June 3, 2024, 10:26 p.m.
(Portugal's surrender in Goa. Photo: quora.com)
After World War II, India was one of the first former colonies to gain independence. However, this was only the beginning of the journey: the Indians had to piece together their territories. Sometimes it was peaceful, sometimes not. Read more about how India had to take land from Portugal by force of arms in Intent's article.
The rise and fall of the Portuguese Empire
India on the way to territorial integrity
India persuades with a gun and a kind word
Since its emergence as a separate state in the 12th century, Portugal has had limited opportunities for development. Firstly, it was squeezed by the Spanish lands, which meant that it could not advance into Europe. Second, the state had access to the sea, but was far from the main trade routes. The Infante of Portugal, Henrique, wanted to change the status quo through navigation and, in particular, tasked his subjects with finding a sea route to India. Henrique did not live to see his dream come true, but the Age of Discovery brought Portugal influence and imperial status.
Monument in honor of the Age of Discovery in Lisbon. Photo: Wikipedia
In 1497-99, Vasco da Gama 's expedition reached the shores of India and returned with a cargo of spices. In 1500, Pedro Cabral, on his way to India, veered far to the west and discovered Brazil, to which Portugal laid claim. The following year, the first trading posts in Asia were established in India. It is believed that the Portuguese empire reached its greatest heyday in the late 16th century.
The territories of the world that at one time were part of the Portuguese Empire. Map: Wikipedia
Gradually, Portugal's imperial position began to deteriorate due to pressure from Holland, England, and France, which proved to be more effective in organizing international trade in colonial goods. A serious blow was the invasion of Portugal by Napoleon I in the early nineteenth century and the subsequent loss of Brazil. By the middle of the twentieth century, Portugal still owned colonies. The main assets at that time were territories in Africa and several enclaves in India.
After the end of World War II, the process of decolonization began in the world. The European empires were weakened by the war and realized that they would not be able to maintain their colonies. At the same time, national movements were rapidly developing in the Third World, and radical parties and groups began to fight against the occupiers. In addition, the European colonizers were under pressure from the United States and the Soviet Union, which had enormous authority after the war but did not have their own colonies.
At the end of the Second World War, a large part of India belonged to Great Britain, and some territories were ruled by France and Portugal. Also, approximately 40-45% of the territory was occupied by principalities that were not formally part of British India, but were subordinate to the Indian Governor-General. Since the beginning of 1946, there have been riots and uprisings in India, forcing Britain to recognize the country's independence. However, the problems of the former colony have only just begun. Since the territory was not homogeneous, clashes between Hindus and Muslims broke out everywhere. Eventually, it was decided to divide British India into two countries on a religious basis: territories with predominantly Hindu and Sikh populations went to India, and Muslim-dominated territories went to Pakistan. Of course, this situation was not without its difficulties. Some principalities wanted to declare their own independence, while others did not want to recognize the religious principle of partition. In all controversial situations, India and Pakistan used force to persuade those who disagreed. The countries decided to resolve the issues that remained unresolved during the Indo-Pakistani war of 1947-48.
Autonomous principalities on the 1909 map of British India. Map: Wikipedia
France also demonstrated an understanding of global trends and began the process of transferring its territories to India. In fact, this process was completed in the mid-1950s, although legal formalities lasted until the next decade.
Instead, Portugal ignored all signals and hints. Before the outbreak of World War II, the country was led by António Salazar, who established a dictatorship with elements of fascist ideology. A prudent foreign policy allowed Portugal to remain neutral during the war and even benefit from it economically and politically. In 1949, Portugal became one of the founding members of NATO. Salazar believed that Portugal had to fight for every piece of its colonial land. Western countries were forced to turn a blind eye to the obvious anti-democratic contradictions in their ally's policy in the Cold War.
In 1950, the Indian government officially approached the Portuguese leadership to discuss the transfer of Portuguese colonies. Portuguese India at that time consisted of enclaves off the west coast - Goa, Daman, Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli. The Portuguese authorities categorically refused to even discuss this issue, citing the following arguments. First, Portugal's possessions in India predate the Mughal Empire and were never part of that empire, meaning that India, as a descendant, could not claim them. This argument was only partially true. For example, Nagar Haveli became Portuguese territory only at the end of the eighteenth century. Secondly, the population of Portuguese India had long since turned from Indians to Portuguese through assimilation. That is, Portuguese India is not a colony but a part of the metropolis. India's arguments were more convincing. First, the colonial status of the territories was irrefutably evidenced by geographical and historical factors. Second, 61% of the population professed Hinduism. At the same time, it should be emphasized that the enclaves belonged to Portugal, which had the full right to dispose of them at its own discretion.
