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> On Apr 28, 2024, at 1:36 PM, V M <vmin...@gmail.com> wrote: > > https://www.heraldgoa.in/Edit/By-invitation/LIBBY-DE-LIBERDADE-/220727 > > In less than a month on May 25th, the great Libia “Libby” Lobo Sardesai > will celebrate her 100th birthday. Unfortunately, like her childhood friend > the late artist Francis Newton Souza – the two Goans grew up close to each > other at Crawford Market in Bombay – it is deeply shameful that city and > country are paying no attention, let alone the appropriate respect. But in > this case, we do still have time for everyone to get their act together, to > acknowledge the contributions of this indomitable, irresistible > freedom-fighter. One fitting tribute will be on May 12th, when Solomon > Souza – the grandson of Libby’s teenage dancing partner – paints an immense > new mural in dedication to her, in the heart of Panjim where she has lived > for decades. > > Today we are bombarded with propaganda about Nari Shakti – women’s power – > but nothing compares with Libby, the one-woman juggernaut. Born into > relative comfort into a family from Porvorim, this self-described “chit of > a girl” was intent on participating in the vibrant world of ideas and > idealism she was surrounded with in South Bombay. While still a student, > she was the Secretary of Tristão de Bragança Cunha’s anti-colonial Goan > Youth League. Then, after wartime years as a censor/translator for Italian > prisoners of war (where many other Goans were similarly employed) she got > her first degree at the new Siddharth College established by Ambedkar, > where Babasaheb himself expressed pleasure about her signing up for > admission. > > Still in college, Libby was introduced – by her young professor Nissim > Ezekiel amongst others – to MN Roy, the world-famous revolutionary who > co-founded the Mexican Communist Party, and was Lenin’s nominee to the > Comintern. By that point, after the devastating world wars, the radical was > in the process of abandoning communism in favour of liberal humanism, and > that important ideological influence remained with the bold Goan girl, who > landed a good job at All India Radio but kept studying for another degree, > from the Government Law College which had opened its doors conveniently > close by. > > All through the 1950s, the Goans of Bombay remained in foment over > continued colonialism in their ancestral homeland. There was no denying the > “winds of change” signalling the end to European rule but they were stuck > with the obdurate, uncomprehending (indeed, positively addled) dictator > Salazar, who insisted on the delusional refrain “Aqui e Portugal” instead > of negotiating seriously like the French with regards to Pondicherry. There > was censorship, the curtailment of civil rights, a half-hidden regime of > terror against nationalists, and Libby’s clean heart burned with anger > about all these atrocities. She wanted to offer Satyagraha, but the > Portuguese massacred 25 unarmed marchers and wounded over 200 more on 15th > August 1955, so the Indian government stopped the border crossings. The > young Goan was crestfallen, but that is precisely when history came calling. > > Everything changed for Libby after Vaman Sardesai unexpectedly walked > through the doors of All India Radio. This fine young scholar from Goa had > completed his Lyceum education, and joined the Escola Médica, but was > compelled to escape across the border when found in possession of > anti-colonial literature. He moved to Wardha, and Mahatma Gandhi’s famous > Sevagram Ashram, and eventually to Bombay where he too felt crushed at > being unable to offer Satyagraha after August 15, 1955. Nonetheless, he > joined AIR in the External Services Division, creating programming about > “the problem of Goa” to be beamed abroad. But there was an inherent > frustration, because – Libby recalls – he could see no impact: “all > communications were suspended. The people of Goa had to rely only on the > propaganda of the Portuguese, and they could not know anything about what > was happening in the outside world, and how the [freedom] movement was > going on. The people were getting desperate, and they were losing their > morale. There was no way of communicating with the Goans or educating and > enlightening them in any way.” > > Very quickly, an extraordinary puzzle fell into place. During the > liberation of the tiny Portuguese enclaves of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, the > Indian authorities confiscated powerful wireless transmitters, and decided > to use them to break the Portuguese embargo on news in Goa. A small team > was assembled, comprising of Libby Lobo and Vaman Sardesai along with the > older anti-colonial intellectual Nicolau Joao Menezes and his wife Alda. > Under the pressure of severe conditions in the Western Ghats, the quartet > proved short-lived. > > The Menezes couple (who happen to be my grand-uncle and aunt) quickly > retreated, but not so Lobo and Sardesai, whose resolve only increased, and > they went even further into isolation, where they remained undaunted for > six long years, keeping up daily broadcasts of the “Voice of Freedom” > (Sodvonecho Awaz in Konkani) in what would become one of the crucial > interventions in the final demise of the colonial state. Rather incredibly, > via fiat of the defence minister Krishna Menon himself, the elated duo was > sent aloft by the Air Force on 19th December 1961 to fly across their newly > liberated homeland, dropping leaflets and broadcasting the message that Goa > was free. > > All this is amazing, but it is far from everything that Lobo has achieved, > quite besides her married life with Vaman Sardesai – they tied the knot on > December 19 in 1964 – when he was Ambassador to Angola, and won the Padma > Shri award. Following the dramatic freedom of Goa, Libby worked for the > Ministry of External Affairs to repatriate the captured Portuguese troops, > then became the first Director of Tourism, and the first lady advocate to > practice in the history of Goan courts. Later, she was the founder and > promoter of the path-breaking Women’s Cooperative Bank, which was and > remains fully run and operated by women, and also the founder and president > of the College of Home Sciences. Before, after, and always, she remained an > icon of everything truly worthwhile about India’s smallest state and its > people, and the lasting inspiration for countless people, most definitely > including myself. 100 salutes for Libby!