Sawant laments delayed liberation of Goa from Portugal


Panaji, Jun 18 (IANS): Goa, which was liberated from Portuguese colonial yoke in 1961, would have progressed more, if it had been liberated 15 years earlier along with the Indian mainland in 1947, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said on Tuesday.

Speaking on the occasion of Goa Revolution Day in Panaji, Sawant said: "Goa was liberated 15 years after India's independence. It pains our hearts to think, that if we had obtained independence along with India, we would have progressed more than we have today."

Goa Revolution Day is celebrated on June 18, to mark the anniversary of a speech by freedom fighter and socialist leader Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia in south Goa's Margao town, urging revolution against colonial Portuguese in 1946.

Sawant also said that it was imperative to not forget the contribution of freedom fighters who contributed to the eventual liberation of Goa by the Indian Armed Forces.

"Portraits of five freedom fighters will be installed at the state Secretariat. I also want to create a gallery of photographs of freedom fighters and arrange for screening of films related to the freedom struggle to show them to the youth," Sawant also said.

  

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Comment on this article

  • francis lobo, Mangalore

    Wed, Jun 19 2019

    Blame it on Pandit Nehru as it is time give credit to Sardar Patel. I don't know was Sawant born during this time. The majority of Marathis from Goa were ready to merge with Maharastra (Even Sawant was there he would have done same) and if they had done this there would not have been a Goa as a state. The true liberation of Goa came in the year 1967 when the people of Goa decided to be a separate union territory and not part of Maharastra and voted in a referendum. Otherwise, they would have become like Sawantwadi or Konkan or Kohlapur. Even Bandodkar of MGP who became the chief minister of Goa was elated to see a merger with Maharastra. Thanks to Jack Sequeira and others who fought for a separate state. If Goa was merged with Maharastra they there would not have been Rane, Kamat, Parrikar or for that matter Sawant as chief ministers. Forget liberation from Portuguese and think about the liberation from Maharastra and you will get the true picture of development. People forget the truth and fall to false rhetoric to impress their bosses. This is the tragedy of our politicians who want to rewrite the history

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  • Mohan Prabhu, Mangalore (Kankanady)/Ottawa, Canada

    Tue, Jun 18 2019

    Goans were not ready, adopted "wait and see" attitude. The foreign government had kept them too long under servitude and threw a wedge in their entire society. So, it is not their fault for not rising up when the rest of India was "up 'n arms".

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