He was a man of many talents who went ahead and propagated
his ideas that caught the attention of people in the state. Dadu Mandrekar who
passed away earlier in the week had done pioneering work in spreading the
thoughts of Babasaheb Ambedkar. Many of Goa’s finest expressed their shock at
his death. His legacy the general feeling was of one who did so much to promote
Ambedkarite thought.
Datta Damodar Naik noted businessman and writer said Dadu was
a socialist activist and a Ambedkerite. He said he converted to Buddhism along
with a large group of followers just like Babasaheb Ambedkar had done so in
1956. He pointed out that Dadu authored 3 books including a biography of
Ambedkar which threw new light on his personality. He said “Dadu was a good
photographer and he had great love for the flora and fauna of Goa”.
Chandrakant Jadhav writer said Dadu did very good work
writing on the condition of Dalits when he was a journalist in a local paper in
Panjim. This coincided with similar work taking place in Maharashtra. His work
would be remembered by everyone in the Ambedkerite movement for years to come.
Noted Goan short story writer Damodar mauzo felt Dadu was the
strongest voice for pro Ambedkerites and his loyalty to the cause was intense.
( Please read his full statement the box) He said “Dadu was well
read and read all about Ambedkar exhaustively. He was literary person who was
dedicated to the word of Ambedkar”. Damodar said for Dadu, Ambedkar was someone
to be worshipped. He never minced his words and was critical of the system and
had taken upon himself the mission to spread the word. An atheist, Ambedkar was
above god. Damodar said he was critical of other religions especially Hinduism.
Damodar said “For me he was a man of literature. He wrote poems and essays, he
was an artists and an excellent photographer. He was loud when he spoke about
anything because he spoke from his heart. This was something some people could
not handle. My association with him was due to literature and the Goa art and
literature festival. Due the memorial lecture series he was involved. He had
connections with national leaders from the Dalit side. He valued life and
wanted to celebrate life. He said he was very happy when he turned 60 and his
decision to convert to Buddhism was preceded and followed by exhaustive
research. He was well known in Maharashtra in Ambedkarite circles and was very
critical of the government at the centre. Damodar ended by saying his
death was a blow to literature and his followers would miss him a lot. On a
personal level, he said he was already missing him because he would call him
and they would have conversations with Dadu berating him but which was done
with great affection
