Panaji, Jan 15 (PTI) On the eve of the anniversary ofGoa's historic referendum in 1967, nostalgia has gripped itsliving witnesses, who are happy that the people of the thenUnion territory did not opt to merge with Maharashtra.
The referendum on whether to merge with the neighbouringstate was held on January 16, 1967.
When the referendum was held, the then ruling party,Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP), was in favour ofbecoming a part of Maharashtra. But several leaders, led byJack Sequeira of the United Goans party, were opposed to it.
Recalling the day, Uday Bhembre, a well-known localscribe who was among those opposed to the merger, says, "Afterthe first day of counting of votes on January 17, the pro-merger lobby was celebrating. They had a massive lead in allthe areas of North Goa. We were virtually on oxygen."The entire Goa was then divided on the basis of twosymbols -- "two leaves" (anti-merger) and "rose" (pro-merger).
Even after 50 years, Bhembre remembers how sitting atMargao, about 40 km away from the counting centre at Panaji,the opinion poll movement leaders were keeping a track of theresults through the All India Radio (AIR) broadcast.
"We had almost lost hope when the second day of countingbegan. But then the tide turned. As the counting was taken upin the areas of South Goa, specially the Catholic-dominatedones, the anti-merger camp got the upper hand," he said.
"The Benaulim constituency in South Goa contributed inturning the tide against the merger," Bhembre added.
The Catholic population was by and large against themerger, while the Hindus were divided, he said.
Bhembre recalls how five different groups, including twopolitical parties -- the United Goans and a section of theCongress -- and three others, the Konkani protagonistsrevolving around the now-defunct newspaper, "Rashtramat", thelate Ulhas Buyao-led musical group and the late Shabu Desai's"Sanghpradesh Jyot", had advocated against merging withMaharashtra.
Victor Gonsalves, the former MLA from the St Cruzconstituency, near Panaji in North Goa district, was a childwhen the anti-merger movement was underway.
He remembers that the police had detained his mother,along with others, in their village for their agitationagainst the proposal to merge.
Sequeira had also represented St Cruz in the Goa Assemblyand when the veteran leader died in 1989, it was Gonsalves whomoved the condolence motion in the House.
"The movement in St Cruz was entirely local. There was noinfluence of any leader from outside. There was no scope forpro-merger sentiments in our village," Gonsalves said.
While the elders were busy in the intellectual discourseover the referendum, the kids contributed in their own way toprevent Goa from being a part of Maharashtra "by making the'two leaves' a part of their collection of toys," he added.
Music also played an important role in convincing thepeople to vote against the merger.
The "Jai Gomantak Kala Pathak" group, led by late UlhasBuyao, penned songs and performed across Goa, telling thepeople why they should not go with Maharashtra.
"There were times when they would not even have amicrophone or sound system but even then, the group performed,sometimes standing atop a mini-bus," Siddhanath Buyao, the sonof Ulhas Buyao said.
The Maharashtra-based musical troupes were filling theair with the pro-merger songs, which were countered by Buyaoand his group, who sung in Konkani and Marathi, he added.
The songs of Buyao are still performed in Goa, half-a-century after the historic move.
Meanwhile, the state government of the day plans tocelebrate the Opinion Poll Day in a big way.
Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar had last week said Goawould celebrate January 16 as the "Asmitai Dis" (Identity Day)to mark the referendum.
The Goa Forward Party, an ally of the ruling BJP, hadrecently demanded that the opinion poll episode should beincluded in the state's school curriculum. PTI RPS GKRC.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.