The flash point for this admittedly less violent conflict is the celebration of 500 years of Portuguese influence over Goa, now a state in western India.

“How can anyone celebrate the arrival of oppressors?” asked Nagesh Karmali, a poet and spokesman for the Freedom Fighters Association of Goa, who still limps from injuries suffered from torture in a Portuguese-run prison five decades ago. “Freedom fighters have shed our blood to oust the Portuguese from Goa.” The celebrations — and protests — began Friday with the arrival of the NRP Sagres, one of Portuguese navy’s tallest vessels, exactly 500 years after Portuguese explorer-general Afonso de Albuquerque launched a military assault on the region. Goa, already an important port for trading in spices, horses and slaves, fell to Albuquerque and was ruled by Portugal for more than 450 years.

In 1961, Indian forces, supported by a small band of local rebels, captured Goa in a brief battle and incorporated it into India.

The ships’ arrival Friday in the port of Mormugao was greeted with black flags of protest and nearly 200 angry former rebels and Hindu nationalists chanting, “Go back.” “Instead of commemorating the arrival of Portuguese influence in Goa, the Portuguese government should publicly apologize for the atrocities meted out to native Goans during their 450-year rule here,” said Raju Velingkar, a protest leader.

Antonio Sabido Costa, Portugal’s consul general to Goa, said in a statement the ship’s trip here “marks the celebrations of the arrival of the Portuguese to the Orient and extreme Orient, 500 years ago.” He did not return calls seeking comment on the protests.

The Instituto Camoes, a division of the Portuguese foreign ministry, has also organized an exhibition on a Portuguese explorer and a film festival showcasing movies from Portugal and some of its former colonies, including Angola, Mozambique and Brazil.

The protesters said they would demonstrate against the film festival as well.

Karmali said the veterans saw nothing to celebrate.

“This is a conspiracy by the Portuguese government to influence the psyche of Goa. After a cruel colonial rule of 450 years, they now want to show us the better side of Portugal,” he said.

Hindu nationalist groups threw their support to the protesters.

“We will stand by them at every step during the protest,” said Subhash Velingkar, the local head of the Rashtriya Swyamsevak Sangh group.

Karmali called on the state government to boycott all the planned events, but chief minister Digambar Kamat said he had no idea what Karmali was talking about.

“The government is not aware of any such celebration,” he said.