It is often heard being said that prophets are seldom recognised in their own home. In this article of mine, one will find similarities relating to one of the finest, charismatic Goan political leaders who helped the people of Goa to retain their unique identity and self-respect. Had it not been this son of the soil, Goa would have been doomed and by now been a small district of Maharashtra. I am proud to write a few lines on my hero and the man whom I adore for saving Goa as a separate entity.
It was on April 20, 1915, that a cute baby boy was born in the neighbouring country Burma, now known as Myanmar. The youngest son of Erasmo de Sequeira and Ana Julia de Sa, he was none other then Dr. Jack de Sequeira, commonly known as The Father of the Opinion Poll, 1967. His supporters and well wishers affectionately called him Dotor Siker. His actual name was João Hugo Eduardo de Sequeira. He studied at the Lyceum in Portuguese and later at the Escola Médica de Goa. A brilliant student, he completed his degree in Medicine, Médico-Cirurgião, at the young age of 21. Following the political changes of the 1960s, his main aim was to save the unique identity of Goa and Goans so that a separate statehood could be achieved. This important agenda got fixed in his mind, which made him think seriously, enter politics and work for Mother Goa. As an active campaigner, Dr. Jack de Sequeira, the United Goans leader, could be ruthless. On the battlefield he was fearless and dared to take hard decisions. In the public utterances, he has acquired the reputation for being brutally frank. Yet even his opponents in politics would concede that he was a thoroughly likeable politician of those times. FACTS OR ASSUMPTIONS? In short, I am going to write here as to why and how the issue of Opinion Poll, 1967, was brought into the public discourse. One fine day, I came across a photo of Dotor Siker as chief guest for a function of the Merces Club. He was then the Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) of the Santa Cruz constituency, which covered Merces. It was this photo that got embedded in my mind, and I took the decision to highlight the issue throughout Goa via the Goan press. The local English newspaper Herald supported my views. People were wondering as to why the great leader had been kept in the dark for a such a long time. Why was his work for Goa not being recognised nor written about in the history books of Goa? Was it a conspiracy or a deliberate attempt to hide his name under the carpet? The man who saved Goa from a sought-after Merger into the neighbouring State of Maharashtra, which would mean the dissolution of its entity, can't just left behind a curtain. His untiring efforts for Goa and Goans cannot be kept away from the present and coming generations. It was our duty to pass on this message to those who are yet to be born. The Party which fought to merge Goa into Maharashtra is still holding the upper hand, and enjoying every possible benefit from the Goa Government and the private sector. Leaders who did so much of the groundwork were left behind and forgotten. Was it not an injustice to the Father of the Opinion Poll 1967 and the first Opposition Leader in the Legislative Assembly? Why do we Goans need to be so ungrateful to this son of the soil? I made a decision to campaign for a life-sized statue of Dr. Jack de Sequeira at a prominent place with help and support from our organisation and the senior citizens of my village. One day, I was surprised by a man who had come to my shop searching for me by name. He had been the personal driver of Dr. Jack de Sequeira. The daughter of Dr. Siker, Margarida Sequeira, had sent his driver to invite me to her house at Campal, opposite the current-day Kala Academy. So I promptly accepted the invitation as it would give me an opportunity to personally contact, discuss, and get first-hand information from the family members of the Father of the Opinion Poll. They had got to know about the work that I had been doing to get recognition for the work done during the Opinion Poll and the demand that we had put before the government for a life size statue of Dotor Siker. We had passed a gram sabha resolution in my village of Merces. Then, I contacted a few more villages in Goa for similar resolutions. The Herald, the local daily newspaper, was kind enough to publish our press notes. I tried to contact a few village seniors who had attended meetings addressed by Dotor Siker during the Opinion Poll. They shared many important bits of information. This helped carry our work forwards. We started to commemorate, every year, the Opinion Poll held on January 16, 1967, which had decided Goa's fate. This was remembered as Osmitai Dis (Identity Day). In 2007, we