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Manuel António Vassalo e Silva | |
|---|---|
Official portrait, 1960 | |
| Governor-General of Portuguese India | |
| In office 1958 – 19 December 1961 | |
| President | Américo Tomás |
| Prime Minister | António de Oliveira Salazar |
| Preceded by | Paulo Bénard Guedes |
| Succeeded by | Office abolished (K. P. Candeth as Military Governor of Goa, Daman and Diu) (Dayanand Bandodkar asChief Minister of Goa, Daman and Diu) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1899-11-08)8 November 1899 |
| Died | 11 August 1985(1985-08-11) (aged 85) Lisbon, Portugal |
| Spouse | Fernanda Pereira e Silva Monteiro |
| Children | 3 |
| Relatives | Maria Lamas (sister) |
| Profession | Army officer |
Manuel António Vassalo e Silva (8 November 1899 – 11 August 1985) was an officer of thePortuguese Army and an overseas administrator. He was the 128th and the lastGovernor-General of Portuguese India.
Silva was the only son of Manuel Caetano da Silva (1870–1926) and his wife Maria da Encarnação Vassalo (1869–1922), and was the brother of the feminist author and anti-government campaignerMaria Lamas. He was married, with two daughters, Joana and Aurora.[citation needed]
In 1958, Silva was nominated to replacePaulo Bénard Guedes as the 128thGovernor-General of Portuguese India. At the same time, he was also appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Portuguese Armed Forces in India.[citation needed]
When theRepublic of India sought toannex the territories ofGoa,Daman (from which had been previously separated in 1954 and annexed by India in 1961 theenclave ofDadra and Nagar Haveli) andDiu from Portuguese control in December 1961, Silva, recognizing the futility of facing a superior enemy, disobeyed direct orders from the President of theCouncil of Ministers (Prime Minister) of Portugal,António de Oliveira Salazar to fight to the death and surrendered the following day to the 48th Indian Infantry Brigade underGurbux Singh, following several losses and the destruction of the warshipNRPAfonso de Albuquerque.[1][2] After that he fell into disgrace at the eyes of Salazar, who never accepted thefait accompli of the annexation.[citation needed]
Silva was greeted with a hostile reception when he returned to Portugal. He was subsequentlycourt martialed for failing to follow orders, expelled from the military and was sent into exile. His rank and freedom were restored only in 1974, after the fall of the authoritarian regime, and he was given back his military status. He was later able to conduct a state visit to Goa, where he was given a warm reception.[3]
Portuguese politicianNarana Coissoró claimed that Salazar had sent Silva acyanide capsule for use in case of defeat.[citation needed]
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He was married to Fernanda Pereira e Silva Monteiro and had a son and two daughters: