Goa Liberation Day: The Goa Liberation Day is observed on December 19 every year to commemorate the day when the Indian armed forces freed Goa from Portuguese rule on December 19, 1961 after 451 years.
On this day, Portuguese rule in the region officially came to an end after 451 years and the territory was taken back by India on December 19, 1961.
The Portuguese had colonised many parts of India in 1510 but by the end of the 19th-century, these colonies in India remained limited to a few places including Goa, Daman, Diu, Dadra, Nagar Haveli and Anjediva Island.
The Goa liberation movement, which sought to end Portuguese colonial rule in Goa, started off with small scale revolts.
Surprisingly, on August 15, 1947, when India gained its Independence, Goa was still under the Portuguese rule.
As the Portuguese refused to give up their hold over Goa and other Indian territories, the former prime minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, decided that military intervention was the only option as a myriad of negotiations and diplomatic efforts with the Portuguese had proven unsuccessful.
The 36-hour military operation was conducted from December 18, 1961 which was code-named as ‘Operation Vijay’ which means ‘Operation Victory,’ . It involved attacks by the Indian Navy, Indian Air Force and Indian Army which led to the release of Goa from clutches of Portuguese.