Azad Maidan — "Liberation Square" in Hindi, formerly Praça de Sete Janelas, "Square of the Seven Windows" — sits at the western end of central Panaji and remains the city's main civic gathering space. The central feature is the Goa Liberation Memorial: a pavilion of seven elegant Doric columns sheltering busts of figures from the long campaign against Portuguese rule, which ended only in 1961.
The square is shaded by mature trees and surrounded by colonial-era buildings (the former military barracks of the Portuguese garrison, the public library). It is the standard rallying point for political demonstrations and an everyday meeting spot for evening strollers. A short walk from the Church of the Immaculate Conception.