When India realized that the diplomatic route would not lead to results, it turned to pressure. In 1953, the diplomatic mission was withdrawn from Lisbon. The Indian government supported the formation of illegal armed groups by providing them with financial and resource assistance. The groups were supposed to undermine the economic well-being and livelihood of the enclaves. The following year, India imposed restrictions on travel from Goa to the Asian country, which made communication between the enclaves as difficult as possible. Sanctions were also imposed on Portugal. Finally, the Indian Dockers' Union organized a boycott on the transportation of goods to Portuguese India.
In the summer of 1954, Indian armed groups launched a series of attacks on Dadra and Nagar Haveli. Both enclaves had no armed forces. Local police tried to resist, but to no avail. The Indian government claimed that the action was the work of civil activists, but did not allow the Portuguese from other enclaves to provide armed assistance and refused to return the territories. Portugal appealed to the International Court of Justice, which made a decision only in 1960. According to this decision, Portugal had a sovereign right to the enclaves, but India, for its part, had the right to prevent Portuguese armed forces from passing through its territory. The return of the enclaves never took place, as it was obvious at the time that India would not give up the enclaves peacefully.
In August 1955, several thousand Indian activists attempted to enter Goa unarmed in various locations, but Portuguese security forces met them aggressively, resulting in the deaths of about three dozen Indians. The Indian authorities tried to present the action as a way of non-violent struggle in the tradition of Mahatma Gandhi, to which the Portuguese reacted inadequately. However, it is difficult to imagine how else the Portuguese could have perceived the action after the two enclaves were seized in 1954. In response, India closed its consulate in Goa and tightened the blockade of the Portuguese enclaves.
Demonstrators on the Goan border in August 1955. Photo: Life
Portugal decided to strengthen its armed forces in India as early as 1954. According to some sources, the number of Portuguese troops in India was brought up to 8,000, according to others - even to 13,500. However, the Portuguese authorities gradually came to the conclusion that this number of soldiers was too many to protect against terrorist attacks and provocations, and still not enough to protect against the Indian army. In addition, in 1960, Portugal began preparing for an uprising in Angola, so to strengthen its African colonies, the military staff in India was reduced to 3,500.
What could Portugal count on in the event of an Indian attack? Most likely, on diplomacy. After all, Portugal had a certain authority and was a member of NATO. In addition, Portugal had a number of aid agreements with England dating back to the fourteenth century. It was believed that the parties had never violated them before.
In 1961, pressure on Portugal continued. In particular, in the fall, India switched to the tactic of throwing groups of saboteurs into Portuguese territory. This led to the fact that on November 24, the Portuguese military, tense and ready for constant provocations, fired on a civilian Indian ship, killing a passenger and injuring a crew member. A public outcry arose in India, and the government decided to use the incident to start a war. On December 10, Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru said that "Goa's continued presence under Portuguese rule is unacceptable." It became obvious that war was inevitable. On December 11, Indian Defense Minister Krishna Menon issued a secret directive to launch Operation Vijay.
Goa, Daman and Diu on the map of modern India. Map: Wikipedia
In addition to the small number of troops, the problem was that Portuguese India lacked airplanes, tanks, and ammunition in general. In particular, there was not enough ammunition to mine roads and beaches. The Portuguese leadership tried to respond quickly to the situation. The task of bringing in ammunition was assigned to the Portuguese Air Force. However, the Portuguese were unable to agree with any country on an intermediate landing of aircraft. Even the Americans refused to provide their base in Libya. Before that, most countries did not allow military aircraft to fly through their own airspace. Moreover, Egypt refused to allow Portuguese ships to pass through the Suez Canal. The Portuguese anti-aircraft gunners arrived in Goa via Pakistan, pretending to be a soccer team. Of course, this was just a drop in the bucket.
Hopes for allied support did not materialize either. The United States simply warned India that its attack on Goa would not be supported by the Americans in the UN Security Council. Britain said that the provisions of the Anglo-Portuguese military treaty of 1899 had nothing to do with the situation in Goa and it had no plans to fight against a member of the British Commonwealth.
On December 14, António Salazar sends a message to Governor General Manuel Vassal e Silva demanding that he hold out for at least eight days, and if necessary, that everyone die, to give Portugal time and opportunity to appeal to the United Nations. The dictator also demanded the destruction of all Portuguese cultural monuments in the enclaves, but the governor general refused to participate.
On the morning of December 17, an Indian force attacked and captured the town of Maulingham in Goa. However, the main fighting took place on the morning of December 18. India launched an offensive against all three enclaves, with 45,000 soldiers, aircraft, tanks, ships, and artillery. The Portuguese air force was destroyed in the first hours, after which the Indians gained complete control in the air. The Indians remembered that Portugal had a military air force, so they bombed airports intensively.
