THE ANTI-COLONIAL DOCTRINE OF UN AND THE INDIAN AGGRESSION by Francisco Monteiro, Majordá

A few relevant FACTS may here be mentioned to help the reader form a judgment:

1. The Estado da Índia Portuguêsa [EIP], comprising Goa, Damão and Diu, was founded in early 16th century. Its official designation and status have never been changed.

2. The people of those territories have always enjoyed equality of judicial and political rights with all other Portuguese citizens and have held all posts, including those of Ministers of the Portuguese Government in Lisbon, Supreme Court Judges, Provincial Governors, etc. They have also always participated in the election of the President of the Portuguese Republic.

3. The revenues and gains of the Estado da Índia Portuguêsa [EIP] were used exclusively for the benefit of the territories.

4. No private business concerns of the European Portuguese existed in the Estado da Índia Portuguêsa [EIP] and trade with Portugal was a very small part of the total trade of the territory.

5. Whenever the budget of the Estado da Índia Portuguêsa [EIP] could not be balanced, the deficit was made good by the Lisbon Treasury. The latter also bore the full burden of external defence and representation. Between 1937 and 1960, Lisbon paid over 93 million Escudos (about 3 1/2 million Dollars) as guarantee of interests to the British-owned Railway in Goa. Early in 1961 Lisbon bought over the British Company’s interests in full and paid in ready cash.

The United Nations has its concept of colonialism. According to this concept, the essence of colonialism are geographical separation and racial and/or cultural differentiation, as stated in Resolution 1541(XV) of the 15th of December, 1960. On the basis of this Resolution, the United nations approved another on the same date “ Resolution 1542 (XV)” giving a list of territories under Portuguese Administration. Goa and its dependencies, called the Estado da Índia Portuguêsa [EIP] is expressly mentioned in the lists.

In these circumstances, let us start our argument from the position stated in Resolution 1542 (XV), viz, that the Estado da Índia Portuguêsa [EIP] was a colony of Portugal and let us analyse the situation in Goa, Damão and Diu, in the light of the anti-colonial resolutions of the General Assembly.

The first resolution to consider is 1514 (XV) entitled "Declaration on the granting of independence to colonial countries and peoples", also called the Magna Carta of freedom for colonial peoples.

Operative paragraph of this Resolution says: All peoples have the right to self-determination; by virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural developments.

The Indian Union has not only subjugated the people of Goa, Damão and Diu 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 are entirely alien to their tradition.

Resolution 1541 (XV) has laid down the principles which the United Nations should follow in respect of territories called colonial. Principle VI mentions only three ways, in any one of which non self-governing territory can be said to have reached a full measure of self-governments, namely:

a) Emergence as a sovereign independent State

b) Free association with an independent State; or

c) Integration with an independent State.

Obviously, alternatives (a) and (b) are both inapplicable to the case of Goa, Damão and Diu: these have neither emerged as independent States nor have they freely associated themselves with an independent State, since their change of status has been brought about by force . Only the third alternative remains, therefore, to be considered: integration with an independent State.

First of all, no reason can be found why integration with the Indian union should be regarded as of a higher order of values than integration with Portugal, particularly when it is remembered that the territories in question had been integrated with Portugal, an independent State, for over four centuries before the Indian Union herself emerged as an independent State. But Resolution 1541 (XV) also specifies the circumstances in which such integration should come about. In this connection Principle IX says:

(a) 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;

(b) The integration should be the result of the freely expressed wishes of the territory peoples acting with full knowledge of the change in their status , theirs wishes having been expressed through informed and democratic progresses, impartially conducted and based on universal adult suffrage. The United Nations could, when it deems necessary, supervise these processes.

Is it all possible to reconcile this Principle with the violent annexation of Goa, Damão and Diu by the Indian Union ? So flagrant is the violation of the General Assembly Resolutions committed by the Indian Government that Mr. Nehru’s representative in the Security Council, after saying Charter or no Charter, Council or no Councils might have added Resolutions or no Resolutions.

For the Indian Union not only violated the Charter and defied the Security Council but infringed the very anti-colonialist resolutions of the General Assembly, which it had itself subscribed.