or after Goa?-->, the tiny Portuguese [[enclave]] of [[Fort of São João Baptista de Ajudá]] was annexed by the [[Republic of Dahomey]] (now Benin). Portugal recognised the annexation in 1975.{{Citation needed|date = June 2022}}

The future leader 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 world|Western]] indignation as it came "from those who are accustomed to strangle the peoples striving for independence&nbsp;... 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 annexation of Goa.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=vTEge1JWK8oC&pg=PA29&lpg=PA29&dq=Goa+vetoes+USSR#v=snippet&q=%22deploring%20India%27s%20police%20action%20was%20vetoed%20by%20the%20USSR%22&f=false India-USSR Relations 1947–71: (From Ambivalence to Steadfastness) PART-I], Shri Ram Sharma, Shri Ram Sharma, Discovery Publishing House, 1999, {{ISBN|978-8171414864}}</ref><ref>[https://www.forbes.com/2011/01/26/forbes-india-fifty-years-after-liberation-fron-portuguese-rule-tourism-boom-returns.html Saude, Goa], Prince Mathews Thomas Thomas, 01.26.11, 06:00 PM EST, Fifty years after its liberation from Portuguese rule, this tiny tourist state is rethinking its future again.</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=nE0EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA60&lpg=PA60&dq=India+Goa+veto+USSR+indian+express#v=onepage&q=%22U.S.%2C%20over%20the%20Soviet%20Veto%22&f=false ''Life'']. 5 January 1962, Vol. 52, No. 1, {{ISSN|0024-3019}}.</ref>

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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Changing Perceptions of India in the U.S. Congress|url=http://sga.myweb.uga.edu/readings/changing_perceptions_of_india.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091210050251/http://sga.myweb.uga.edu/readings/changing_perceptions_of_india.htm |archive-date=10 December 2009 |access-date=9 November 2009 |publisher=Sga.myweb.uga.edu}}</ref>

Referring to the perception, especially in the West, that India had previously been lecturing the world about the virtues of nonviolence, 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&nbsp;... People are saying, the preacher has been caught coming out of the brothel."<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=zcylFXH9_z8C India and the United States: Estranged Democracies, 1941–1991] By Dennis Kux Published by Diane Publishing, 1993, {{ISBN|978-0788102790}}, p. 198</ref>

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."<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1961/12/19/archives/india-the-aggressor.html?sq=With%2520his%2520invasion%2520of%2520Goa%2520Prime%2520Minister%2520Nehru%2520has%2520done%2520irreparable%2520damage%2520to%2520India%27s%2520good%2520name%2520and%2520to%2520the%2520principles%2520of%2520international%2520morality&scp=1&st=cse "India, the Aggressor"], ''The New York Times'', p. 32, 19 December 1961</ref>

The Leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons [[Hugh Gaitskell]] of the Labour Party also expressed "profound regret" that India should have resorted to force in her dispute with Portugal, although the Opposition recognised that the existence of Portuguese colonies on the Indian mainland had long been an anachronism and that Portugal should have abandoned them long since in pursuance of the example set by Britain and France. Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the United Nations, Sir [[Patrick Dean (diplomat)|Patrick Dean]], stated in the UN that Britain had been "shocked and dismayed" at the outbreak of hostilities.<ref name="Keesing">{{Cite web |title=International Reactions to Indian Attack on Goa – Soviet Veto of Western Cease-fire Resolution in security Council |url=https://web.stanford.edu/group/tomzgroup/pmwiki/uploads/1074-1962-03-KS-b-RCW.pdf |publisher=Keesing's Worldwide, LLC}}</ref>

