The sad passing away of Gen S F Rodrigues, a patriot of unmatched honour and dignity who held the post of Chief of Army Staff and as Governor of Punjab, is a loss as immeasurable as the ocean, and as profound.
We knew each other being residents of Porvorim and would meet occasionally in church after the Saturday evening mass which he and his beloved wife Jean attended religiously. It was early 2002 that I suggested to him that we should do something for Porvorim which was stagnating. He readily agreed and thus the Porvorim Residents Welfare Association (PRWA) came to be founded. He was nominated as President and I had the honour of working as his General Secretary.
I found him very humble and down to earth. He had no airs, but only graces. General as we fondly called him was a man of character, courage and conviction. He always spoke with an air of confidence and a resolve of steel. He was never afraid to speak the truth and did not mince his words.
I remember when the then Parrikar-led government sought to introduce ‘The City of Panjim Corporation Bill 2002’ by attempting to annex the Porvorim Plateau and there was strong opposition, General Rodrigues had said: A grave mistake would be committed if the bill is passed in the assembly. Power lobbies should not dictate installation of a municipality.
During a sweeping drive organised by PRWA in November 2002, General Rodrigues had stated: Residents should not to depend solely on panchayats and government machinery for conducting social activities but should form self-help groups and try to solve the problems in their localities by themselves.
In 2004 when he was appointed Governor of Punjab and we had visited him to bid adieu he stressed: There is need for every citizen to shed his lethargy, complacency and indifferent attitude and endeavour to start asserting his rights to demand justice and only then Government functioning will be on its toes in total discharge of its duty towards the State. There has to be the will and desire to change the system and Goans should not take things lying down but must be consistent and vociferous in voicing their grievances and pursuing it to its logical conclusion.
In recent years I would bump into him during Raj Bhavan functions where he would engage with bureaucrats and other invitees with military humour bringing cheer to everyone.
There are but a few who are complete masters of their vocation and General Rodrigues was one of them. He truly loved his Goa. We will all miss him. I salute you General. I am glad that I was privileged to have known a man of brilliance, a man of great learning, a man of great erudition and above all, a man of humility. Go softly now to the heavenly kingdom that awaits you and know that though you are gone, you will never be forgotten.
