Since the 16th century, Goa, Daman and Diu which were under the Portuguese rule were
liberated by the Indian troops in operation Vijay on December 16,1961 and became part of
Indian Territory. The first ever opinion Poll in the country was held in January 1967 to
enable the people of Goa, Daman and Diu to decide their future status. The people of Goa
and the people of Daman and Diu opted to retain their union Territory status, the former
rejecting the merger with Maharashtra and the latter with Gujrat. Goa became the 25th
state of the Indian union in 1857; Daman and Diu are still union Territories.
India and China had lived together in peace for years. The McMohan line represents, the
border between them which both respected by treaty. But in 1959, Chinese maps showed large
parts of Indian Territory in the north and northeast as Chinese Territory. India's protest
was met with silence. Then in complete violation of Panchshila on October 20, 1962,
Chinese troops mounted a massive offensive on India's northern outposts and advanced
virtually unopposed towards the plains of Assam. The outnumbered Indian troops fought
bravely but suffered heavy casualties because of outmoded equipment and inadequate winter
year. Major Dhan Singh Thapa commanding a company of Gorkhas in an isolated in an isolated
post in ladakh, held out till the ammunitions lasted. Thapa got out of his trench when the
post was finally overrun by the Chinese troops and died in hand to hand fighting. The
highest military award, the Paramvir Chakra was rewarded to him for his heroism. On
November 21, the Chinese suddenly withdrew. They still have with turn over 40,000 sq.km of
captured Indian Territory.
In 1965, Pakistan attacked India twice; it started first with a mini war in the months of
1965, in the Rann of Kutch in Gujarat. The Indians troops posted there gave a fitting
reply to the Pakistani troops. Pakistan tried again a few months later by smuggling
thousands of trained guerillas into Kashmir to create chaos and turmoil. Against the
infiltrators, the Indian troops took vigorous action and pushed them across the cease-fire
line at several places. From Kashmir to Rajasthan, Pakistan launched mighty assaults all
along the border on september1, 1965. The war reached a critical stage when Pakistan's
famous first Armored division with the powerful Patton tanks supported by heavy artillery
and air staffing attacked Indian troops in the Khem Karan sector in Punjab. In another
fierce battle at Philara in the Sialkot sector, the Pakistanis and their Patton tanks met
the most humiliating defeat at the hands of Lt.-Col. A.B. Tarapore and his regiment. The
Indian troops succeeded in reaching the outskirts of Lahore. After twenty- two days of
ferocious fighting, the war ended when the United Nations called for a cease-fire. By then
India had captured large tracts of Pakistani territory. Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri
and President Ayub Khan met at Tashkent to negotiate an agreement to restore normal and
peaceful relations between India and Pakistan. On Jan 11, 1966, Shastri died of heart
attack, the day after the agreement was signed.
The government of India in July 1969, took a historic step by acquiring ownership and
control of 14 major banks in the country, each with deposits exceeding Rs. 50 crore. After
the nationalization of banks, there has been a marked expansion in their network and in
their business, with regard to bank deposits and bank credit. Later, six more commercial
banks were also nationalized. These banks together with the state bank of India, which was
nationalized in 1956, now constitute the public sector banks.
