It is to be noted whenever and wherever the colonial rulers face opposition from the nationals or the citizens they occupy, the colonialists have always dealt with an iron fist, and their dominant theory is if one country goes the rest will follow. In short any movement or revolution is nipped in the bud. In our own country the British have done it brutally in 1913 under the orders of Colonel Dyer in Punjab and between 400 to 700 peaceful people who had gathered in Jallianwala Bagh were massacred.
The Portuguese were early colonial settlers and had colonies in Angola, Mozambique, Sao Tome and Cabo Verde apart from Goa, Daman and Diu and Dadra n Nagar Haveli. In Angola before leaving the country in 1975 the Portuguese inflicted inhuman tortures on the nationalists and even on the civilians. They burnt houses and villages and killed the people indiscriminately. In Mozambique they followed almost the same pattern of dealing with the nationalists.
Yes the Portuguese ruled Goa for over 450 years. There have some incidents of violence and deaths of our people. But there was never genocide. Portugal, being under a dictator the administration, had suspended certain liberties of our people. Our people had to go to Belgaum/Mumbai and other places of India for education and in search of jobs. It is true there was no progress on educational front or building new Goa to promote industry and tourism; because they knew they will have to leave Goa soon, as after the Independence in 1947 and more after India became a Republic in 1950 the Government of India had taken up the issue of liberating Goa, Daman and Diu.
But by and large the Portuguese rule in Goa was peaceful and the people were happy with whatever they had. There was fear of the law, one could hear of a heinous crime maybe once in a year. People could sleep fearlessly keeping their house doors open. Anyone on the soil of Goa today, a Goan or non Goan, should keep in mind these two Portuguese nationals Dr. Vassalo D’Silva, the then Governor of Goa and Archbishop Jose Vieira Alvernaz who made a supreme sacrifice and saved Goa in 1961 from utter destruction. Dr D’Silva had orders from Portugal to turn Goa into ashes and hand over to the Indian Government.
It is nice on the part of the Goa Government to congratulate new PM Antonio Costa of Goan origin and invite him for a civic reception in Goa but demanding an apology for “merciless rule” will amount to an insult and irony.
What the Portuguese did in Angola and Mozambique, they did not do it in Goa.
