The Congress government had rejected the non-official resolution which I had initiated in the Assembly on the issue. On July 21, 1955, the Communist Party held a meeting at Wellington Square in which a call was given to liberate Goa from the Portuguese and that the people of West Bengal should also involve themselves in this movement. At this rally, I said that this last vestige of imperialism had to be rooted out from this country. Goa had to free and this agitation should be taken to a level where the Indian government should be forced to use aggression, if necessary. We also invited donations for the Goa cause. This was not a question of national honour only but involved the sovereignty of the country.

The first Communist volunteers left to join the Goa Liberation movement on July 28; they had been tutored on the significance of what they were trying to achieve. Comrade Niranjan Sen presided over the farewell meeting which was held at the party’s West Bengal unit office. Among those in the batch of volunteers were the leader of the team, Mohitosh Nandy, Prabodh Ranjan Roy, Kanti Bhowmick, Nityananda Saha, Priyanath Chatterjee, Shankar Roy and Jamini Saha. Comrade Nityananda Saha died in the war. A Communist worker from Madhya Pradesh B. K. Thorate was also killed. Mohitosh Nandy himself was injured in firing. More than a lakh converged on the spot where the last rites of Nityananda Saha and Thorate were performed in Pune. There were many others who became martyrs in that war. On August 11, I told the Assembly that we should pay our respects by observing a minute’s silence in the memory of the martyrs like Amir Chand, Babu Roy, Thorate and Saha. The Speaker said this would not be possible since the matter fell under the Centre’s jurisdiction!

I told the Speaker that I had not moved any proposal but just requested that the martyrs be honoured by this simple gesture; even that was rejected by the Speaker. After waiting for some time, all the Opposition members stood up and paid respects. But the Congress legislators did not even move. The Goa liberation agitation had by then metamorphosed into a national cause. On August 12, three lakh labourers and some thousands of students observed a strike in support of the Goa struggle. On August 14, 200 satyragrahis left for Goa from West Bengal. Speaking on the occasion, I said that the demand for the ouster of imperialists from Goa was gaining ground everyday. "Hundreds of Indians are moving towards Goa. If the empire decides to strike back, then we have to be ready for it. Mass movements are necessary and protests must spread in all factories, educational institutions, offices, courts, ports and even the local markets. We must activate our local committees at every level so that the Portuguese government realises that the entire state of West Bengal is ranged behind these 200 volunteers. The Nehru government should also be informed that the people of West Bengal will give anything to ensure the passage of these volunteers _ and later the Indian Army _ into Goa."

The Portuguese army opened fire on the satyagrahis killing 20 defenceless Indian volunteers, including one woman. It was on Independence Day 1955. On the same day, the Communist Party called a rally at the Park Circus Maidan and called upon the Nehru government to intervene immediately in Goa.

The party policy was elaborated. Going through the records now, I see that till August 15, 1955, 31 persons had been killed, 74 injured and five missing in the Goa liberation war. A protest strike was held in Bombay which was hugely successful. On August 16, a total bandh was observed in West Bengal. The same day, around two lakh people joined a rally organised by the Goa Liberation Committee and three central trade unions.

The Communists raised the issue in Parliament and said that the government should come out with a statement. Prof Hiren Mukherjee moved the proposal while A. K. Gopalan spoke in the Lok Sabha on the matter.

The RSP leader and Parliamentarian Tridip Chowdhury played a major role in the Goa liberation movement. He had been arrested by the Portuguese police but the Nehru government had done nothing to get him released. He was tortured mercilessly in jail. On December 13, I initiated a non-official resolution which said, "This House believes that the state government should immediately request the Centre to ensure (a) the release of Tridip Chowdhury and (b) till such time that he is freed, Chowdhury should be treated with respect".

I spoke at length. The Forward Bloc leader Hemanta Bose also made a speech. In fact, a Congress legislator too supported the motion. I said, "It is becoming increasingly apparent as to who is our real friend, at least as far as the international scenario is concerned. We understand that Pandit Nehru is trying his best to ensure a peaceful solution to the Goa question. But the Portuguese imperialists are not only ignoring him but even threatening that Goa will not be given without a war. It does not take much to understand that there is a bigger force behind the Portuguese because they themselves would not have had the gumption to challenge the Indian government in this fashion. It is now clear that the American imperialists are supporting them. We do not know how long it will take our government in Delhi to realise that only the language of aggression will work in Goa. The government must understand this. Goa has to be liberated by force. Pandit Nehru has said that he will solve the problem; the government has even issued a statement saying that the Goa would be liberated. I do not know what steps has been taken to ensure this but the fact that nothing has been done at the ground level is now out in the open. We know many political leaders are still in jail, including those who have fought for the cause of Goa."

The Congress had tried to prevent the Goa satyagraha and the AICC working committee had adopted a resolution to this end. The party had been unmasked yet again.

However, because of the insistence by the Opposition. the Nehru government was forced to take some positive steps which ensured that held in Portuguese jails were released. Before the second general elections in 1957, mainly because of reasons political, the Indian government was forced to send the Army to Goa. Goa was liberated. We were proud that West Bengal state unit and the people of this state had taken a major initiative in the Goa movement.