Dom Antonio da Fonseca's Speech

© 2003, A.D., P.J. Mascarenhas, Goa Livre Organisation

Address Delivered By Dom Antonio da Fonseca, General Secretary of the GFM and Portugal Delegate, To The Goan Conference, Paris

Mr. President:
My dear Fellow Goans:

Today is indeed a great day. Today is Goa's date with destiny.Never before have the sons of that loving mother, today enslaved, met, such as you from all four corners of theworld, to decide her fate. This meeting of ours is a historic event: It will go down in history as the first of its kind ever held by the good sons of Goa to release her from her captivity.

Today is the Feast of our Patron Saint, our Protector, Francisco Xavier — the convenors could not have chosen a better date. Neither could they have chosen a better place, as France is well known for Fraternity, Equality and Liberty. While I tender my most sincere thanks to the French Government and express my deep gratitude for having afforded us the facilities to hold this historic conference, I cannot help but say that I drew a leaf from the book of General Charles de Gaulle's life. To the world his name is a legend. To France his name is the brightest chapter of her modern history. While from North Africa this great General fought to free his country from the defeat and humiliation it had suffered, Mr. Minguel de Sousa, my old friend, and Vice President of the Goan Association, and myself, both modest soldiers of the East African Forces, also did our bit to win the war for the Allies and thus bring the cherished freedom to the people of France (Cheers). General De Gaulle is an outstanding example of the finest patriotism worthy of emulation.

What a great coincidence that from this great Metropolis — Paris — I should cry out FREEDOM TO GOA, Freedom to the people of Goa, Damao and Dio (Cheers). Humiliation we shall not suffer, the flower of Goa shall rise again.

I am sure that each of us will solemnly vow to bring our struggle, which unites us all today, undaunted and guided by the courage of our convictions, to a successful end. There shall be no difficulties that we shall not surmount; there shallbe no arguments that we shall not be able to counteract; there shall be no obstructions that we shall not be bale to destroy; there shall be no sacrifices that we shall not be able to make; but there shall be only one way and that is UNITED to go ahead with a firm determination to win our battle and thus win for our children their rightful home, a home that we rightfully inherited from our ancestors, which is lost today, at the cost of, in the words of the great Churchill, our "blood, tears and toils."

What we have gathered here for is to claim Self-Determination. Self-Determination is our legitimate right. Self-Determination is our birthright. Self-Determination cannot be denied to us. I believe that the world of today still has a conscience and we will stir it. Sincethe fall of our dear Goa much has been done, a lot has been achieved and with good results and the best result of all is this meeting of today (Cheers). When we reach Paris we smell perfume; even so when we reach the United Nations we breathe Self-Determination which is so much in vogue and as such we can be made no exception to the rule. We not only claim Self-Determination, but we demand it and we will fight for it (Cheers).

France has shown the way how civilized nations solve their differenda — could not have France marched her armies into Monaco and wiped it out in a second? No, she, true to her traditions, solved the issue through peaceful negotiations accepting reason and respecting rights. (Cheers).

I, therefore, crave your indulgence to give me a patient hearing so that I may, to the best of my ability, do justice to the CAUSE, that is Goa, which has brought us here together.

Before I enter into the theme of my speech, I wish to bow before the Goan Association which represents our brethren in East Africa and pay my homage to them all for having been the first, immediately after the fall of Goa, to organize themselves and sent out a call to the Goans all over. (Cheers). I am sure this is a great day for them in particular to see fully realized how the Goans from all over responded as one.

It is essential for me to refer to the so-called "Case of Goa" built up by the Indian Union Authorities from the moment the Indian Union attained her independence and more so how she consistently lied to the world commencing from 1954 to the fateful day of the invasion and military occupation — the 18th December, 1961. I would like to add that from 1944 to 1954 I lived in Bombay and am therefore an eye witness to all that took place in that city.

Facts and Realities

Looking at India, one is bound to see a picture of bewildering diversity — geographical variety, many ethnic and racial groups, different levels of culture, different languages, caste segregation, peculiar local customs, various religious beliefs, truly, a veritable ethnological museum — which has been the cause of innumerable political divisions from times immemorial and which have characterized Indian History.

It must be realized that INDIA is not a nation and has nver been one. There is no such thing as an Indian People. Surely every student of history will agree that, in the best of hypothesis, India can be correctly designated a sub-continent. History tells us that on this sub-continent there rose and fell many empires, some of them very powerful. But at no time did the sub-continent — INDIA — from North to South and East to West come de facto under any one of these empires. So up to the 19th century this sub-continent can be compared to the European Continent and remains an unchallenged fact. When I say the 19th. century, I mean, that the British supremacy on the Indian sub-continent gave it a semblance of a political unit. The British Indian Empire did not consist just the area that Nehru dominates today. It consisted of Burma (which seceded, if I am not mistaken, in 1936), Ceylond, which a decade or so later also became an independent sovereign nation, and Mr. Nehru himself cannot run away from the fact that, whether he liked it or not, he had to accept the partition of the balance of the said empire into PAKISTAN and the INDIAN UNION. Aden, too, for a certain time was governed by the Viceroy of British India. This, gentlemen, is the evolution of historical facts.

The Indian Union tries to throw dust in the eyes of the world, and in her usual deceitful propaganda tries to create the impression that India means the whole sub-continent from North to South and East to West, and that as such she has the right to overrun and annex all that she pleases. Who on earth is a fool to believe that her present military build-up isnot one day to invade Pakistan and Ceylon? Who on earth is a fool to believe that, if China wants to overrun the Indian sub-continent, no amount of military build-up can detain her forces. (Cheers).

