PANJIM: O Heraldo celebrates 125-year of its founding on 22nd January 2025. The illustrious newspaper was founded on that historic day on 22nd January 1900. It was the first daily in all of the Portuguese colonies. O Heraldo press was perhaps one of the earliest newspaper press, not only in Goa or India, but in Asia. Professor Aleixo Clemente Messias Gomes was the founder of O Heraldo.
O Heraldo is more than a newspaper that comes to your doorstep in the morning or you pick from the newsstands. O Heraldo has become a part of the morning routine of many people’s lives. Many have recounted that they always have their morning cup of tea or coffee while reading the O Heraldo. Herald is not only a rich repository of history, but an institution by itself.
In the years 1944 to 1972, the paper’s editor and the one who set the tone for the rest of O Heraldo’s history until his death, was Amadeu Prazeres de Costa, a writer par excellence. The other Portuguese newspapers existing then were weeklies or biweeklies. While there were other Portuguese dailies that emerged thereafter, only O Heraldo has lasted since then, a testament with the bond it has shared with its readers spanning generations and generations.
In those days, the newspaper would be delivered to one’s house by post. Often two or three editions would arrive on one day. But it really did not matter because time went by slowly. Also people would share the newspapers with their neighbours.
O Heraldo covered a wide spectrum of serious topics such as Goa’s economic status, allocation of mines to business families from Goa by the Portuguese government, then key decisions taken by the local comunidades or municipalities that would impact their respective regions or big updates from the Portuguese parliament or judiciary that affected Goa and Goans at large.
There were also hard-hitting as well as heart-warming editorials about the aspirations of the people of Goa, warnings about the State suffering due to the large-scale migration. One of the earliest contributors, Luís de Menezes Bragança, who was a big part of the paper’s journey post inception, wrote fiercely about social justice, autonomy for Goa and the identity of the local populace.
O Heraldo also covered India’s freedom struggle where interviews of Ram Manohar Lohia were published following his visit to Goa. The opinion of Subhash Chandra Bose and the path he was taking was also reported greatly. What’s more, through the paper, none other than Mahatma Gandhi, wrote to the Governor of Goa, Jose Ferreira Bossa would reply to Gandhi through letters published in the paper.
O Heraldo fought alongside the freedom fighters and celebrated the Liberation of Goa on 19th December 1961, the victory at the Opinion Poll in 1967. In 1983, O Heraldo would up the Portuguese edition and changed over to English. O Heraldo celebrated the recognition of Konkani as the Official Language of Goa and Statehood in 1987 and has backed every people’s movement till date.
Revealing O Heraldo’s aim, a piece on the front page of the first edition, presumably written by its founder Mr Aleixo Messias Gomes, had said: “…our political programme will consist of suggesting to the government all the clarifications needed to improve public administration.” Today, O Heraldo still does all this – highlighting the flaws in governance and speaking truth to power. Needless to say O Herald has been the nursery of journalists in Goa.
On its 125 anniversary, O Heraldo rededicates itself to the being the Voice of the People and fighting every injustice, every anti-people move, every anti-democratic step. O Heraldo will continue to take up the cause of the marginalized, the poor and will always continue to be the Voice of Goa in the years to come.