CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY

1367 - Conquest of the kingdom of Kadamba (of which Goa was the capital) by the empire of Vijaynagar.
1380-1454:  Rule of Vijaynagara governors. 
1469 - Capture of Goa by the Muslim Bahmani king, Muhammad Shah II.
1454-1471:  Rule by Bankapur chiefs. 
1488 - Capture of Goa by Yusuf Adil Shah ("the Sabayo") of Bijapur. 
1471-1489:  Rule of Sultan of Bijapur. 
1498 - Discovery of the route to India by Vasco da Gama. 
1489-1510:  Yusuf Adilshaha rules over Goa. 
1510 - Capture of Goa by Afonso de Albuquerque. 
1515 - Defence of Goa against Ismail Adil Shah ("the Idalcan").
1542 - Arrival of St. Francis Xavier. 
1543-1783:   Portuguese aquire Bardez and Salcette from Ibraim Adilshah.
1570 - Siege of Goa by the Idalcan. 
1510-1543:   Portuguese rule over a limited territory of Goa, mostly Tiswadi islands. 
1595 - First Dutch voyage to the Indies.
1600 - English East India Company's charter. 
1642 - Treaty between England and Portugal. 
1683 - Attack on Goa by Marathas under Sambhaji.
1695 - Viceroy moves his residence out of the city of Velha Goa.
1741 - Marathas and Bhonsles defeated by Portuguese forces. 
1749 - Expulsion of the Jesuits. 
1759 - Viceroy takes up residence in Panjim.
1764 - Acquisition of New Conquests. 
1778 - Acquisition of Pernem.  
  -1783:Portuguese annex Pernem. 
1788-1799: Portuguese rule extended over entire Goa. 
1797 - Occupation of Goa by British Army. 
1813 - Withdrawal of British Army. 
1821 - Goa represented in Portuguese parliament. 
1843 - Panjim declared the capital of Goa. 
1881 - Commencement of railway building in Goa. 
1905 - Development of iron and manganese ore mines. 
1947 - Indian independence. 
1961 - Goa incorporated into the Indian Union.
Dec-19,1961: Liberation of Goa. 
1987 - August 12th, Goa gained statehood.
1961-1987: Union territory of Goa, Daman and Diu. 
 May-30,1987:Goa becomes a state within India. 

(Courtesy: Dr. Nandkumar Kamat, Goa University) 

Dr. R. Raut Desai's Note: The wide religio-cultural difference existing in Goa between the Talukas(concelhos) of Tiswadi (Ilhas), Bardez and Salcette  and Mormugao on one side and Pernem, Bicholim, Sattari,Ponda, Sangem, Quepem and Canacona on other side has the historical basis. The seven Talukas mentioned later came under portuguese influence only after 1783. The much dreaded spanish inquisition period was over by that time. The Small former Portugese enclave of Goa is still one of India's most touristically important places. It combines old Portugese architecture with a Portuguese flavour to the lifestyle which somehow manages to exist even 25 years after India took over Goa. Most important to many travellers, there are the superb beaches and the 'traveller scene' which so many of them offer. Officially Goa is governed with two other Portuguese coastal enclaves, Daman and Diu, which were taken over at the same time. 

Goa has a long history stretching back to the 3rd century BC, when it formed part of the Mauryan empire. It was later ruled by the Satavahans of Kolhapur at the beginning of the Christian era and eventually passed to the Chalukyans of Badami, who controlled it from 580 to 750 AD. Over the next few centuries it was ruled successively by the Shilharas, the Kadambas and the Chalukyans of Kalyani. The Kadambas are credited with constructing the first settlement on the site of Old Goa in the middle of the 11th century, when it was called Thorlem Gorem.

