State of Goa celebrates 57th Liberation Day
Goa celebrated the 57th Liberation Day on December 19, 1961 to mark getting independence from the 450-years of Portuguese rule. Every year 19th December is celebrated by India as on this day Operation Vijay was completed by the Indian Forces liberating Territories of Goa, Daman and Diu and the Anjadiv Island and from the Portuguese rule.
About Operation Vijay:
- Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru ordered a military intervention for the liberation of Goa after all the diplomatic talks failed with the Portuguese, thereby launching the Operation Vijay on 17th December 1961.
- Portuguese army was not well prepared to handle the attack of Indian armed forces.
- The operation lasted for two days and was done minimal bloodshed.
- The Portuguese Governor General Vassalo da Silva was coerced wto give up control of Goa with which Goa finally became independent and a part of India.
- Major-General K. P. Candeth was appointed as the military governor of Goa and kept directly under the administration of the President of India.
Statehood of Goa:
The territory of Goa was formally integrated into the Indian Union after the parliament passed 12th Amendment Act to the Constitution of India in 1963, giving the status of a Union Territory to Goa, Daman and Diu.
There was a referendum held in 1967 in Goa to let people of Goa choose between continuing as a UT or to merge with Maharashtra. This referendum, which is the only referendum to have been conducted in independent India, is famously known as Goa Opinion Poll. People of Goa chose to continue as a UT.
On 30th May 1987, Goa was separated from Daman and Diu and became Indian Union’s 25th state. Daman and Diu was kept as a union territory only in the Indian Union.
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Month: Current Affairs - December, 2018