A Foreign Ministry spokesman in [[The Hague]] regretted that India, "of all countries," had resorted to force to gain her ends, particularly as India had always championed the principles of the U.N. Charter and consistently opposed the use of force to achieve national purposes. Fears were expressed in the Dutch Press lest the Indian attack on Goa might encourage Indonesia to make a similar attack on [[Western New Guinea|West New Guinea]].<ref name="Keesing" /> On 27 December 1961, Dutch ambassador to the United States, Herman Van Roijen asked the US Government if their military support in the form of the USN's [[United States Seventh Fleet|7th Fleet]] would be forthcoming in case of such an attack.<ref>Foreign Relations of the United States, 1961–1963, Volume XXIII, Southeast Asia, Document 219. Memorandum From Robert H. Johnson of the National Security Council Staff to the President's Special Assistant for National Security Affairs https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1961-63v23/d219</ref>

The Brazilian government's reaction to the annexation of Goa was one of staunch solidarity with Portugal, reflecting earlier statements by Brazilian presidents that their country stood firmly with Portugal anywhere in the world and that ties between Brazil and Portugal were built on ties of blood and sentiment. Former Brazilian President [[Juscelino Kubitschek]], and long time friend and supporter of Portuguese PM Salazar, stated to Indian PM Nehru that "Seventy Million Brazilians could never understand, nor accept, an act of violence against Goa."<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=0-4uEqrWC00C&lpg=PA108&vq=%22brazilian%20pain%22&pg=PA108#v=onepage&q=%22against%20Goa%22&f=false ''Hotel Tropico: Brazil and the Challenge of African Decolonization, 1950–1980''], Jerry Dávila, p. 27</ref> In a speech in Rio de Janeiro on 10 June 1962, Brazilian congressman [[Gilberto Freyre]] commented on the annexation of Goa by declaring that "a Portuguese wound is Brazilian pain".<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=0-4uEqrWC00C&lpg=PA108&vq=%22brazilian%20pain%22&pg=PA108#v=snippet&q=%22brazilian%20pain%22&f=false ''Hotel Tropico: Brazil and the Challenge of African Decolonization, 1950–1980''], Jerry Dávila, p. 108</ref>

Shortly after the conflict, the new Brazilian ambassador to India, Mário Guimarães, stated to the Portuguese ambassador to Greece that it was "necessary for the Portuguese to comprehend that the age of colonialism is over". Guimarães dismissed the Portuguese ambassador's argument that [[Portuguese Empire|Portuguese colonialism]] was based on race-mixing and the creation of multiracial societies, stating that this was "not enough of a reason to prevent independence".<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=0-4uEqrWC00C&lpg=PA108&vq=%22brazilian%20pain%22&pg=PA114#v=snippet&q=%22not%20enough%20of%20a%20reason%20to%20prevent%20independence%22&f=false ''Hotel Tropico: Brazil and the Challenge of African Decolonization, 1950–1980''], Jerry Dávila, p. 114</ref>

In a letter to the US president on 2 January 1962, Pakistani President General [[Ayub Khan (Field Marshal)|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."<ref>[https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1961-63v19/d83 Letter From President Ayub to President Kennedy], Rawalpindi, 2 January 1962.</ref>

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.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=de Souza |first=Teotonio R. |date=December 1986 |title=Unless Ye Become Like Children... |url=http://www.goacom.com/the-catholic-church-in-goa |journal=[[Goa Today]]}}</ref><ref>Teotonio R. de Souza, ''Goa to Me'', New Delhi: Concept Publ. Co., 1994 ({{ISBN|8170225043}}) {{Cite web |title=Goacom – Timelines |url=http://www.goacom.com/culture/biographies/tdesbio.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110517122848/http://www.goacom.com/culture/biographies/tdesbio.html |archive-date=17 May 2011 |access-date=2 February 2010 |df=dmy}}</ref> His was succeeded by [[Raul Nicolau Gonçalves]] in 1972, who became the first native-born Patriarch in 1978.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Costa |first=Cosme Jose |date=21 December 2014 |title=Reminiscences Of Goa's Liberation |url=http://www.heraldgoa.in/Review/Reminiscences-Of-Goa%E2%80%99s-Liberation/82454.html |access-date=30 September 2015 |website=[[O Heraldo]] |location=Goa}}</ref>