Goa fell to the Muslims for the first time in 1312, but they were forced to evacuate it in 1370 by Harihara I of the Vijayanagar empire whose capital was at Hampi in Karnataka state. The Vijayanagar rulers held on to Goa for nearly 100 years, during which its harbours were important landing places for Arabian horses on their way to Hampi to strengthen the Vijaynagar cavalry. In 1469, however, Goa was reconquered, this time by the Bahmani Sultans of Gulbarga. When this dynasty broke up, the area passed to Adil Shahis of Bijapur, who made Goa Velhaa their second capital. The present Secretariat building in Panaji is the former palace of Adil Shah, later taken over by the Portuguese Viceroys as their offcial residence.

The Portugese arrived in Goa in 1510 under the command of Alfonso de Albuquerque after having been unable to secure a base on the Malabar coast further south. This was due to opposition from the Zamorin of Calicut and stiff competition from the Turks who, at that time, controlled the trade routes across the Indian Ocean. Blessed as it was by natural harbours and wide rivers, Goa was the ideal base for the seafaring Portuguese, bent on their quest for control of the spice route from the east and the spread of Christianity. For a while their control was limited to a small area around Old Goa, by the middle of the 16th century it had expanded to include Bardez and Salcete.

Goa reached its present size in the 18th century as a result of further annexations, first in 1763 when the provinces of Ponda, Sanquem, Quepem and Canacona were added, and later in 1788 when Pednem, Bicholim and Satari were added. The Marathas nearly vanquished the Portuguese in the late 18th century and there was a brief occupation by the British during the time of the Napoleonic Wars in Europe. It was not until 1961, when India ejected the Portuguese in a near bloodless operation, that the Portuguese finally disappeared from the sub-continent. The other enclaves of Daman and Diu were also taken over at the same time. Despite the intervening years of Indian rule, Goa still maintains its distinctively Portuguese flavour and easygoing ways.

Liberation of Goa: role of the Indian Navy
by V S Kore

THE Portuguese were the first European power to arrive in India and the last to depart, the effort to dislodge them by those, whose land they had conquered and occupied was a long process that was fought with bloodshed, grief and sacrifice. This process began from the day the Portuguese set foot here in 1510 and was completed on December 19, 1961, when they were driven away.

It was only in 1926, when Portugal, after a short spell of Republican Government, came under the iron grip of dictatorship, that the people of Goa began to chafe. The suppression of liberties in Goa and the intolerable conditions created by the dictatorship brought the great Indian socialist leader, Dr Ram Manohar Lohia to Goa. At a public meeting in Margao, he launched a movement for civil liberties which set in motion a mass movement for freedom from the Portuguese rule. On June 18, 1946, which remains a
memorable and sacred day in the history of Goa, Dr Lohia truly kindled the flame of freedom in the hearts of the Goan people, as a result of which, all shops and business establishments put down their shutters and expressed their solidarity with cause. From then on men, women and even children came out in processions, expressing their deep desire for freedom.

The Government of India strictly followed its policy of peaceful negotiations with Portugal and made attempts to solve the problem of Goa from 1947 to 1955, without the use of force. But every such attempt was turned down by the Portuguese. From 1955 to 1961, the Goans and the Indian political parties organised public meetings and adopted resolutions condemning Portuguese rule, giving wide publicity to the happenings in Goa and made the people in India aware of the terrible conditions prevailing in Goa. And so on December 18-19, 1961, the Government of India adopted a plan called ‘Operation Vijay’ to liberate the Portuguese colonies in India. By December 11, 1961, Indian forces were placed at Belgaum, Vapi and Una, for attacks on Goa, Daman and Diu, respectively.

The Portuguese for the naval defence of Goa, deployed four frigates each equipped with three 120 mm guns and four multiple pompoms (automatic rapid firing guns), which patrolled the sea areas of all three enclaves. These ships were ‘Afonso de Albuquerque,’ ‘Bartholomeu Dias,’ ‘Gonsalves Zarco’ and ‘Joao de Lisboa.’ However, when the action took place, it was found that only ‘Afonso de Albuquerque’ was available for the naval defence of Goa, the other three having sailed earlier, for Portugal.

