Peaceful and quickly over

By the end of the 16th century, the Portuguese-occupied territories in India, jewels in the Portuguese Crown', that dotted the entire le...

By the end of the 16th century, the Portuguese-occupied territories in India, jewels in the Portuguese Crown8217;, that dotted the entire length of the Indian coastline, included Diu, Daman, Goa, Salsette, Bassein, Chaul, Bombay, San Thome near Madras and Hooghly in Bengal. By 1947, most of them were lost save Goa, Daman and Diu, which were finally liberated by India in 1961.

With that ended the suzerainty over them of the King of Portugal, titled Lord of the Conquest, Navigation and Commerce of Ethiopia, Arabia and India8217; ever since Vasco da Gama set foot on Indian soil in 1498.

On December 19, 1961, 14 years after the British left India and 37 years ago this month, General Manuel Antonio Vassalo e Silva, commander-in-Chief of the Ind-ependent Territorial Command of Portuguese India8217; sent a request for cease-fire which said in an inimitable style: 8220;Having the defence of Peninsula of Marmagao 8212; final stronghold of our defence as a base the occupation of our forces of positions that put Vasco da Gamacity protected of the aerial, naval and ground fire of the enemy and of the inevitable consequences of nearby fights and having yet been considered the big difference between the forces and the resources they had that does not allow myself to proceed the fight without great sacrifice of the lives of the inhabitants of Vasco da Gama, I decided with my spirit well constrained and my patriotism well present, get in touch with the enemy, when his approach makes endanger the whole population of that city, that I wish to preserve, in order to get them according to my powers given by the command letter. In this way I order to all my forces, to cease-fire.8221;

quot;I wantquot;, the message went on,quot; to emphasise the calm and order8230;of all population of this province since the invasion began8230;In this moment, I salute already dead in the camp of honour8221;. By the evening of December 19, the three Services of the Armed Forces of India, which combined their distinctive skills in the three elements to weave a unique fabric ofdecisive victory within a period of just a day and a half, had enforced a dramatic surrender.

Recapitulating this vignette of recent history, I cannot but recall my meeting with Prof J. K. Galbraith on his visit to India in February 1987. I was on an assignment for the naval headquarters to write the second volume of a naval history Blueprint to Bluewater with a chapter on this subject.Galbraith, now 90, was the US Ambassador in India in the Sixties and many in our country remember him for his classic 8212; but not uncharitable 8212; remark that we are quot;a functioning anarchyquot;! I enquired from him whether, with the benefit of hindsight, his views on Goa and the developments associated with its liberation, had undergone any changes after the lapse of a little over 25 years.

He replied: 8220;My policy at that time, as frequently happened, differed somewhat from that of the State Department at Washington and the Indian Government. I would always, to the greatest extent possible, resist the use of force and it was myfeeling that the Portuguese Empire, as we later discovered, was a fragile thing. I did not like to seek any alliance with Salazar, the Dictator and so I urged the American policy of pressing Portugal to make concessions on Goa, Daman and Diu, an anachronism which should have passed to India, and I urged the Indian Government to be patient, allow six months, eight months, a year for such pressure to be brought to bear. Well, my policy was not companionable either in Washington or in New Delhi8230;8221;

Prof Galbraith summed it all up by expressing his satisfaction over the operation8217;s swiftness and decisiveness. 8220;The casualties were minimum. I am in favour of all wars being like the war between India and Portugal 8212; peaceful and quickly over8221;!