Goa would have been liberated earlier from Portuguese rule had Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel lived for a little more time, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday. Patel, deputy PM in the Jawaharlal Nehru cabinet, died on December 15, 1950. He is credited with the liberation of Marathwada region in Maharashtra from erstwhile Nizam's rule.

from Times of India https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/goa-would-have-been-liberated-earlier-had-sardar-patel-lived-longer-pm-modi/articleshow/88374361.cms