Comments on the Struggle in the Goa Region
(August 20 and 21, 1955)

Premier Zhou:

Goa, located on the western coast of India, was originally Indian territory. In the early 16th century, together with nearby Daman and Diu, it fell under Portuguese colonial rule. The people of the Goa region have persistently struggled for national independence. In 1950, the Indian government formally submitted a note to the Portuguese government, demanding the transfer of its possessions in India to the Indian Union. However, the Portuguese government flatly rejected India’s legitimate demand for the recovery of Goa and refused to negotiate with the Indian government on the Goa issue.

On August 15, 1955, India’s Independence Day, several thousand Indian volunteers entered Goa, Daman, and Diu separately. The Portuguese authorities carried out bloody repression against these unarmed volunteers using automatic weapons and batons, killing and wounding over 200 people. On the same day, the people within Goa, defying the Portuguese authorities’ harsh suppression, also held large-scale demonstrations demanding the integration of Goa into the Indian Union. The atrocities committed by the Portuguese authorities aroused even greater indignation among the entire Indian people. Many Indian cities staged strikes and demonstrations, and the Indian government adopted measures such as closing its consulate general in Goa and demanding that Portugal shut its consulates in various parts of India.

On August 19, India severed diplomatic relations with Portugal. Thereafter, the Indian people persisted in the struggle to recover Goa and other regions until December 1961, when India sent troops and recovered Goa, Daman, and Diu. Mao Zedong’s two comments on supporting India’s struggle to recover Goa were written: one on a telegram dated August 17, 1955, from the Chinese Embassy in India to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding new developments in the Indian movement to liberate Goa; and the other on a draft notice dated August 21, 1955, from the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China concerning the holding of mass rallies to express sympathy and support for the Indian people’s struggle to recover Goa.

Our people’s organizations and the press should express their stance on this matter.

Comrades Shaoqi and Xiaoping:

Mao Zedong
August 20

It is proposed to add three more cities. Reports may also be sent to Beijing, as this matter carries considerable international significance. Please have Xiaoping handle this.

Mao Zedong
August 21

[1] On August 23, 1955, people from all walks of life in Beijing held a rally in support of the Indian people’s recovery of Goa. The rally sent telegrams of solidarity to Indian Prime Minister Nehru and the India-China Friendship Association. On August 24, 1955, *Renmin Ribao* published an editorial titled "Support the Indian People’s Struggle to Recover Goa."

[2] Xiaoping, i.e., Deng Xiaoping, then serving as Secretary-General of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and Vice Premier of the State Council.

[3] The draft notice of August 21, 1955, from the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on holding mass rallies to express sympathy and support for the Indian people’s struggle to recover Goa stipulated that mass rallies be held in five cities: Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Wuhan, and Guangzhou. When reviewing the draft notice, Mao Zedong added three more cities: Shenyang, Chongqing, and Xi’an.