Floriano Fernandes
It is a great privilege for me to remember the towering personality on the 102 birth anniversary of father of the Opinion Poll Dr Jack de Sequeira. It was today on April 20, 1915 a son has been born to a Goan couple Mr. Erasmo de Sequeira and Mrs Anna Julia de Sa e Sequeira who will himself grow up as a doctor but changed his line to fight for Mother Goa and to safeguard its distinct Identity of Goa. On the ongoing 50th anniversary of Opinion Poll of Goa 1967-2017 the natural outcry on the streets of Goa is increasing day by day. There is a noise on the Special Status in some quarters and there are others who strongly believe the real Goenkarponn needs to be maintained by the government in power.
After 50 years of the country’s first Opinion Poll now we started to hear the voice of the politicians on the topic of Goem, Goenkar and Goenkarponn. Some are in hurry to raise the demand of Special Status through the new Government. There are many who also believe that the issue of real Goenkarponn had been settled long back and the battle had been won by Goans by defeating the mergerists forces within Goa during the Opinion Poll of 1967. Here lies the core issue as why are all our efforts going against the whole theory of Goenkarponn? There must be a strong force behind this important issue to cover it under the carpet as we Goans have miserably failed to give a due respect for the first opposition leader late Dr Jack de Sequeira who is commonly known as the father of the opinion poll.
Since 2001 a group was formed and one of their main agenda is to demand a life size statue of Dotor Sequeira. Since then there is no looking back with the active support from Goan print media and especially Herald supported us with wide publicity. It’s been nearly 16 years since our efforts with the government did not bear any fruits. In the year 1998 ex-MLA late J B Gonsalves had proposed a resolution in the legislative assembly and duly supported by the then firebrand MLA late Babu Naik for a lifesize statue of a Niz Goenkar late Dr. Jack de Sequeira the same was passed unanimously. It was surprising and beyond our understanding as what stops government for not erecting the statue of a man who had fought gallantly to save Goa.
If we are trying to fight for a Niz Goenkarponn then installing a life size statue of Dr Jack de Sequeira is the only answer. If government’s answer is still in negative then for what reason we should have the statues of the National leaders in Goa? Government will do its best to give the reason for not heeding to the demand of thousands of Goans from in and out of Goa. What is the reason for hiding the history of Opinion Poll of 16th January 1967? Why the attempt is being made to hide the leader of the Opinion Poll as well? I find something is fishy and a silent lobby is working behind this dirty move.
Now I take this opportunity to urge the new Manohar Parrikar led Government to install a life size statue of Dr Sequeira in the secretariat complex at Porvorim during the 50 years of commemoration of Opinion Poll. The real meaning of Goenkarponn will be completed only if Government installs the Statue of this Great Leader before the completion of Golden anniversary that is 16th of January 2018.
