Lata Mangeshkar funded a revolution. The Mangeshi temple, captive under Portuguese rule, was the reason — and the money from her Pune concert bought the arms that liberated 72 villages.
Author Neelesh Kulkarni presents the remarkable, almost entirely unreported story of the Liberation of Dadra and Nagar Haveli — the only people-led armed struggle in Indian freedom movement history to fully achieve its objectives. While Netaji’s INA, Bhagat Singh’s HRA, and the Chittagong Uprising were heroic but unsuccessful, the RSS-led volunteers who liberated these 72 villages in 1954 succeeded completely — and their success directly paved the way for Goa’s liberation seven years later.
The strategic significance is profound: by forcing Portugal to take the case to the World Court (which upheld India’s position) and demonstrating that NATO would not openly intervene, this small liberation proved the legal and military viability of the Goa operation. The human story is equally extraordinary — Sudhir Phadke approaching Lata Mangeshkar, her tears as she heard about the captive Mangeshi temple, and her creative solution to India’s foreign financing laws. To critics who ask what RSS did for freedom: Kulkarni has a very specific and documented answer.

About The Speaker:
Neelesh Kulkarni is a versatile professional—a management graduate, entrepreneur, voice-over artist, theatre performer, and published author with HarperCollins and Westland Books. He is also a former cricket commentator with Hotstar, a public speaking coach, and a storyteller. Currently, he is focused on honing his storytelling skills as an author. His latest book, ‘In the Footsteps of Rama’, was a major success.