The history of the Indian sub-continent being a very complex story, it is very difficult to even give its resume. The main facts, as the Oxford History of India points out, are — that there were three main regions, which have had a distinct, highly complex story of its own. The points of contact betwen the three are not many.

So the deduction that wecan convincingly draw is:
  1. That India is a geographical fact;
  2. That India never was and even now she isn't one single political unit;
  3. That the British gave the sub-continent a semblance of unity; and
  4. That while the British ruled, a semblance of unity prevailed, and when England left, once again the sub-continent fell to pieces.

What is Goa?

Earlier, dealing with what is India, I said that the history of the Indian sub-continent was divided inot three territorial portions. The first was the Northern compartment whcih covered the Northern plains forming the basins of the Indus and the Ganges. The second, the Deccan Plateau lying to the South of the Narbada and to the North of the Krishna and Tungabadra rivers; and the third, the Far South, comprising Tamil States. This of course excludes allthe minor distinct areas such as the Konkan, the Himalayas and others. Unfortunately there being no general history of our dear Goa, which God willing we will produce, it is extremely difficult for me to give full details of our pre-Portuguese history, and I shall limit myself to the most important references made of Goa, our beautiful and lovely mother.

Fr. M.J. Gabriel Saldanha recounts that Goa was in olden times inhabitated by poor but industrious men, who planted their groves and ploughed their fields. He admits the possibility of Semitic incursions, but states that there is no definite proof to sustain this. Referring to the Skanda Purana, he states that the Aryans entered Goa. He adds that what is definite is that one day, Goa passed to the foreign Kadambas which ended with King Kamadeva, the last of that dynasty. Later, the Yadavas of Devanagri succeded in taking Goa but in 1294 it fell into the hands of the Mohamedans. Later, however, in 1367 Goa was taken by Vidyaranya Madhava and thus became a possession of the Raja of Vyjayanagar or Bisnagar.

It is recorded that Goa achieved its independence after a revolt in 1440. In 1469 Mahamud Shah the 2nd., 13th. King of the Bahamani dynasty of the Deccan sent his General Mahamud Gawan with a powerful army to subdue some of the neighbouring rajas or kings and on this occassion Goa was taken. Later, due to the insubordination of various provincial governors, each declaring his own independence, the Bahamani dynasty lost its hold and the kingdom was divided into five states, the most powerful being Bijapur. The king of Bijapur together with two other princes of the Deccan agreed between themselves on the devision of their states and in this division, Goa fell to Yusuf, the King of Bijapur. This seems to be more or less the state of affairs before Vasco da Gama discovered the maritime route to India.

It is needless to recall how the Portuguese showed to their successors, the Dutch, the French and the English, the path of conquest, and so made possible the British Empire of India. Those who sit in New Delhi today should have treasure the memory of Vasco da Gama for having laid the corner stone of what is the Indian Union today. that, my dear brothers, was the age of conquest, and it is as a result of the demarcations of that age that we in our times see the birth of so many new nations with geographic continuity.

We now come to the most important historical fact. The two most important factors are the year and the man. The year 1510 and the Man — the Great Captain Afonso de Albuquerque. The great Afonso de Albuquerque took Goa at the request of the people of Goa, conveyed to him by the Hindu chieftain Timoja on 1st March 1510. Having lost it later, he definitely took Goa again on 25th Novemeber of the same year.

This, my dear brethren, is the turning point in the history of our dearest Goa and it is due to this historical fact and what followed, that we have gathered here today, basing ourselves on the solid foundation of being a distinct and well differentiated community from the rest of the Indian Union or the Indian sub-continent (Cheers). Were it not for this fact, I suppose we would not havebeen here and nor would there have been an Indian Union, as the British might not have reached the shores of that sub-continent nor build an empire.

At this stage I would like to stress again most emphatically that, if Goa is what we claim it to be and if Goans are what they are,t hen the only nation that can claim credit for theachievements is PORTUGAL. It is generally accepted that an unmixed good is rare to find. But it would be ingratitude personified were we to only pick on the dark side of the Portuguese rule. I would like you to note in particular the human relations which obtained between the rulers and the ruled. Why is it that everywhere and always Goans said they were Goans or Portuguese. Evidence is not lacking. Is it because they felt proud to be known as such? The answer is yes. It has been their legitimate pride. Where then did the root of their pride lie?

It lay, yes, it definitely lay, in the generosity of the Portuguese Nation, which offered full and equal status to the Goan, equal to that of any Portuguese of Continental Portugal. The Goans having left their common home which has a distinct culture and civilization of its own, being not only conscious but legitimately proud, they meant to preserve something that was too precious to be lost —the LOVE OF GOA AND THE GOLDEN WAY OF GOA.

This is what led our ancestors to create clubs and schools of the Goans for the Goans. Who will deny that the Portuguese made our dear Goa the Rome of the Orient. There is a bright galaxy of Goan stars that adorn the Portuguese firmament. How did this come about? Goan writers, such as P.J. Peregrino da Costa in his book gives us quite a valuable collection of our ancestors. Be it Religion, the Sciences or the Art, Politics or the Armed Forces, Mayors or Municipal Councillors, Cabinet Ministers, Ambassadors, Doctors, Engineers, Architects, Judges, or any other sphere, Goans, on their own merit, achieved the highest positions in Lisboa.

Suffice it to say that the Abbe Faria, who achieved such fame in Portugal and Paris, the great centre of culture, was a protege of King Dom Jose. Alexander Dumas immortalized Faria in his book The Count of Monte Cristo. Bernardo Peres da Silva, deputy several times and the first Goan Governor-General of Goa; his son, Tomas Jose Peres, Governor of Quelimane and Tete; Agostinho Vicente Lourenco, a man who left indelible marks in Paris; Antonio Bettencourt Rodriques, Minister of Foreign Affairs; his brother Junio, a general; Dr. Jose Caetano Pereira, Royal Surgeon; Afredo da Costa, Professor of Medicine; Pedro da Avila, one of the best Architects; Francisco Luis Gomes, brilliant parliamentarian and economist of renown; the Dalgados; Roberto Belarmino Frias, one of the most eminent doctors; Dr. Raimundo Gama Pinto, ophthalmologist of international repute and so many countless others.

