India observes Goa Liberation Day every year on December 19 to celebrate the independence of the smallest state of the Union in 1961.

• Goa did not gain its independence in 1947 like the other princely states of British India.
• Then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru tried to secure the accession of Goa through diplomacy. But Portugal’s dictator thwarted his efforts and India ultimately merged Goa into the Union through force. India’s armed forces carried out Operation Vijay which freed Goa from 450-year-old colonial subjugation.
• This day is celebrated with great fervour in Goa. The diamond jubilee of Goa’s liberation was celebrated on a grand scale last year.