Upon independence in 1947 India had accorded recognition to the Portuguese sovereignty over Goa. After invading Goa India's case was built around the illegality of colonial acquisitions. This argument was correct according to the legal norms of the twentieth century, but did not hold to the standards of sixteenth century international law. India gained sympathy from much of the international community, but this did not, however, signify any legal support for the invasion.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Peter Malanczuk |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uwiIAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA156 |title=Akehurst's Modern Introduction to International Law |date= 2002 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1134833887 |pages=156– |quote=Portugal acquired Goa by conquest in the sixteenth century, and India recognized the Portuguese title after becoming independent in 1947. However, in the Security Council debates which followed the invasion, India argued that Portugal's title was void because it was based on colonial conquest. Such a view is correct under twentieth century notions of international law, but hardly under sixteenth-century notions. The sympathies of most of the members of the United Nations lay with India, and neither the Security Council nor the General Assembly condemned India's actions. But this does not necessarily mean that they thought India's action was legally justified.}}</ref> The [[Supreme Court of India]] recognised the validity of the annexation and rejected the continued applicability of the law of occupation. In a treaty with retroactive effect, Portugal recognised Indian sovereignty in 1974.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Andrew Clapham |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0IGhCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA1465 |title=The 1949 Geneva Conventions: A Commentary |last2=Paola Gaeta |last3=Marco Sassòli |date= 2015 |publisher=OUP Oxford |isbn=978-0191003523 |pages=1465– |quote=In the case of the annexation of Goa by India in 1961, the Supreme Court of India held that the annexation was valid and the law of occupation no longer applicable. In 1974, Portugal recognized the Indian sovereignty over Goa by a treaty with retroactive effect.}}</ref> Under the ''[[jus cogens]]'' rule forceful annexations including the annexation of Goa are held as illegal since they have taken place after the UN Charter came into force. A later treaty can not justify it.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Alina Kaczorowska-Ireland |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2fQjCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA268 |title=Public International Law |date=2015 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1317936411 |pages=268– |quote=It is submitted that in the light of the jus cogens rule prohibiting the threat or use of force any annexation which has taken place after the entry into force of the UN Charter e.g. the annexation of Tibet by China in 1951, the annexation of Hyderabad by India in 1948, the annexation of Goa (despite the fact that Portugal relinquished its claim and recognised the sovereignty of India over Goa by a treaty) should be regarded as illegal and thus without any effect under international law. Such fundamental illegality can neither be justified by the subsequent conclusion of a peace treaty nor by the application of the doctrine of historic consolidation.}}</ref> Sharon Korman argues that the principle of self-determination may bend the rule to accommodate the new reality but it will not change the illegal aspect of the original annexation.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sharon Korman |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ueDO1dJyjrUC&pg=PA275 |title=The Right of Conquest: The Acquisition of Territory by Force in International Law and Practice |date= 1996 |publisher=Clarendon Press |isbn=978-0191583803 |pages=275– |quote=It may therefore be argued that the recognition of India's annexation of Goa involved the bending of a principle (the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by the use of force) to accommodate a reality which was regarded as being, on the whole, beneficial, even if this situation originated in illegality. But it did not involve the abandonment of the legal principle prohibiting the acquisition of territory by force-even in respect of territories defined as colonies. The conclusion that India's successful annexation of Goa cannot be taken to indicate the existence of a legal right of reconquest in cases where a former colony seeks to recover what it considers to be its pre-colonial frontiers is reinforced-even more strongly and conclusively-by the practice of states in connection with Argentina's attempted conquest or reconquest of the Faulkland islands.}}</ref>

* {{Citation |last=Newman |first=Robert S. |title=Goa: The Transformation of an Indian Region |date=Autumn 1984 |url=http://www.revistas.usp.br/viaatlantica/article/view/119337 |journal=Pacific Affairs |volume=57 |issue=3 |pages=429–449 |doi=10.2307/2759068 |jstor=2759068|s2cid=155219732 }}

* Pöllath, Moritz. "‘Far away from the Atlantic...': Goa, West New Guinea and NATO's out-of-area policy at Bandung 1955." ''Journal of Transatlantic Studies'' 11.4 (2013): 387–402.