In England, among others, Sir Ernesto Jose Soares, son of Jose Soares, a doctor of law, who entered politics and was elected to the British Parliament more than once, for the Barnstaple constituency on a Liberal Party ticket, was the Parliamentary Secretary of his Party, Junior Lord of the Treasury, Finance Secretary, Private Secretary of the Prime Minister, Viscount of Gladstone, and the Deputy Superintendent of the Public Debt Office.

Wherever they migrated, Goans have contributed their best in every possible way. The Goan is not selfish; he is expansive and gives with magnanimity. Let us briefly recall what Goans have done in Bombay in the most important spehre — the educational one.

Barreto's Charity School was founded in 1783 by John Barreto, which having been amalgamated with the Dabhul School came to be known as the St. Sebastian's Goan High School; Antonio de Sousa High School; the Anglo-Portuguese High School; the Cavel School founded by Bernardo Xavier Furtado, today known as the St. Xavier's High School; St. John's Anglo-Portuguese School at Dadar, known today as the Antonio da Silva High School; The Charity School of Mahim founded by Fr. Lourenco Pereira, now known as the St. Michael's High School; the Ornelas' School of Bandra, today the St. Andrew's High School; the Portuguese School of Vile Parle; Little Flower of Jesus School, founded by Fr. Herculano Goncalves; Ornela's School in Poona; and many more founded all over India by Goans. (Cheers)

At this point let me stress that we are a separate people and a separate country. There are many who claim Goa as a part of Maharashtra, historically, culturally and geographically, that they seem to forget that the Maratha Empire was born a century later after Goa was a separate country altogether (Cheers). There are still others who claim Goa to be a part of Karnatak, but although parts of Goa belonged to the Kadambas, who were Kannadiga kings, Goa was incorporated in the Kannadiga kingdom of Vijayanagar for a very short time. Not even a generation. And what influence has modern Goa today left of this Karnataka? (ref. A Short History of Goa, by Fr. M.J. Gabriel Saldanha).

WE ARE A SEPARATE PEOPLE AND A SEPARATE COUNTRY! (Cheers).

The Explanation

The Senate of Goa enjoyed the same rights and privileges as the City of Lisbon, including the right to deal directly with the King on matters political. By the middle of the 16th, century Goa could boast of hospitals and educational institutions conducted on European lines.

As a result of social intermingling, it is universally acknowledged that Goans are a well differentiated community. Their laws and political institutions have traditionally been those of Portugal. They have always played their part, on a basis of full equality, in all activities of the Portuguese Nation.

Ever since Portugal introduced the parliamentary system in her political life — 1822 — Goans have always sent their deputies.

Goans have at all times been closely associated with the administration of their homeland and held almost every post sometimes with high European officials as their subordinates. At the time Nehru invaded Goa, the Secretary General (i.e. Secretary of State), the Chief Justice, the Attorney General, the Judges of the High Court of Goa, other civil magistrates, the Directors of Civil Administration, Customs, Treasury, Posts and Telegraphs, Government Press, Medical College, all local administrators, etc., were all Goans. (Cheers).

The Legislative Council, Goa's Parliament, which consisted of 23 members, had 3 ex-officio members and 2 nominated members while the rest were elected. All these elected members were Goans.

I believe that our fight is based on sound juridical grounds, our inalienable rights as a community and not on the beneplacit of anyone.

As we have seen, our association with Portugal for centuries did not downgrade or degrade us. On the contrary it resulted in a very successful experiment of which the world should take a note — the blending of the East and the West.

Notwithstanding the United Nations Charter, the Charter of Human Rights, rudimentary civilized behaviour of the century in which we live, and against all canons of justice, Nehru — the "pacifist" — marched his armies and militarily occupied Goa, Damao and Dio on the fateful 18th December, 1961.

What Is Our Fate Now?

You can see it today and you can feel it today that you have not only been downgraded but degraded in every sense of the word. I can assure you that I would not only resent but revolt against any such measures, as I do today, had the Portuguese done a fraction of what the Indians from the Indian Union are perpetrating on our people. In this connection, the report I received from the Underground Resistance Movement in Goa speaks for itself.

On the whole we are a contented people and hate interference in our lives, I mean something that tries to destroy the very essence of not only our material being but more so our spiritual side of life. We are roughly a million people and our upbringing and education does not allow us to exploit our own brothers but as has already been seen we rather prefer to share it with others. The Portuguese, having sensed the local feelings, made laws that permitted the Goans to live a life without the weight of taxation, forcing him to dispossess himself of what little he inherited. The ambition of the average Goan has been to add something to it.

Today with the taxation brought in by the hounds of the Indian Union, we face total extermination and, gentlemen, time is now the factor of total liquidation and complete annihilation. We are supposed to pay to the Indian Union such exhorbitant taxes that spell our extinction. I will name just a few which are slow but steady blood suckers: Income Tax, Customs Duty, Excise, Post & Telegraph revenues, and Death Duty. With these and the last one in particular, Nehru in a matter of a generation or tow will make a clean sweep of the Goans and their belongings.

That house where you were born, where your mother fondled you, that tree in your garden under whose shade you spent your infancy, that hearth in which you roasted your cashew nuts, that sacred something that reminded you always of your family traditions, those wall that whispered to your soul the names of your ancestors, all this will soon be an Ananda Bhuvan or a Krishna Nivas and you and I, dear brethren, will be beggared and reduced to living on the streets. It is only a matter of time!

