1967 Goa status referendum

1967 Goa status referendum
16 January 1967 (1967-01-16)
Should Goa merge with Maharashtra; and Damaon and Diu with Gujarat, or should they remain as a Union Territory?
Results
Choice
 Votes %
Merge 138,170 44.52%
Remain 172,191 55.48%
Valid votes 310,361 97.71%
Invalid or blank votes 7,272 2.29%
Total votes 317,633 100.00%
Registered voters/turnout 388,392 81.78%

The 1967 Goa status referendum popularly known as the Goa Opinion Poll was a referendum held in newly annexed union territory of Goa and Damaon in India, on 16 January 1967, to deal with the Konkani language agitation and to decide the future of Goa.

Symbol of Goa Opinion Poll Day (1967)

The referendum, backed by United Goans Party, offered the people of Goa a choice between continuing as a separate territory of India, or merging with the large Marathi speaking state of Maharashtra, the latter being the agenda of the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party. It was one of the two referendums held in independent India; the other one was the Sikkim Referendum of 1975.[1][2][3] The people of Goa voted against the merger and Goa continued to be a union territory. Subsequently, in 1987, Goa became a full-fledged state within the Indian Union.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference mapsoi_Goa_aft_ind was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Faleiro, Valmiki. "What a Monumental Shame !". The Goan Forum. Archived from the original on 3 March 2007. Retrieved 16 May 2009.
  3. ^ Prabhudesai, Sandesh. "THE HISTORIC OPINION POLL". p. 1. Archived from the original on 20 July 2008. Retrieved 12 May 2009.