organised to felicitate a few Opinion Poll activists by the daughters of Jack de Sequeira and the then Tourism Minister Mrs. Victoria Fernandes. The function was organised by our organisation, the Konknni Kala Kendr, Merces. This group is still organising such functions to commemorate the Opinion Poll Day, with Konknni programmes and garlanding of the photo of the Opinion Poll hero. Only after bringing the issue to the public spotlight for almost five years that we Goans managed to install two statues of this towering personality. The then sarpanch of Calangute Sarpanch Joseph Sequeira (now again in the post) erected a statue at the junction just before the Calangute Market on January 16, 2007. The family of Dotor Siker have installed another at the Dona Paula circle on April 20, 2007, on the late leader's 92nd birth anniversary with the full cooperation of the Corporation of the City of Panjim. After collating a lot of documentation, I submitted all the required resolutions from the gram sabhas along with other documents to the Government of Goa, requesting a life size statue of Dotor Sequeira at a prominent place. But, till date, the State Government has not fulfilled the demands of thousands of Goans, for reasons best known to itself. This is how our government treats its own people, an issue which needs to be debated. * * * We all know that at first Dr. Siqueira had formed a political party and named it the Goycho Pokx. A year later it was renamed as the United Goans Party, after it was merged with five other groups working for the same objective of a separate Union Territory, with primacy to Konkani. His party's main vision was to work and maintain the social, cultural and economic status of Goa. Dr. Sequeira used all his knowledge and intellect in tandem with his motivation to save Goa for Goans. Dr. Sequeira strongly opposed Goa merging its unique identity with any other state. He once also said that if he could get to run Goa for five years, he would make it a model state. At an AICC (All India Congress Committee) session in Bombay, Dr. Sequeira, with his flowing beard, was quite a conspicuous figure. There, he impressed upon leaders present that the status of Goa could not, under any circumstances, be decided through an election. If the people had to be consulted on the issue then the only way out was through a referendum. Call it an Opinion Poll or a Consultation Poll or anything you like, he argued, but ask the people only one question: Statehood or Merger? Only that, he argued while dramatically thumping the table, would give a clear picture. By the mid-1960s, as the years passed, the shadow of possibly merging Goa into Maharashtra was growing stronger by the day. But here we had a pro-Goa party that was becoming stronger by the minute. The President of the UG Party and his partymen jointly decided to oppose tooth and nail the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) agenda to merge Goa into Maharashtra. They went all out to convince the Central Government that holding the election on the issue of Merger was not the correct procedure. Dr Sequeira emphasised his own term, calling it the Opinion Poll. He deliberated on the subject with the Union ministers of India so that the sensitive and important Merger issue could be solved once and for all, and at the earliest. The intelligent and systematically-planned campaign by the Anti-Merger forces led by Dotor gave no chance to the first ruling government of Goa, led by the MGP, and backed by lobbies from Maharashtra and Karnataka. One of his most important contributions came about when Dotor Siker visited the then Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, at New Delhi. He went with his party members, to impress upon the Central Government the need for an Opinion Poll. Mr. Nehru promised the Goan delegation that Goans would be given an opportunity to decide the fate of Goa. But unfortunately Nehru died before Parliament could take a decision and Lal Bahadur Shastri succeeded him as the new Prime Minister. A ruling Party delegation consisting of MGP mlas and the Maharashtrian leaders went to New Delhi to convince the new Prime Minister of India that a vote on Merger should be conducted in the Goa Assembly. The United Goans Party (UGP) leaders came to know that there was an AICC session being held at Bangalore, so Dr. Jack de Sequeira lead a strong delegation to meet the new Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri and the then Congress president Kamraj. He made sure that the decision of the Merger or a separate Goa Union Territory should be put into the hands of Goans as a whole and not left to a few MLAs of the Goa Assembly. However Mr. Shastri too passed away in 1966 at Tashkent, in the then