Were the Portuguese "oppressors and colonialists"? The taxes collected in Goa reverted to Goa's progress and prosperity, hardly a pie went to Lisbon to feed the Central Government of Portugal. Your Legislative Council, the Goan Parliament, had full deliberative powers even on matters of taxation. I am sure every Goan can see the difference between the Portuguese "oppression" and Nehru's so-called "liberation" which in its wake brought nothing but misery and suffering to our people.

Goa's development is very well advertised — to whose advantage? Let us face facts and not be blind to realities. The Goans will forever find it difficult to even continue as a white collared clerk and earn a pittance. What were you earning, eating, dressing before the fatal invasion and what is it today? Need I narrate?

Our blood is being sucked and the marrow of the bones of our children is being chewed by the hounds that have pouned on our country and in the true style of conquerors are dispossessing us of our belongings.

Goa and the Indian Union

Following the attainment of independence by the Indian Union, the Government of Bharat announced their desire to enter into negotiations with the Portuguese Government for the transfer to the Indian Union of the territories which constitute the Portuguese State of India. Supporting such a claim the Government of Bharat put forward arguments of a geographical, political and economic nature: namely, territorial continuity; the wish of the local population to free itself from a purely colonial oppressive regime; and, inally, the advantage of those territories depending economically on powerful neighbours and thereby enjoying a prosperity hitherto unknown to them.

I need hardly dwell on the first argument — geography. If ever anyone were to accept it then one sees no reason why Pakistan, Ceylon and other nations on the Indian sub-continent should not also be annexed. This would also change the maps on other continents.

Taking the second we have already seen that politicallythe State of Portuguese India had noting to do with the old British Indian Empire except live as good neighbours.

Economically we will soon see thatwe were far ahead of the Indian Union, and after the inhuman blockade the Indian Union realized that Goa, Damao and Dio could well manage without her patronage. On the contrary the State of Portuguese India propsered in every way.

Nehru seems to think that only Goa has common frontiers with the Indian Union. What of other independent nations?

The people of Goa, Damao and Dio at no time expressed their will to join the Indian Union or to overthrow the "oppressive" colonialist regime.

The Indian Union is today a bankrupt nation and is sinking more and more, not even having enough foreign exchange to give her people the simple amenities of life.

When Nehru saw that his arguments were utterly baseless and support from the Goans was totally nil, he resorted to: —a blockade, and banned all trade between his Indian Union and the State of Portuguese India;
—freezing of funds deposited by Goans in Indian banks;
—banning of remittances of Goans living in the Indian Union to their dependents in the State of Portuguese India;
—violating postal correspondence from and into the Indian Union;
—inciting dock workers to refuse to handle cargo carried by foreign ships consigned for Goa;
—subjecting Goan emigrants in the Indian Union who wished to visit their homes and families in Goa to untold harrassments;
—interruption of traffic, sea, rail and air;
—training and sending terrorists into Goa, Damao and Dio;
—utterly baseless and lying propaganda;
—boarding of, or even committing acts of piracy against, fishing orcargo boats by vessels of official services of the Indian Union;
—preparation and enlistment of groups of so-called "satyagrahis" ordered and paid for by the Indian Union, and so many other ways of sabotage;

If the people of Goa, Damao and Dio supported Nehru, all the above measures which were calculated to directly hit them most and thus bring them to their knees were not at all necessary. These and other brutal measures did the trick with the French possessions, as these were enclaves. The Indian Union did not receive even 1% support from the Goans in Goa and much less from the thousands of Goans in the Indian Union itself.

Frustrated by these measures which proved first to the Indian Union and then to the Goans themselves that Goa was not at all economically dependent on her, the Indian Union authorities changed their tactics and started wooing the Goans. This too did not bring the desired effects. Which of us is blind to the truth of the matter? The Goans are not only a gifted people, but they are naturally intelligent. Even those who are illiterate can smell Nehru's crookishness like a cat smells a rat.

At this stage it is necessary for me to take you to know better the "Apostle and International Negotiator of Peace" the enuntiator of Shillas and the Advocate of High Principles in Bandung. Nehru, the Prime Minister of Bharat, and Mr. Chou-En-Lai, gave the world a doctrine, which otherwise is already incorporated in the UN Charter, the Panchshilla which prescribed:
  1. Mutual respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty;
  2. Non-aggression;
  3. Non-interference in each other's internal affairs;
  4. Equality and mutual benefit, and
  5. Peaceful co-existence.
How much Nehru has respected these principles can easily be seen from the Sino-Indian conflict. Nehru calls it aggression, but against what and whom? One could understand if China had invaded Indian Union territory. Nehru in his usual way wishes to bluff the world that territories in dispute are Indian Union possessions. Why does there not exist a similar differendum between equally good neighbours Pakistan and China?

In April 1955, Nehru advocated at the Bandung Conference the folowing rules:
  1. —Respect for the basic rights of man, and for the aims and principles of the United Nations Charter.
  2. —Respect for the sovereign rights of all countries and for their territorial integrity.
  3. —Recognition of sovereign equality between all races and nations, great and small.
  4. —Abstention from all interference in the domestic affairs of other countries.
  5. —Respect for the right of nations to individual or collective defence in accordance with the United Nations Charter.
  6. —Renunciation of the establishment of collective regional organizations, said to be for defence purposes, in order to serve the particular interest of a great power, and a ban on any form of pressure brought to bear on any one country or any other.
  7. —Non-recourse to aggressive threats and measures, as well as the use of force, to the detriment of the polity of a country of group of countries.
  8. —Resolution of all international disputes by peaceful means, such as negotiations, arbitration, recourse to international courts, or any other peaceful methods which the interested parties may choose in conformity with the United Nations Charter.
  9. —Development of mutual interests and reciprocal aid.
  10. —Respect for justice and international committments.
In the light of what I have narrated, let us now go back to the treatment of Goa by the Indian Union:
  1. How much of all this was applied to the State of Portuguese India?
  2. How cordial are the relations with Pakistan?
  3. What about Kashmir?
  4. What about Hyderabad, Junagad and other States — what is their fate?
In the Sino-Indian conflict, according to Mr. Nehru, China is the wolf and he is the lamb!

