In 1928 Dr. Antonio Oliveira Salazar came to power in Portugal. Earlier he was a Professor of Economics. He inaugurated a dictatorship in Portugal and Goa came under its grip. In the same year Dr. Tristao Braganca de Cunha (T.B Cunha) established the Goa Congress Committee at Mumabi and affiliated it with the Indian National congress. It was established with a view to fight for Goa's freedom. Berta Menezes Branganza was the first woman to become its member and to fight for Goa's freedom.
Under Salazar's dictatorship Goans lost their civil liberties. Hence on 18th June 1946 the movement to gain Civil liberties was launched at Margao under the leadership of Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia, Sbri Purushottam Kakodkar,Dr. Vinayak Mayekar, Dr. Juliao Menezes, Madhav Bir Nilkanth Karapurkar,Mrs. Pramila Bai Zambauliker, Miss Vatsala Kirtani etc. The 18th June Movement was a movement to gain the lost civil liberties. As a fall-out of this movement on 18th August 1946 all the clandestine political parties of Goa like the Goa Seva Sangh of Shri. Purushottam Kakodkar, the Goa Congress Committee of Dr. T.B. Cunha the Gomantak Congress of Dr. Ram Hedge joined together to form the National Congress Goa(NCG) a premier Satyagrahi organization to fight for Goa's freedom off the Portuguese rule. Dr. Ram Hedge was its first President followed by others like Shri Peter Alvares.
The leaders of the 18th June Movement like Purushottam Kakodkar, Nilkanth Karapurkar, Dr. Vinayak Mayekar, Dr. T.B. Cunha, Shri Laxmicant Bhembre, Adv. J.I. Loyola and later Shri. P.P Shirodkar, Shri Guilherme D'Souza (Ticlo), Shri Divakar Kokodkar were sentenced to long years of imprisonment in Portugal and  Portuguese colonies like Angola, The NCG launched its Satyagraha movement in Goa to fight for complete independence from the Portuguese, Gandhiji's principles of non violent peaceful protest that is 'Satyagraha' was adopted by the NCG satyagrahis. On 15th August 1954 Shri Alfred Afonso, Shri Mark Fernandes and Shri Anthony D'Souza offered Satyagraha in Goa at Terekhol, Patradevi and Polem respectively.
Shri Alfred Afonso planted the Indian tricolour on the Terekhol fort in the very presence of the armed Portuguese policemen.
On 6th April 1955 a Satyagraha was offered under the dynamic leadership of Mrs. Sudhatai Joshi President of the NCG at Mapusa. Miss Kumudini Paiguinker, Miss Shalini Lolienker,Mrs Ambikabai Dandekar a 70 year old woman also participated in this Satyagraha. They were all arrested and sentenced to imprisonment.
In may 1955 the Goa Vimochan Sahayak Samiti (GVSS) was launched at Poona under the leadership of Shri Nanasaheb Gore, Shri Shirubhau Limaye, Shri Madhu Limaye, Shri Kashavrao Jedhe, Shri Jaiwantrao Tilak to fight for Goa's freedom. Many Indian political parties had merged to form the GVSS. A call was given to every Indian to participation in Goa's freedom struggle and 15th August 1955 was chosen as the day for the Satyagraha in Goa. On this day Satyagrahis from various parts of India arrived in Goa and offered Satyagraha. In all thirty two Indians sacrificed their lives on the Goa borders at Patradevi, Terekhol, Castlerock on that historic day, They were shot dead in a cold-blooded way by the Portuguese police. Sardar Karnal Singh, a youth from the Punjab, Amirchand Gupta, Nityanand Saha, Rajabhau Mahakal, Hirve Guruji, Baburao Thorat and many others sacrified their lives for Goa's freedom.
Apart from the Satyagraha movement from there was the violent movement led by some Goans like Shri Vishwanath Lawande, Shri Prabhakar Sinari, Shri Balkrishna Bhonsle, Shri Prabhakar Vaidya, Shri Mohan Ranade, Shri Narayan Naik, Shri Policarpo D'Silva, Shri Kedar Anvekar, Shri Bala Raya Mapari, Shri Manohar Pednekar and many others.
The Azad Gomantak Dal was the pioneer organization, which believed in achieving Goa's freedom through the Cult of the bomb, Goa liberation Army was another such organization Bala Raya Mapari, was the first martyr for Goa's freedom. Women like Sharda Savaikar a Satyagrahi got involved in this movement along with Miss Prema Tendulkar Mrs. Parvati bai Borde, Mrs Mogabai Naik etc. The AGD revolutionaries attacked the Mapusa revenue office, the Betim police chowki and they carried out attacks on mines, police outposts, railways etc. The GLA revolutionaries carried out similar activities. They terrorised the Portuguese through their violent activities.
Yet the Goa question was not solved. Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru tried to solve the Goa problem through negotiations with the Portuguese government and then through the U.N.O. His defense Minister Mr. V. Krishna Menon the man responsible for Goa's liberation sent the 'Operation Vijay' military forces in Goa to liberate Goa on the 17th December 1961 during Nehru's absence and finally the Operation Vijay forces liberated Goa from the long Portuguese rule on 19th December 1961.
POST LIBERATION DEVELOPMENTS
From 1961 to 1963 Goa was under the ru1e of the military lieutenant governors like General Candeth, T. Shivshankar, Sachdev and others.
In 1963 20th December the first General Assembly elections were held in Goa and the Maharashtravadi Gomantak Paksh (MGP) came to power with a cabinet of 3 ministers. Shri Dayanand Bandokar became the first Chief Minister of Goa, Daman and Diu (Union Territory). Shri Tony Fernandes and Shri V.S. Karmali were the two other minsiters P.P. (papu) Shirodkcr was the first speaker of the Goa Legislative Assembly. Shri Jack Sequeria was the first dynamic opposition leader of the United Goans (U.G) Party.
On January 16 1967 the historic Opinion poll was held in Goa, which voted for Goa remaining a separate entity, and not to merge with Maharashtra Dr. Jack Sequera played a dynamic role in defeating the merger forces which was the MGP policy.
In 1986 the language issue rocked Goa, a tussle between Konkani and Marathi resulting in Konkani's inclusion in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution.
There was a demand for Statehood for Goa and Goans agitated for this and on 30th May 1987 Mr.Rajiv Gandhi the then Prime Minister of India conferred Statehood on Goa and Goa became the 25th and the youngest state of India and now Goa is all set on its forward march towards the 21st century.
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