Team Herald
MARGAO: While those in favour of merger with Maharashtra functioned under one leader and one platform those against merger were five different entities who never worked together and never combined to form a fist during the Opinion Poll said Uday Bhembre.
Speaking on the topic Opinion Poll Reality Check organized by Asmitai Pratishthan at Ravindra Bhawan on Saturday, he shared his personal experience during the opinion poll and facts historically recorded with regards to the only referendum in the country.
He said the movement to merge Goa with Maharashtra commenced even before India attained independence as in 1940 the then Sanyukta Maharashtra Sanghatana that has today morphed into Maharashtra Ekekarin Saunstha demanded that Goa along with other parts like Belgaum, etc be made part of Maharashtra.
Subsequently after India’s independence Goans mostly Hindus settled in Mumbai argued that since Marathi was the spoken language in Goa, Goa as when it was freed from Portuguese rule should be merged with Maharashtra. However, after Goa’s liberation the youngsters living in Bombay began a movement opposing merger and the anti-merger movement continued with only a few people in it.
Uday Bhembre said the year 1963 was very significant as many things happened in this year that had a direct bearing upon the Opinion Poll. The Marathi daily Rashtramat started in this year with the sole motto of Konkani being the language of Goa and therefore oppose merger with Maharashtra.
The United Goan Party was formed in September 1963 with Dr Alvaro Loyola Furtado as its founder president who later on brought Dr Jack de Sequeira and made him the president of UGP. The Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party on the other hand was formed in Pune in May 1963 with the sole aim of merging Goa with Maharashtra on grounds that Marathi was the language of Goa.
The other significant development in 1963 was the passing of the Goa, Daman and Diu Union Territories Act that recognized Goa as an Union Territory and at the first elections held the MGP emerged victorious and formed the Government.
Uday Bhembre also highlighted the various developments at the Centre which initially decided to have a moratorium on Goa’s future for ten years and the Cabinet decided to have a midterm poll to decide on the merger issue.
He also detailed how the then Congress President in Goa Purshottam Kakodkar fought consistently even with his party leaders and even disappeared for three months over the issue and finally got the centre to have the opinion poll.
“Purshottam countered the MGP’s argument that since their party was elected to power, Goa should be merged with Maharashtra by pointing out that MGP had polled less votes than the votes polled by all the opposition candidates,” he said.
Finally for the Opinion Poll, he said, Dayanand Bandodkar was the only leader and his platform was the only platform used. “Even ministers from Maharashtra did not have separate meetings but addressed Bandodkar’s meeting,” he said.
On the other hand the anti-merger movement was led by five different entities through five different platforms including two political parties namely the Congress and United Goans Party who could not come together as they were political rivals.
“There was coordination between the other three groups which were the Rashtramat group that would address meetings organized by Shabu Desai wherever his Sanghparasad Jyot went and also the musical programmes organized by Ulhas Buyao andhis Jai Gomantak Kala Pathak,” he said.
Recalling that they were stoned at Lohia Maidan at a meeting for speaking in Konkani, he said converting the Hindus to vote against the merger was the most difficult task for them at that time.