In one word, everyone is wrong and only Mr. Nehru is right. (Cheers). But the world knows the answer. Mr. Nehru's sincerity and bonafides are amply proved. Did not this very same Nehru, son of Motilal, always categorically state within and without Parliament that force would never be used to solve the Goa Case? "What are the basic elements of our policy in regard to Goa?" this is a question he posed and himself answered thus: "First, there must be peaceful methods. This is essential, unless we give up the roots of all our policies and all our policies and behaviour... We rule out non-peaceful methods entirely." On another occasion in a speech made in Sitapur on 22nd August 1955, this "angel" of peace said: "To take Goa by force would be easy enough but to do so would be a betrayal of India's ideal" and that "to talk of police action would be contrary to the policy of the Government as well to the dignity of India." Again in the Lok Sabha declared Mr. Nehru, Prime Minister of Bharat, on the 25th. of August, 1954: "The policy that we have pursued has been, even as in India under the British rule, one of non-violence, and we have fashioned our approach and conduct accordingly. This adherence to non-violence means:
  1. That we may not abandon or permit any derogation of our identification with the cause of our compatriots under Portuguese rule, and
  2. Equally, we may not adopt, advocate or deliberately bring about situations of violence."
I would like to quote Nehru just once more, because of a significant pledge he made to the Goans. At a gathering held in Bombay on the 4th. of June, 1956, Mr. Nehru, Mahatmaji's spiritual heir said: "I want to explain myself. If the people of Goa, that is, minus the Portuguese Government — if and when the Portuguese go and the people of Goa deliberately wish to retain their separate identity, I am not going to bring them by force or compulsion or coercion into the Indian Union....

"I merely say that my national interest involves the removal of the Portuguese from Goa, not coercion being used in bringing about the union of Goa with India although I wish it, I desire it and it is the only solution. That is a matter ultimately for the people of Goa to decide... (Cheers).

"I want to make it perfectly clear that I have no desire to coerce Goa to join India against the wishes of the people of Goa... But the point is that we feel that Goa's individuality should remain and that whenever the time comes for any changes, internal or other, it wil be for the people of Goa acting freely to decide upon them." I make no further comments. (Cheers).

Is Goa Economically A Viable Unit?

Everyone rightly wants an answer to this all-important question. Economic viability, in our particular case, is hard to define. However, it is an accepted principle that if people of any given country live within its resources, economic viability is always possible. But in our case, what everyone wants to know is whether Goa can afford progressive economy and thus achieve the social prosperity which the Goan has been used to for 450 years and now is deprived of.

I will try my best to give an answer which I hope will satisfy everyone. I feel that it is essential to study the two basic factors on which the economy of Goa could be based soundly, and these are:
  1. The potentialities Goa offers; and
  2. The possibilities of their utilization.
After having been compelled to leave Bombay in 1954 for the only crime, in they eyes of the Indian Union authorities, of having strongly and openly opoosed the "integration" of my motherland — Goa — into the Indian Union, I thought of dedicating myself in Goa to the study of our economy, more so because the Indian Union claimed that economically we depended on her.

When in 1959 I landed in Lisbon, I sought an audience with the Prime Minister of Portugal and discussed with him plans to place the Goan economy on a much sounder footing. Records prove that some of the plans I presented were undertaken straightaway, while others were under study.

As I said earlier the inhuman blockade clearly proved to the Indian Union that Goa could very well survive, nay prosper, without any assistance from her. The blockade proved to be a blessing in disguise and Goa rose to the occasion and prospered.

What are then the potentialities that our dear Goa offers?

I would adduce these:
  1. The human element: Goa possesses her loving sons and daughters who are not only talented and creative but are wonderfully adaptable to all climates and standards of life, and this circumstance is to me our best asset. (Cheers)
  2. Goa's geographical situation with her natural harbour, which has been the envy of many, places her in a unique position to derive the fullest benefit for Goa's economic prosperity.
  3. We are essentially agriculturists and we have our traditional "Communidades" which are not to be scrapped but revitalized. Our soil is very rich.
  4. Goa affords enough facilities to breed cattle and poultry especially in the areas of the New Conquests.
  5. River transportation in Goa from any point to the harbour can be sued and in other places we need only extend our rail lines.
  6. Goa's waterfalls need only to be harnessed for power.
  7. Goa offers you a variety of sea food for industrialization purposes on a very large scale.
  8. Goa's mineral resources, including salt, are rich, plentiful and in great demand.
  9. Goa has forests which means wealth.
  10. Goa's natural scenic beauty, her landscape, her seashores, her hills, her fountains, her coconut palms that sway over the rivers and whisper to the heavens, her glorious past, her historical monuments, the heaven blessed body of our Patron Saint Francis Xavier, all these will brign millions of visitors to our beloved land. Thus Goa can be turned not ony into a place of pilgrimage but a tourist paradise, an oasis in the East. (Cheers)
  11. The Goa Budget consistently showed a surplus since 1957. In 1960 we had already balanced our imports against our exports.
  12. Goa's economy was racing ahead at the rate of 10% per annum, much faster than that of the Indian Union. Goa enjoyed a standard of living far above that of the Indian Union or the neighbouring provinces of the Indian Union. It was over double.
  13. The Goan currency was strong.
  14. Goa provides a vast field for various industries.
If I were to examine in detail each and every possibility that every potentiality offers, I am afraid, I would keep you here for weeks on end. But I consider it very important to just give you some glimpses of those possibilities.

