Remembering the man who united Goans

Bearded, smiling and often clad in white, that’s the image of Dr Jack de Sequeira that people across the State have. But, those who remember him would also tell you that Dr Sequeira was as straight in his manner of being and unwavering in his opinions as he was erect in posture. And there are many remembering him these days, for had he been alive the man would be celebrating his 100th birthday on Monday.

“He was an exceptional man. He was fluent in Konkani, English and Portuguese. There was logic in what he spoke. Goa will never have another man like him,” says Percival Noronha, heritage buff and former government officer. In the past few days the praises for Dr Sequeira have been pouring in, as have the demands for a statue in the Assembly complex.

Yet, merely remembering Dr Sequeira on his birth centenary does not appear to be enough of a tribute to the man who led from the front to ensure that Goa retained its identity, language, culture and geographical boundary. Over the decades he has been popularly known as the Father of the Opinion Poll, but recently there has been some debate on this.

Just some weeks ago, Konkani writer and lawyer Uday Bhembre had said that no single individual could be credited with the success of the agitation to retain Goan identity as it was a ‘collective movement’. A collective effort the movement definitely was. Yet it had to have some leadership and it is undeniable that if not for Dr Sequeira the Opinion Poll might never have produced the result it did. As one of Goa’s first MLAs Teotonio Pereira who worked closely with Dr Sequeira points out, it was the media that unanimously called him the Father of the Opinion Poll a day after the results came in and Goa retained its status of a Union Territory.

How then does one pay tribute to the man who, despite having spent all of his political life seated on the Opposition benches, has left the State its biggest legacy?

“The Opinion Poll victory is Dr Jack Sequeira’s biggest legacy. From this has come Statehood and language. If the politicians of today are enjoying the fruits of power, it is because of him,” says Rafael Viegas, a resident of Curtorim and one who has followed Goan history, carefully saving every bit on information on Goa that has appeared in the print media over the decades.

The Opinion Poll victory gave Goa an identity within the Indian Nation. It also gave Goans a responsibility to maintain Goa and save it for future generations. That, may not be happening in the manner that Dr Sequeira envisaged. Robert Newman, an anthropologist, writing on the Opinion Poll some years back said, “Over the next 20 years, people came to take Goa’s separateness more for granted. The political expression for Goan identity came to revolve around two issues: language and what we may call the ‘locals vs outsiders’ issue.” The situation has not changed much and a movement for special status for the State is slowly growing. So is today’s Goa what Dr Sequeira fought for?

“Today’s Goa is totally not what he fought for. He wanted an honest Goa, without the corruption and the doublespeak that we have today. What we see today is a reign of hypocrisy,” says Viegas.

It is not just the older generation that remembers Dr Sequeira. Just recently there was a demand that his birthday be declared as ‘Unity Day’ and that came from a group that perhaps never met Dr Sequeira in person.

“Dr Sequeira was a person who did a lot for Goa and is not remembered in the manner in which he should be remembered. If you ask the younger generation who Dr Jack de Sequeira was, they will not know. There were many people who fought for Goa’s identity, but his role was larger and should be remembered,” says activist Swati Kerkar

There’s a statue of Dr Sequeira in Calangute and another at Dona Paula, the former was financed by the local people and the latter by the family. There is a road named after him. That’s how Goa remembers Dr Sequeira, with the government having done precious little to keep alive the memory of the man who fought for Goa’s separate identity. Even his 100th birth anniversary would have passed away quietly, had not the family and Dr Sequeira’s admirers decided not to wait for official sanction to any celebrations.