Goa Statehood Day: 30th of May

About Goa Statehood Day

The beautiful and most liked state of India, Goa, celebrated its statehood day on the 30^th of May every year, as on this day in the year 1987, Goa became the 25^th state of the Union of India and ceased to exist just as a Union Territory.

It was in the year 1961 in the month of December that Goa finally became free from the clutches of the colonial rule and hence, soon after that, a debate arose asking whether Goa should become a neighboring state to the state of Maharashtra and Mysore, or should it continue to exist as a union territory.

It was in the year 1967 that an opinion poll for the same was conducted, the first one at that in independent India, and the results showed the opinion that along with Daman and Diu, Goa too should remain as a separate union territory.

Hence, it was after this that the most prominent and major political parties, namely, the United Goans, the Congress, and the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party began to seek statehood for the union territory of Goa.

The petition, which then turned into a demand by these political parties was first registered in the year 1971 in the month of March by United Goans Party’s A.N. Naik and this was approved unanimously by all the members.

Then again in the month of October in 1976, the demand for statehood for Goa was included in the Lok Sabha Bill by Congress member Purushottom Kakodkar.

That time the then Prime Minister of India, Morarji Desai was not in favor of the existence of small states, however, it was Home Minister Charan Singh who supported the idea of it and also favored the proposition of small independent states.

The demand was met with both acceptance and criticism by influential political parties and in 1981, the demand was again raised in the bill in front of the then prime minister of India, Indira Gandhi and it went on till her son Rajeev Gandhi became the prime minister of the country, and it was finally in the year 1987 that Goa gained its identity of statehood.