The Human element: A country is not gauged by its riches alone. The mos timportant of all factors is the human factor. In the past the Goans have carried the day in almost every walk of life, and they are doing it in the present times. Can anyone doubt that they also will in the future. We can only fail in one way, and that is, if, at this moment, we fail to deliver ourselves from the slaughter house.

Goa's Harbour: Countries build harbours. We possess a natural one. We only need to take the best advantage of what nature has provided us with. A portion of the harbour was already mechanized for the loading of ores. There is yet much more to be done.

Agriculture: The Communidades as we all know are village republics. These unique and ancient institutions can be a landmark in the development of our economy. Almost 2/3 of our cultivable land belongs to the Communidades. How many thousands of cashew trees could you not plant today on your hills? It is estimated that Goa's requirement in rice were around 85,000 tons, 30,000 tons of which were imported. It is also on record that 9 tons of rice per hectare were already produced. Is it impossible to achieve self-sufficiency without million dollar projects? With minor irrigation schemes and cheap fertilizers and this rate of production our country's yield of rice would exceed our consumption. He we industrialized the coconut production? Certainly there is place in Goa for further plantation, and for increasing production not only of the coconut but of all its allied industries, as is done in Ceylon today.

Tourism: Goa offers first class tourist requisites. All we have to do is to provide what the tourist looks for and this will yield you enormous foreign exchange.

Cattle & Poultry: Plan it as it should be, and you will not only have enough for your consumption, but there will be a demand for your surplus.

River Transportation: The primary factor that contributed to keep your ore price attractive was the rivers which spread throughout Goa like veins in our body.

Power: We have waterfalls. We need to study the means of harnessing these for cheap power.

Fisheries: You have the vastness of the ocean and variety of seafood. Fish it, eat it, can it and export it.

Iron & Manganese Ores: We possess iron ore which is not only plentiful but very rich. We also have manganese but not in so large quantities. We need to control this national wealth to the benefit of all. I have always been against reckless exports of this precious mineral. We must use it carefully in order to offset our trade balance, whilst we create new and stable industries which will be really the backbone of our economy.

What is of paramount importance is that Goa be left to herself. She will sort out her own problems. But if Goa is made a taluca of the Indian Union and must give its lifeblood to the Bharati Government by way of taxation, then I am afraid there is no salvation at all. (Cheers).

This, my dear brethren, is a picture that one can draw of Goa's economic viability. Basing oneself on the potentialities Goa offers and on the human element that is more than capable to make good the possibilities, one can forecast a very bright future to our land, much brighter perhaps than many countries in the East.

Goa And The United Nations

We have now, in my opinion, arrived at a crucial point. Before I enter into the question of Goa and the United Nations, I would like to first quote, being of paramount importance to all of us, what the distinguished Ambassador Adlai E. Stevenson, United States Representative to the United Nations said in the Security Council when the late President Kennedy announced the initiation of a strict quarantine against Cuba. Said Ambassador Stevenson: Mr. President, seventeen years ago the representatives of fifty-one nations gathered in San Francisco to adopt the Charter of the United Nations. Thse nations stated with clarity and eloquence the high purpose which brought them together. They announced their common determination "to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war... to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights... to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of internatinal law can be obtained and to promote social progres and better standards of life in larger freedom." And in one sentence, Paragraph 4, Article 2, they defined the necessary condition of a community of independent peoples: "All members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations." In this spirit, these fifty-one nations solemnly resolved to band together in a great cooperative quest for world peace and world progress. The adventure of the United Nations held out to humanity the bright hope of a new world — a world securely founded in international peace, in national independence, in personal freedom, in respect for law, for social justice and betterment, and, in the words of the Charter, for equal rights and self-determination of peoples." He added: Like many peoples, we welcomed the world of the Charter, for our society is based on principles of choice and consent." He added further: We doubt whether any nation has so absolute a grip on absolute truth that it is entitled to impose its idea of what is right on others." Faced with the invasion of Goa, Damao and Dio by the Indian Union's aggressive armies, the only problem with which we are faced is whether these utterances of Ambassador Stevenson were meant only to justify the quarantine against Cuba. No, I feel sure, he meant what he said and, as such, it is applicable to every incident where the Charter of the United Nations is ignored, where Human rights are trampled upon, where the international law is violated, where the inalienable rights of people are despised and, last but never the least, where flagrant aggression is committed and people are deprived of their peace and subjugated by force of arms and oppressed.

Reading further through Ambassador Stevenson's statement in the Security Council on the same occasion, one comes across more: Within this Council, it has thwarted the majority will 100 times by the use of the veto the "it refers to Russia, and here I would ask you to recall how the 99th. veto was used to shield the Indian aggression against Goa.

At zero hour, 18th. December, 1961, Indian troops supported by heavy artillery, air and naval units invaded the territories of Goa, Damao and Dio, known as the State of Portuguese India. There was bombing by air and shelling from the sea.

At 3 p.m., the same evening, the Security Council met in New York at the request of the Portuguese Government. The Portuguese Government told the Security Council that the Indian Union Government had committed premediated agression, in clear violation of the letter and spirit of the Charter of the United Nations, particularly its Article 2(3) and 2(4): 2(3)—"All members shall settle their international disputes by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and justice, are not endangered."

2(4)—"All members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat of force against the territorial integrity of political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the purposes of the United Nations."