The escalation of tension was marked by the unprecedented firing by the Portuguese from Anjadiv island, on Indian steam ship ‘Sabarmati,’ during her innocent passage, thus injuring the chief engineer and some Indian fishermen, killing one of them. In order
to boost the sagging morale of the fishermen from the area and to ensure the Indian naval presence in the area as a deterrent, two ships of Indian Navy, ‘Rajput,’ a destroyer, and ‘Kirpan,’ an anti-submarine frigate were deployed off the Karwar coast, as early
as November 28, 1961.

By December 1, 1961, the naval headquarters had instituted a surveillance and patrolling exercise- ‘Operation Chutney.’ Two naval frigates, ‘Betwa’ and ‘Beas,’ commenced a linear patrol off the Goan coast, at a distance of 13 kilometers. They were to report
all ingress and egress- of shipping, aircraft and personnel- into and out of the Portuguese enclaves and to retaliate with necessary force, if engaged by the Portuguese Units in the air or on the surface. The patrol remained established by a relay of ships till
one day after D-Day. The only Portuguese war vessel was the frigate, ‘Afonso de Albuquerque,’ whose movements between Anjadiv island and Mormugao were reported.

The tasks assigned to the Naval Task Force were on the outbreak of hostilities, firstly the establishment of effective control of the seaward approaches to the Portuguese territory of Goa (including Mormugao bay and Aguada), Daman and Diu and capture of Anjadiv island. Secondly, to neutralise the coast batteries defending these ports and sink or immobilise units of Portuguese Navy deployed inside Goa harbour or patrolling its sea approaches. The Naval task force was divided into four Task Groups- the Surface Action Group comprising Indian naval ships ‘Mysore,’ ‘Trishul,’ ‘Betwa,’ ‘Beas’ and ‘Cauvery.’ The Carrier Task Group comprising of ships, ‘Vikrant,’ ‘Delhi,’ ‘Kuthar,’ ‘Kirpan,’ ‘ Khukri’ and ‘Rajput.’ The Mine Sweeping Group comprising of the mine-sweepers ‘Karwar,’ ‘Kakinada,’ ‘Cannonore’ and ‘Bimilipatan’ and finally the Support Group comprising of the solo ship, ‘Dharini.’

The capture of Anjadiv island was considered the primary task for the Naval Task Force as the Portuguese provocative operations had originated in this island. The Army expressed its inability to provide troops trained in amphibious operations as time for training in such operations was not available, hence the Indian Navy took on the task. The liberation was carried out by sending Landing Parties from ‘INS Trishul’ and giving covering fire from ‘INS Trishul’ and ‘INS Mysore.’ The landing operations were
successfully carried out under Lieutenant Arun Auditto, who was Officer-in-Charge, Naval Landing Party and the first phase was completed on 1425 hrs on December, 18, 1961. In the liberation of Anjadiv island, seven sailors laid down their lives, two officers and seventeen sailors were wounded. A memorial was later erected at the Flagstaff Point on Anjadiv island, to commemorate those sailors of the Indian Navy, who made the supreme sacrifice for the liberation of the Portuguese possessions.

‘Albuquerque’ was at anchorage, at Mormugao bay on December 18, 1961. ‘INS Betwa’ was ordered to capture the vessel and she commenced closing the vessel. At 1215 hrs, Betwa commenced firing with her 4.5” guns and shortly ‘Albuquerque’ surrendered and beached herself off Dona Paula jetty. Following the sinking of ‘Albuquerque’ the Navy continued patrolling till December 19, 1961 and thereafter ships were ordered to return back to Bombay.

All operations in Goa came to an end at 6 p.m, on December 19, 1961. The arrangements were made for receiving the formal surrender at the hands of the Portuguese Governor General, Vassalo e Silva. The documents of surrender were signed at 7.30 p.m and Major General Candeth was appointed the Military Governor of Goa. Thus within 40 hours of the start of the military operations, centuries old foreign domination in Goa came to an end.

(The author is a Lieutenant Commander in the Indian Armed Force)