Just got to know that my dear friend Joseph Nazareth is no more.
I will always remember him for his role in keeping the Saligao Civic and
Consumer Cell alive and flourishing. He meticulously kept the minutes of
the monthly meetings and ensured that the registration of the Cell with
the Registrar of Societies was always done from time to time.
However, what very few people will know about him is the fact that till
his end, he carried on a losing battle with the Govt. authorities over
his sudden "dismissal" from service, if at all it can be called that.
He served as the Chief Stenographer in the Bombay High Court in Panaji,
and he observed that a few judges were passing biased judgments,
apparently because of the exchange of you know what. He started to
expose them, and suddenly in 1999, his salary was stopped without any
intimation to him. Any Govt. servant will know that there is a procedure
to follow, for this to happen, and no one can be suspended or dismissed
from service just like that.
On the Govt. rolls, Joseph Nazareth just ceased to exist. He stopped
getting his salary, the 6th Pay commission did not benefit him in any
way, his long years of service were forgotten and with that his
retirement benefits went down the drain.
This started his long battle with RTI's to the concerned authorities,
letters to prominent people including the Governor, etc., etc., but to
no avail.
Meanwhile he kept doing small jobs of composing and typing out legal
documents for the public, charging the minimum fees among all his
competitors.
Just a month back, when I spoke to him, he had come to the realization
that there was no hope at all for him and this must have spelt his death
knell.
Adieus my friend, you paid the price for exposing wrongdoing which many
prophets in the past have paid, like John the Baptist.
May our good Lord console his family and grant them the grace and
strength to bear his loss.
Gerard Delaney
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