I. To maintain international peace and security and to that end: to take effective collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to peace, and to bring about by peaceful means and in conformity with the principles of justice and international law, adjustment or settlement of international disputes or situations which might lead to a breach of peace;

II. To develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principles of equal rights and self-determination of peoples, and to take other appropriate measures to strengthen universal peace;

III. To achieve international cooperation in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural, or humanitarian character, and in promoting and encouraging respect for human rights or for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion; and

IV. To be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations in the attainment of these common ends. How gratifying and consoling are these high and noble purposes. One could go to bed in peace and without fear of war.

France, true to her traditions, in unmistakable terms told the Security Council that the Indian Union had committed aggression which as a clear violation of the U.N. Charter. The distinguished representative of France added: "We are not only shocked, but astonished to learn that this action has been taken by a great Asian country which has always posed as the champion of the principles of the Charter and whose declared policy is based on the principles of non-violence, of which Gandhi was not ony a distinguished advocate but an apostle and even a martyr...

"Must we conclude that this country is ready to follow the principles it proclaims when they are to its advantage and determined not to do so when they are to its disadvantage?" Ecuador, China, Chile and Turkey represented in the Security Council by their distinguished representatives also condemned the Indian Union agression.

The distinguished delegates or representatives of Great Britain and the United States of America also played their part in forcefully defending the Charter. They condemned the Indian Union aggression and Mr. Adlai E. Stevenson went so far as to predict the death of the United Nations. When Rusia's 99th. veot nullified the decision of the majority, Mr. Adlai Stevenson left us this hope: "The inability of the Council to act because of the Soviety veto does not alter this fact. We will consult overnight with other members of the Council regarding further steps which might by taken by the United Nations and we reserve the right to seek a further meeting at any time." I wish to thank all the represenatives of the countries which voted for Resolution S/5033 which after recalling Art. 2 of the Charter of the United Nations, deploring the use of force by India, again recalling Art. 1, para 2, of the same Charter called of an immediate cessation of hostilities; called upon the Government of India to withdraw its forces immediately to positions prevailing before 17 December 1961; and urged the parties to work out a permanent solution to their differences by peaceful means in accordance with the principles embodied in the Charter and requested the Secretary General to provide assistance as may be appropriate.

We are not only thankful but grateful to all the countries who exert their power and influence to see that the Charter is respected and nations however small are not oppressed as the Indian Union ddi so flagrantly.

To all the foregoing the reply of the Indian representative, Ambassador Jha in the Security Council was as follows: "It must be realized that this is a colonial question. It is a question of getting rid of the last vestiges of colonialism in India. This is a matter of faith with us. Whatever anyone else may think, Charter or no Charter, Council or no Council, that is our basic faith which we cannot afford to give up at any cost." Gentlemen — granting that it was a colonial question. The people of Goa, Damao and Dio constituted to all titles a PEOPLE. Who gave the Indian Union a mandate to invade us and unilaterally annex our country? Before taking such an action, did the Indian Union consult us? The people of Goa, Damao and Dio were and are capable of solving their problems with the Portuguese Government and at no time did a duly constituted delegation go to Mr. Nehru to seek his aid. No one is more convinced than Nehru himself that the Goans would never go to him for any help or assistance, on the contrary the Goans refused the offer on several occasions.

With Ambassador Jha's reply, Nehru's mask fell of and many who were accustomed to think of the Indian Unio, led by Nehru, as a paragon of international good conduct and a champion of highest standards, were shocked by the news; their disillusionment was complete when they learnt that the ost open defiance yet voiced of the peacekeeping machinery of the United Nations — the Charter and the Security Council — came from the representative and responsible spokesman of Mr. Nehru, the self-appointed keeper of international conscience.

This disillusion was voiced immediately after Mr. Jha's speech by the United States representative in the Security Council, Mr. Adlai Stevenson who after referring to the Indian invasion as "Shocking news" declared: "But what is at stake is not colonialism: it is a bold violation of one of the most basic principles of the United Nations Charter." This was the Voice of the World, indeed, if we keep in mind that the United States of America has assumed the leadership of the Free World.

Will the United States Government, defender of the Charter of the United Nations deny to the people of Goa, Damao and Dio their inalienable right to self-determination? Will the British Government who in the Security Council condemned Indian aggression forsake the Goans who have served her sincerely, honestly and loyally?

The Indian representative tried to rouse emotions by linking the invasion with the colonial issue. What justification did the Indian Union have to commit aggression? And to do it over the heads and wishes of a people who have nothing in common with Nehru or his people?

The whole world is aware that the United Nations was already obsessed with the colonial problem and had voted resolutions (sponsored by the Indian Union among others on the future of the Portuguese Overseas Territories, including "Goa and its dependencies." It is very relevant to quote the operative paras. 2 and 5 of the Resolution 1514 (XV) passed on the 14th of December, 1960, to which the Indian Union was a signatory: "2. All people have a right to self-determination; by virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development." "5. Immediate steps shall be taken, in Trust and Non-Self-Governing Territories or all other territories which have not yet attained independence, to transfer all powers to the people of those territories, iwthout any conditions or reservations, in accordance with their freely expressed will and desire, without any distinction as to race, creed or colour, in order to enable them to enjoy complete independence and freedom." Again by Resolution 1542 (XV), to which the Indian Union was a consenting party, "Goa and dependencies, called the State of India," were named as Non-Self-Governing Territories within the meaning of Chapter XI of the Charter of the United Nations.

When Mr. Jha said in the Security Council, "Charter or no Charter, Council or no Council," he omitted to add, "Resolutions or no Resolutions"! (Cheers).

I must also recall the verdict given by the International Court at Hague in the Case known as "The Right of Passage Case" — Portugal vs. Indian Union — which verdict being against the Indian Union was despised by her. But, of course, Mr. Jha could be expected to glibly add: "Court or no Court, Verdict or no Verdict: Justice in the Dust Bin as it stinks of Colonialism!" (Cheers).