A real naval battle took place in the Gulf of Mormugan near Goa. The Portuguese sloop Afonso de Albuquerque stood in the bay to cover the coast. Three Indian frigates came out against it, two of which engaged in combat. The Indian frigates were much newer than the Portuguese sloop. In addition, they fired sixteen rounds per minute, compared to only two for the Portuguese. Soon the Indian frigates began to hit the target. The Portuguese captain was severely wounded, and his place was taken by the first mate. The signal sergeant lost his nerve and gave the order to raise the white flag. The Indians did not notice the white flag, and it was quickly taken down. The battle lasted about an hour, after which the sloop's crew set fire to the ship and retreated with the wounded.
Another case of heroism took place in the Diu enclave, where the crew of the Portuguese patrol boat Vega was ordered to leave the port and fight to the last charge. The boat attacked two Indian planes. One of them retaliated by killing the captain and the gunner, forcing the crew to abandon the boat.
While in Goa the Portuguese troops mostly retreated for fear of being surrounded, fierce battles took place in Daman and Diu. In Daman, 360 Portuguese soldiers defended the airport all day on December 18 under fire from enemy aircraft and artillery, and only laid down their arms the next morning when they ran out of ammunition. On the island of Diu, the Portuguese fortified themselves in an old fortress and repelled attacks until an Indian missile hit an ammunition cache in the evening. Surrendering, Governor Diou said that they could have defended the island for up to several weeks if not for Indian air and sea attacks.
Indian soldiers entering Panjim. Photo: edtimes.in
On December 18, Portugal filed a complaint with the UN Security Council. After discussions, a resolution by the United States and its allies demanding that India leave the occupied territories and resolve the dispute peacefully was adopted by a majority vote. The veto imposed by the USSR ended the discussions and demonstrated one of the UN's failures in resolving international conflicts.
Despite Lisbon's order to fight to the last soldier, the governor general decided to surrender. The official ceremony took place on the evening of December 19. It is generally accepted that the war lasted 36 hours. The number of war casualties, as always, varies from source to source. In total, up to 40 soldiers were killed on each side and up to 60 were wounded. Several thousand Portuguese were taken prisoner by the Indians. Portugal recognized the loss of its territories only in 1974.
After gaining independence, India quickly began to transform from a resentful Third World country that embraced the ideas of Mahatma Gandhi into a powerful geopolitical player that was not above taking part in hostilities if necessary. In the 1970s, the country cemented its new status by joining the "nuclear club." In the conflict with Portugal, India was not interested in the legality of its actions. The Asians simply "knew" that this was their territory. They did not discuss the referendum issue, but demanded that the enclaves be given to them. And eventually they took them by the right of the strong.
The seizure of Portuguese India caused a significant resonance in the world, dividing it in half. India's position was supported by most of the Third World countries, which themselves had suffered from enslavement and rejoiced in the colonizer's defeat. Considerable enthusiasm was demonstrated by Portugal's African colonies, which, in the wake of India's success in the 1960s, fought for independence. Naturally, because of their anti-capitalist stance in the Cold War, the USSR and China supported India. However, China fought a short war against India the following year.
Western countries had to support Portugal in the conflict, as India's actions set an unpleasant precedent that a "third world" country could turn on the powerful. On the other hand, Portugal could not count on strong selfless support. For example, the United States was among those who actively advocated decolonization. Britain and France had abandoned their colonies in India and could hardly be thrilled that someone wanted to look smarter against their background. Did Portugal have the right to expect that NATO member states would be forced to provide it with military assistance by activating the relevant provisions of the organization's charter? The answer to this question is no. Articles 5 and 6 of the NATO Charter contain a list of territories that are subject to the organization's protection. And the territories in Asia are not included in this list.
In 2007, the television show "The Great Portuguese" named António Salazar the most famous Portuguese in history. This decision can be considered at least controversial, because the Portuguese dictator made many mistakes due to his overconfidence. His decision to keep the colonies at any cost can be considered a mistake. In the 1960s, wars in the colonies drained the economy and forced the Portuguese to fight all the time. One of the consequences of the colonial wars was the emigration of 1.6 million Portuguese from the country. Salazar's order to the Governor General of Portuguese India to fight to the last Portuguese can be considered outright criminal. It would be nice if the Portuguese studied their own history better.
Colonization should be recognized as a predominantly negative process, as it led to the exploitation and humiliation of enslaved peoples. Former empires began to lose colonies not because of a coincidence, but because they could not keep them. Thus, despite India's illegal actions, the resolution of the conflict can be considered progressive in terms of historical processes.
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