The Church of Candolim is dedicated to Nossa Senhora de Esperanca (Our Lady of Hope). The feast of our Lady of Hope is always celebrated on the last Sunday of December preceded by 9 days Novenas (Salve) in the Church in the evenings finishing at around 8.00 pm. When Indian Military invaded Goa on 19th December the Novenas were in progress but since 19th December Goa was officially conquered from the Portuguese by the Indian Military, many of the Indian military personnel indulged in raping Goan females like wild animals, in fact they looked like wild animals only when I first saw them on 18th December. At Pilerne Bardez a School teacher while walking was snatched by the Jeep load of Indian Military personnel and in their Jeep itself she was raped mercilessly, not only raped but gang raped. This sad news shocked us all and also our Candolim Pe. Vigar Pe. Niclau Noronha who otherwise was anti-Portuguese. Elsewhere from Goa news started coming that Indian Military personnel went on rampage of raping Goan females which shocked the Goan conscience as a whole.
Since our Novenas were getting over at 8.00 pm and devotees were going home in the darkness while on the roads Indian military personnel were keeping their flow constantly on way to Aguada, our pro-India Pe. Vigar doubted the sincerity of Indian Military personnel to act upright and as a precautionary measure he stopped having Novenas in the evenings. This he did to prevent Indian Military personnel from Raping and molesting our Church goer females. That was the great fear Indian Military inculcated into our minds and hearts. We started treating Indian Military personnel not only on par with Portuguese Agente Monteiro but worst than Agente Monteiro. This was the very heavy price we had to pay for ousting Portuguese from Goa. Earlier we were opposing Agente Monteiro but now with the invasion and in the name of invasion we welcomed not one Agente Monteiro but innumerable Agente Monteiros in Goa who acted like wild animals with Goans.
Immediately after Christmas that year in order to fool the invaded Goans and to make them happy Indian Government flooded Goan Markets with cheap priced Onions, Potatoes and Joggery (Defichem Ghodd). Other vegetables also became cheap coming from Belgaum. Then Passing Show readymade Cigarettes replaced imported Capstan “Puddo & Mortal” and became very cheap because of which any person including “Kalche Poroche Potte” took up for smoking. But this tamasha of Indian government of fooling Goans lasted only for few months and then came the calamity of scarcity and high cost commodities as we never seen even during the second world war, as per our eleders.
Then in January some Goan “chamchas” of India started organising public meetings, in our village at Tinto to eulogise forced entry of Indian rule in Goa and the benefits Goans will get. Some outsider non-Goan leaders also addressed these Meets which expressed nothing but lies and monumental lies in praise of Bharat Serkar, Nehru and Bharati administration. These speakers promised Heaven for Goa and Goans but within a short time we realized that we fell from Heaven into the burning Hell under Bharat and from this Hell we are still burning and will burn forever because the entire Bharat is a Big Burning Hell where all the rulers and leaders are great Lucifers.
In the first week of January 1962 at Mapusa Bus Stand to show its might to defeat any enemy, Indian Military personnel displayed its deadly armament and also did some demonstrations by firing in the sky live ammunition to show the ignorant Goans how Indian Military can inflict heavy defeat on any enemy. In fact as an ignorant young boy knowing not the actuality of arms and ammunitions I was amazed to see this type of live firing which was new to us. This demonstration and display gave us an impression that since India invaded Goa from the Portuguese that means India next can invade China as well. But to our surprise within a few months with its war with China India not only suffered a humiliating defeat but allowed mighty China to invade vast land of Indian territories which is still lying into the hands of China and China is laughing at India. The power of Indian Military demonstrated at Mapusa Bus Stand turned into Zero in front of the Chinese Military. Good that Portuguese Military was not ready for war in December 1961 with India otherwise they would also make Zero of India on 18th & 19th December 1961.
A. Veronica Fernandes,
Kuwait.