The Indian Union has since not only subjugated the people of Goa, Damao and Dio by violent means, not only does it continue to deny them the right of self-determination, but is actually forcing on them, political, economic, social and cultural institutions which they repudiate, even if they submit to them out of sheer helplessness.

The Resolution 1541 (XV) has laid down Principles which the United Nations should follow in respect of territories called Colonial. Principle VI mentions only three ways, in any one of which "a non-self-governing territory can be said to have reached a full measure of self-government, namely:
  1. Emergence as a sovereign independent State;
  2. Free association with an independent State; or
  3. Integration with an independent State."
The Resolution 1541 (XV) also specifies the circumstances, and in this connection Principle IX says:
  1. "The integrating territory should have attained an advanced stage of self government with free political institutions, so that its people would have the capacity to make a responsible choice through informed and democratic processes.
  2. "The integration should be the result of the freely expressed wishes of the territory's peoples acting with full knowledge of the change in their status, their wishes having been expressed through informed and democratic processes, impartially conducted and based on universal adult suffrage. The United Nations could, when it deems necessary, supervise these processes."
In our case what do we ask — we ask for nothing more than the right to choose freely for ourselves our own way of life through informed and democratic processes and thus determine our own future fully conscious of what we are doing (Cheers). We repudiate and reject any solution imposed on us by force of arms. We repudiate and reject the elections now being conducted by the Indian Union as fake and a mockery. We demand a free, unfettered and unconditional plebiscite. (Cheers).

In the face of the above how are the United Nations going to reconcile the Resolutions and Principles with the violent annexation of Goa, Damao and Dio?

The Case of Goa is the test of the United Nations itself. The Case of Goa will demonstrate to the world as a whole whether the Charter, the Human Rights Declaration, the various Resolutions, the relative Principles, will eventually prevail, or whether the United Nations described by Mr. Adlai Stevenson in the Security Council will throw everything overboard and sacrifice a PEOPLE who, in terms of this very Charter, the Magna Carta of Human Rights, the various Resolutions and its relative principles claim self-determination as their birth right. In other words, gentlemen, will reason, justice and morality triumph over selfish motives and business interests?

I maintain that Self-Determination is not a principle that can be applied to only a given set of people, and can be denied to others in equal circumstances, (cheers), I repeat in equal circumstances. The United Nations will certainly not trample upon our demand, be deaf to our legitimate demand. We trust the United Nations will vindicate our rights and grant us what she herself has been proclaiming, demanding, advocating and defending — self-determination of her own interpretation and making. Towards this end I appeal to all peace loving nations of the world.

Conclusion

Nothing should ever deflect us from our course. Let us now understand the whole extent of the questions which face us, and the need for united action. Thus we will achieve true liberty and the brotherhood of mankind, under God.

It is Nehru's function to muddle all issues, deliberately mislead, and at the same time substitute vague and generalized sweeping statements, often sensational, in the face of proven facts. The only alternative which threatens us is complete catastrophe and our utter humiliation. Let us face the fact that we were challenged to a fight right from 1954. We must accept the challenge fully and with all its implications in mind. All is at stake: faith, family, property, liberty, life and above all, our native land.

We must fight on all the many issues at stake. To be silent now is to lose the battle. Only if we rise to the occasion, will our efforts and sacrifices reap their proper reward. A lack of understanding of the underlying causes of the Indian Union motives will bring about a perpetual enslavement.

In place of a controlled and bogus "liberation" which the imperialist Indian Union is trying to foist on us, we must put up a real struggle for freedom. (Cheers).

Those of us who are still free to act must help those enslaved. We must fight for policies which are an expression of real spiritual values. The struggle has started and it concerns all Goans everywhere. Let us not let outselves be browbeaten by empty or false slogans.

A culture and civilization which are not cherished and protected will die. If that is so, then we must define the objectives we have in mind. We must trace out the plan of attack we will carry out. Whatever our host countries — Inda, Paksitan, England, the USA, Brazil, Iraq, Africa, Singapore, Portugal, we have all, each in our own way, known a struggle for freedom and survival. Our forces spiritual and material are not exhausted. On the contrary, history teaches us that no individual and no nation is ever really exhausted by efforts and sacrifices. The greater the stimulus, the greater will be the effort made. Onlay a man or a country devoid of a driving force is doomed. I call upon the people of Goa, Damao and Dio wherever they be to give their best endeavour, their money, their time and their prayers to this their sacred cause.

The crusade for freedom has started. We must ternder thanks to our brethren in Kenya who were the first to organize themselves and repudiate the Indian invasion and put forth our just demand for self-determination.

The Goans the world over responded to their call and here we meet today as one to swim together and gloriously make the shores of Goa (Cheers).

The years that have gone live in us, and not only recent years but all the far off past as well. We are a part of a long living story, woven with countless lives that made us what we are. The present is what it is because of all that has gone before. The seed of our forefathers shall remain forever,
And their glory shall not be blotted out!
Their bodies are buried in peace,
But their name liveth evermore! Awake, Arise and Join the Fight! When Heaven showers on mankind the sweet peace of confidence; when the festive pealing of bells offers hope; when the nostalgic thoughts of the crib reminds of the meaning of solidarity and when we open our hearts to receive these blessings, then I am sure that not everything is lost.

So let us invoke the intercession of our great Patron Saint Francis Xavier that during the coming Christmas the hearts of men will expel egoism and that real and lasting peace will return to which humanity so much aspires in this nuclear age and pray that Almighty God will in His bounty grant us our share of it which greedy men have today deprived us of.

GOA FOR THE GOANS! (Prolonged cheers).
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