USSR. Again, this decision was left to the incoming Prime Minister of India, Mrs. Indira Gandhi. The sudden death of Indian PM Shastri suddenly made our Goan leaders shaky. It was again Doctor Sequeira who took action, and he along with the other MLAs and leaders met Mrs. Gandhi. In a trip to Delhi, as per protocol, they submitted a memorandum saying such an important and monumental decision affecting the future of Goa and Goans could not be left to a few elected legislators alone but should be put before the people of Goa to decide their own future. Congress Party President in Goa, Purushottam Kakodkar, was a powerful party leader from Goa who used his close political relations with the Nehru family and other Congress leadership to push for a grand discussion on the referendum issue. On January 21, 1965, the then CM of Goa Dayanand Bandodkar urged the people of Maharashtra to strive for a merger. It was on this day that the Goa Assembly voted for a Merger, but the Opposition protested in a loud voice and staged a walkout in the Legislative Assembly. Within two months, on March 10, 1965, the Maharashtra Assembly too voted for a Merger motion and urged Parliament to enact the Legislation. There was a unanimous decision taken on this. In fact, October 17, 1966, is marked as an important day for Goans. On this day, the Union Cabinet took a decision to hold an Opinion Poll for Goa. No referendum had been ever held in India prior to this. In the very next month, a Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha -- on November 21, 1966 -- and in ten days, on December 1, 1966, the Goa Daman & Diu (Opinion Poll) Act (Act No. 38 of 1966) was passed. The Bandodkar Ministry was in total turmoil. Left with no option, the Bandodkar Ministry had to resign on December 3, 1966. The President of India dissolved Goa Assembly, which was a big blow for the ruling party Maharashtra Gomantak Party led by Bandodkar. Now the ball was in the court of the Goan people and they would be able to take the destiny of their small territory into their own hands. Political activities started getting heated-up, igniting a fresh campaign from the anti-merger side. According to close aides and confidantes of Dr. Sequeira, he was seen totally charged up like never before. He kept personally calling on all his followers and friends, urging that they not sit at home but explaining that this was the time they needed to be on the battlefield for an all-out onslaught against the Merger forces within Goa. It needed to be started right away, he said, adding it was a now or never battle. This is the time Dr. Sequeira's towering personality and political knowledge came in handy. According to his daughters, including Dr. Lilia Sequeira and Margarida Sequeira, he used to have closed-door meetings from time to time and hordes of leaders would visit his house on a regular basis. The other groups supporting Dotor also started coordinating with him. Those hectic days were filled with all sorts of political activities. He was on top at the steering, like an expert captain, to lead the ship. This he did successfully for the next month, till the evening of January 16, 1967. They would organise meetings all over Goa. Each night, meetings were scheduled in four to five villages. Teotonio Pereira, Anna Sarmalkar, Uday Bhembre, Dr. Maurillo Furtado, Dr. Luis Proto Barbosa, Ciriaco Dias, Urminda Lima Leitao, Narcinva Naik, Yeshwant Dessai, Ulhas Buyão and many more would attend meetings on a daily basis. Goans cannot forget these leaders. Their names need to be printed in the History syllabus of Goa. Late Purshottom Kakodkar was another famous personality from the Congress group who worked hard. I have been lucky to meet few stalwarts of Opinion Poll leaders like the late Teotonio Pereira, late Ulhas Buyão and Ciriaco Dias from Calangute, a tiatrist and a powerful Opinion Poll activist. They deserve deep thanks for passing on to me a lot of valuable information about the Opinion Poll. They say there were tens of activists who used to move from village to village just to listen to the powerful speeches of their hero, Dr. Jack de Sequeira. We should be grateful for these leaders, the true sons of Mother Goa. It was their fight and sacrifices that made our Goa what it is today -- minus corruption and a dirty environment. Sadly, what we see today is total chaos and a mess being made out of our Golden Goa. No sooner than the announcement of the Opinion Poll was here, the symbols were announced too -- 'two leaves' for Union Territory and `rose' for the Merger. The atmosphere in Goa was fully charged and tense. Emotion ran high. The dream of Dotor Siker to have our own separate Goa was vibrating in his heart, with Konkani recognised as the official