SUNDAY, APRIL 28, 2024
PANJIM, MARCH 20
Goa’s first chief minister Dayanand Bandodkar was an atheist and had not allowed any idol in his house, his daughter Shashikala Kakodkar told in a seminar on Saturday.
Contradicting the allegations of pro-Hindu politics played by Bandodkar, Kakodkar said that her father helped people from all walks and religion and had been a non-believer.
“Once I had installed idol of Lord Vithal in our house. He saw it and asked my aunty who did it subsequently asked me to remove it immediately,” Kakodkar said in the inaugural function of the seminar on ‘Dayanand Bandodkar and his ideas: Relevance for Contemporary Goa,’ held at Goa University.
The two-day long seminar is organised by Goa University and Indian Institute of Advance Study, Simla. Goa University’s Vice Chancellor Prof Dilip Deobagkar and national fellow of IIAS Prof Bhachandra Nemade were also present for the inauguration function. Kakodkar said that the only celebration they had in the house was Diwali.
Contending that there is a wrong notion that Bandodkar was always for Hindus and anti-Christians, Kakodkar recalled his contribution to start a Marathi school at Margao, which was meant to educate children from Christian community.
“Narcinva Sukerkar of Margao had started a Marathi school for Kunbi Catholics which was helped to be set up by Bandodkar,” she said.
Earlier, addressing the inaugural function, Prof Nemade said that Goa should hammer the issue of bilingual confusions – Marathi and Konkani.
“Goa should not enter into a trap of political identity of languages. The ugly politics over languages has to be brought to the surface and hammered to put it in right perspective,” he said.
Dr Rahul Tripathi, teacher in-charge, Department of Political Science, gave the welcome address while Vice Chancellor Prof Dileep Deobagkar gave his remarks on the occasion.
