RADHARAO GRACIAS
On December 9, 1963, Goa witnessed its debut election, based on an adult fran chise. For the first time in history, the Bhatkar, Mund kar, Brahmin, Bhandari, lit erate and illiterate had an equal role in electing those who shall govern them. The elections saw three principal parties in the grind, the Indian National Congress (yoked bullocks), MGP (Lion) and United Goans (hand). The elec toral process being new, the voters were instructed in every village corner to stamp on the symbol and fold the paper lengthwise, my father showing the way in my neighbourhood. One villager after voting comes over and gleefully explains how he had stamped right on the middle of the hand, folded the ballot and put it in the box. “I did not even wash my hand just to con firm to you, that I had vot ed for hand”. “Look”, he says as he proudly shows his open left palm to my father. The stamp in the middle corroborated he had voted for hand! The inaugural session of the first Assembly was held on January 9, 1964; the date being observed as Goa Legislators Day. The next elections were a life or death event. The distinct identity of Goa forged over centuries of Iberian rule could be stamped out, if the results went against. The Opinion Poll was scheduled for the January 16 to determine whether Goa would re tain its separate status or merge into the backwoods of Maharashtra. The MGP backed merger, the UGP non-merger. Purshotam Kakodkar the leader of the Congress in Goa was for non-merger but many party men defied him and worked openly for merger. I was in standard eighth as the campaign heated up. For the first time stu dents in the school were split into two camps spir itedly supporting either the rose (merger) or two leaves (non-merger), each reflecting their paren tal views. All of us con versed with one another in Konkani, the only language we knew. Irrespective, the supporters of ‘rose’ clam oured for Marathi, a lan guage they were struggling to learn. To top it all they denied Goa itself claiming it was part of Maharashtra State that came into being just seven years earlier, in contrast to centuries of ex istence of Goa. It was then, I realised there were two streams in Goa, Konkani and Marathi, one genuine, the other fake. The truth was clear; the claim that all Goans are one was a blatant lie! As the campaign inten sified local leaders were busy spreading the mes sage of two leaves. There were only a few hard core supporters of merg er in my village, almost all daivadnyas, vanis and bhandaris. Among the bhandaris was the family of Arjun Apa Harmalkar masons from Pernem still residing in our proper ty. My father took it upon himself to convince them to vote ‘two leaves’. The family appeared convinced but another member of our family was sceptical. Do not believe them, “they are incorrigible Marathi fanatics, allow me to deal with them” he said. The counting took place over three days conclud ing on January 19, with about 54% supporting non merger and nearly 44% voting merger; my late mother’s birthday cele brations were euphoric. She always felt she had brought luck to Goa, on her birthday! The counting agent came over, days later. He informed my sceptical rel ative that as requested he had a closer look at several rejected ballots; only three were found horizontally folded, thus the stamp on ‘rose’ had smudged ‘two leaves’. “There you are” says the relative and adds. “I knew the Harmalkars would do it; so I trained them to fold the ballot the wrong way”! Decades after the poll, history is sought to be distorted; we are told the chief protagonist of merg er Dayanand Bandodkar towards the end, instruct ed his supporters to vote against merger; the voters obliged! However the false narrative stands rebutted. Consider his daughter’s reaction at the Goa Legis lators Day meet on January 9, 2013. Deccan Herald re ported the next day: “Shashikala Kakodkar, a former state Chief Min ister herself and daughter of Goa’s first CM Dayanand Bandodkar, claimed yester day that the “opinion poll” conducted by the Centre on January 16, 1967, was “rigged………” The controversy over opinion poll began yester day during the ‘Legislator’s Day’ function organised by the state government to commemorate 50 years of the first Goa Legisla tive Assembly session. On the occasion, Kakodkar further alleged that people from outside the state were brought to vote for the opinion poll by the an ti-merger lobby. The issue raked up when anti-merg er leader and former MLA Radharao Gracias criti cised Bandodkar during the function. He hailed the then Lead er of Opposition Jack de Sequeira for protecting Goa. “Today if we are here and celebrating 50 years of legislation, it is because of the leadership of Jack de Sequeira,” he said, adding that “Bandodkar was out to destroy Goa by merging it with Maharashtra.” Would Shashikala be so vehement if her father had changed his stance on merger? Would she not say ‘my father eventually supported non-merger?’ If Bandodkar had a change of heart he would be gentle man enough to have said so publicly and be hailed a hero. I may disagree with the first CM on various counts, but will not call him a traitor to the cause he espoused! No one will, except revisionists with a sectarian agenda. Such canards need to be con demned. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi is hardly known by his birth name. To the world he is Mahatma Gan dhi. To India the Mahatma is ‘Father of the Nation.’ Neither of these honor ifics have any legal au thority; nevertheless they carry immense respect. Likewise Dr Jack de Se queira is known as ‘Father of the Opinion Poll’. No law backs the appellation. These are conferred by their contemporaries who understood their dedica tion and work. The same forces trying to portray Dayanand Bandodkar as traitor are now seeking to take away the title “Father of the Opinion Poll” from Dr Jack de Sequeira. Such revisionism needs to be nipped, before it stains the truth. (Radharao F Gracias is a senior Trial Court Advocate, a former Inde pendent MLA, a political activist, with a repu tation for oratory and interests in history and ornithology.)
