08 Jul 2022  |   05:14am IST

Leaving a remarkable trail of studies behind

Dr Carmo D’Souza was a guiding light to many students during his teaching career. The late professor has left behind a treasure trove of academic literature for law students
Leaving a remarkable trail of studies behind

Maria de Lourdes Bravo da Costa Rodrigues

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varisto Filomeno Carmo D’Souza, the soft-spoken ever smiling professor and academician left the world a month back, on June 8, leaving a wide void in Indo-Portuguese studies and sadness amongst those who knew him, be it his friends and admirers, as well as his students. The unassuming professor has touched thousands of students during his teaching career from high school to college, helping and mentoring hundreds in their research work. He encouraged his students, researchers and others to work on Goa-related topics.

Known as Dr Carmo D’Souza, he completed 73 years on May 29, an age which is not considered much by many. However, his health problems took a toll on him. It was Parkinson’s that took away his freedom to move freely, inspite of which he never gave up on his research. His heart was also weak but he was always there for those who needed his help. I befriended Carmo at the Central Library which he visited regularly to research for his doctorate in philosophy as well as for writing his books and articles. Versatile and knowledgeable, he could discuss various topics and write on different subjects. A scion of Goa’s well-known families, his parents, Ilda Meneses of the House of Morgados de Agasaim and Dr Ismael D’Souza from Calangute, Carmo was down to earth and very humble.

He was a post graduate in Maths and Bachelor of Education from the University of Bombay. He started his teaching career in 1973 at St Lawrence High School, Agasaim, and later in the St Lawrence Higher Secondary, Agasaim, from 1979. He also studied law and did his post-graduation LLM and Ph D (Laws), both from Poona University. His doctoral thesis was titled ‘Evaluation of Legal System in Goa during the Portuguese Regime (1510-1961)’. A soft-spoken person like Carmo did not want to wear the gown to represent and defend clients in the court of law and decided to continue as a teacher, albeit now of law. After completing his PhD, he joined Kare College of Law, Margao and later in 1996, V M Salgaocar College of Law, Panjim.

His research interests were Constitutionalism and Family Laws and in 1992, he did the Fellowship Programme of the Institute of Constitutional and Parliamentary Studies, New Delhi, and submitted a dissertation on ‘Law Making in Parliament’. The Gulbenkian Foundation granted him a Scholarship in 2000 to visit Portugal for three months to study Portuguese Constitutional Law. Some of his academic publications include ‘Legal System in Goa (Vol. I) - Judicial Institutions’ in 1994 and ‘Legal System in Goa (Vol. II) - Laws’ and ‘Legal Trends’ in 1995 and ‘Towards a World Constitution’ in 2003. He also co-edited along with Dr Anthony D’Souza, ‘World Constitutionalism’ in 2007 and ‘Civil Law Studies: An Indian Perspective’ in 2009, both published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing, UK, in 2009, with contributions from academicians in Portugal and India.

Dr Carmo’s interest was not only constitutionalism and family laws. He was also interested in different aspects of Goa - be it history, politics, language, or literature. In order to help and encourage students and researchers to study on Goa, he organised lectures and conferences. To manage this passion of his and to motivate research in the area of World Constitutionalism as well as on Goa, he started the Ismilda Research Centre, which was the centre from where he worked after retirement and had a website www.ismilda.org for those who were interested. He has a number of articles published in conference proceedings and journals.

Carmo did not write only academic works and his books show his interests were in things close to his heart. I remember reading his column in a local daily, in which he wrote on Goan life and culture. He also wrote three novels ‘Angela’s Goan Identity’ in 1994. This book has been translated to Portuguese by Fernanda M Barros and titled as ‘A Identidade Goesa de

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ngela’. The other two novels are ‘Portugal: In Search of Identity’ in 2003, and ‘Jose’s Dreams - New World Order’ in 2008. A play is also a part of his rich bibliography, ‘Inner duel: A Play on the Life of St Francis Xavier’ in 2004. His love for his village is depicted in ‘Calangute: In Search of Sands’ in 1997 and his humour is reflected in ‘Yes Ministerji’ in 2001.

As a Reader, at V M Salgaocar College of Law, Panjim, he was the guide to a number of students doing their Master’s in Law. Besides, he was a guide for seven PhD students in Laws, five from the University of Goa, one from the University of Pune, and the University of Rajasthan. Rest in peace, true Goenkar, the amiable smiling scholar, the Indo-Portuguese Fraternity will miss you!

IDhar UDHAR

Idhar Udhar