language. That need was to be achieved at any cost to fulfil the dreams of each and every Goan. In the opposite camp, the anti-Goan or Merger forces, who were fond of Maharashtra, were also working all out to defeat the Anti-Merger groups. Their agenda to merge Goa into Maharashtra was receiving a tough time all over Goa, except in a few villages of North Goa. Niz Goenkars decided to teach a hard lesson to those Goans who were campaigning in Marathi for some of their village meetings. There were often heated discussions among the supporters from both the sides with incessant slogan-shouting. These included slogans like Maharashtra Zallach Pahijay, Maharashtra Zallach Pahijay (We Must Become Maharashtra). On the other side were heard counter-slogans such as Goa Zallach Pahijay, Goa Zallach Pahijay and Amkam Zai Amkam Zai, Amchem Goy Amakam Zai (We Want, Our Goa). The outgoing Chief Minister Dayanand Bandodkar, also a prominent leader, was also working hard to turn the tide in his favour. His meetings were largely attended in North Goa, especially in areas like Pernem, Mandrem, Sanquelim, Bicholim, Ponda, Madkaim, Priol, Valpoi, Usgão, Canacona, Sanguem and Siolim. It was beyond the imagination of Goans that a sizeable of its people were trying their luck to merge our Golden Goa into Maharashtra. This was heart-breaking to the Niz Goankars (True Goans). There may be political differences between political parties and different sections, but merging of our home into the neighbour's house is something absurd and unbelievable by any stretch of imagination. What can one say of such Goan politicians and leaders? All over the world we see people fighting and struggling to keep their country or state intact and safe; but here in Goa we have leaders who are doing just the opposite. Thankfully, there was another side too. There were tiatrists making good use of their Konkani songs and helping give a boost to the anti-merger campaign. There were writers too who contributed through the newspapers. All these gallant efforts of Dotor Siker and his groups were fully supported by 99% of Christian community, including its tiatrists, artists, Konkani writers, intellectuals, priests, nuns etc. No doubt there were a lot of Hindus who joined this movement to save Goa for Goa. Dotor Siker often told his close confidants that he was overwhelmed by the support he had been receiving from all corners of Goa. He noted that people were organising village and ward meetings at their own costs, as Goans had thoroughly understood the importance of the issue. Looking at the geographical size of Maharashtra, he knew Goa stood no chance in competing with that big state. It was an amazing sight to see Goans in action for the whole of December 1966 and half of January 1967. As declared, the Opinion Poll was held on January 16, 1967. Results were declared on January 19 1967. As predicted, North Goans gave a good lead for the Merger symbol 'Rose'. This was with the exception of the areas of Calangute, Aldona, Santa Cruz and Agacaim. But South Goa was fully for the Anti-Merger and voted for the 'Two Leaves' symbol. The Opinion Poll 1967 was held as scheduled. Below are the details of votes polled for the Opinion Poll of 1967. Total number of voters 3,88,392 Total who participated in voting 3,17,633 Votes polled for Goa as separate Union Territory 1,72,191 Votes polled for Merger of Goa into Maharashtra 1,38,170 Votes that were wasted or invalid votes 7,272 Goans defeated Merger forces by 34,021 -- Floriano Fernandes was born and raised in Merces, Ilhas, Goa. He has been actively involved with local initiatives and groups in the Merces area. He joined the Konkani agitation (1980s), helping build awareness of the importance of the Konkani language. He also organised ward and village meetings, dharnas, strikes, and bandhs. In 2006, he founded the Konknni Kala Kendr, to promote and develop Romi Konkani. It is still going strong. In 2007, he authored the book Goykar Tuka Visorchenant (Goans Won't Forget You), dedicated to the Father of the Opinion Poll. This is an excerpt from All Those Tales (Nellie Velho Pereira & FN, Eds). Goa,1556 ISBN 978-93-95795-65-4. 2024. Pp242. Rs500 (in Goa). See cover here: https://groups.google.com/g/goa-book-club/c/wkYAQ4D2VA0 or http://t.ly/kan08 If you'd like to join the Tell Your Story group that offers mentoring in writing, click on the WhatsApp link below https://chat.whatsapp.com/C5ge87N4WeJAW54oUXqnBO *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*- Join a discussion on Goa-related issues by posting your comments on this or other issues via email to goa...@goanet.org See archives at http://lists.goanet.org/pipermail/goanet-goanet.org/ *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-