Goa's Liberation timeline inspires debate between CJI, Law Minister

Bobde was speaking at a function organised to inaugurate the new premises of the Bombay High Court bench in Goa

Chief Justice of India S A Bobde on Saturday weighed in on the alleged delay in the Liberation of Goa from Portuguese rule in 1961 while responding to a comment by Union Minister for Law and Justice Ravi Shankar Prasad.

Speaking at a function organised to inaugurate the new premises of the Bombay High Court bench in Goa, Bobde said that Goa may have been liberated after the Indian independence, but said that the event was significant because it was a virtually bloodless affair.

Earlier during the event, Prasad in his speech had sought an "honest appraisal" of reasons why Goa's Liberation was delayed, a consistent theme adopted by BJP leaders, which includes Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant.

"One question has baffled me always. India became free in 1947. Why Goa had to wait till 1961. When India's independence is close to 75 years and we are celebrating the 70th year of India's independence. It is time to have an honest appraisal, why Goa's liberation took so long," Prasad said in his speech.

"We have the best relations with Portugal, we wish them well. Many of the Portuguese PMs are from Goa, it is a matter of great pride. That relationship is there, it should continue, but there has to be an honest appraisal. I thought today I must flag that concern..." the Union Minister also said.

The 'delay' has been a pet theme of Chief Minister Pramod Sawant who has blamed then Prime Minister late Jawaharlal Nehru for the delay in Goa's integration with India.

"I feel the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru was responsible for Goa getting its freedom 14 years after India's Independence. Because of him, we got freedom 14 years later. If he had the political will, if he really cared about Goans, he would have wanted Goa to be free of Portuguese rule," Sawant on January 14 last year.

"Despite 450 years of exploitative Portuguese rule, Goa managed to keep its culture intact. We had a period of 14-year vanvaas. India was already independent and for 14 years we had continued in exploitative Portuguese rule," Sawant also said on November 13, 2020.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan has also levelled the same accusation against Nehru during his Goa visit in 2019.

CJI Bobde however in his speech sparred with Prasad's joust about Goa's history.

"It may be later than the rest of the country, but the most significant thing I think about the liberation of Goa is that it was completely bloodless. No shots were fired, no corpses carried away, when the Liberation took place," the Chief Justice of India said.

"A few incidents did take place, but basically it was not a conflict between the two armies, which is very different from the liberation in other places like Hyderabad," Bobde said.
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