The evening of June 18, 1946 in Margão is an unforgettable day in the history of Goa’s Freedom struggle. It is on this evening that Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia defied the ban and censorship of the colonial government and launched a Civil Disobedience Movement, producing one of those sparks that led to the ‘Beginning of the end of Portuguese Rule’ in Goa. Dr. Lohia had actually come to Goa on a break and resided at the Assolna home of Dr. Julião Menezes. However, the moment he arrived here in Goa, he became restless on being given to understand the oppressive nature of the Portuguese towards many. Thus began a new defining phase of Goa’s freedom struggle that ended with the liberation of Goa, 15 years later on December 19, 1961. “Goa Revolution Day reminds us of our ancestor’s unity in overcoming oppression. We must reignite that spirit to preserve our culture from being diluted by external influences”, says Adv. Zyfern Joseph Dias, from Margão. Further he states that on this day, people remember how unity brought them freedom, and today as rapid gentrification impacts the environment, everyone needs to come together to protect the beautiful land and natural resources around. “The Goa Revolution showcased the power of solidarity. As our mother tongue Konkani faces the threat of decline, let's draw on their courage to promote and preserve our linguistic heritage”, he says.
Lohia was born in 1910. His father, Heeralal, was a merchant in Faizabad, in Uttar Pradesh. His mother died when he was just two. The boy's grandmother brought him up. His father was a devout follower of Mahatma Gandhi. Lohia received his education in Bombay, Banaras and Calcutta. He passed the Matriculation Examination with a first class in 1925. After a two-year course at Banaras University, he joined the Vidya- Sagar College in Calcutta. In 1929 he passed the Honors Examination in English Literature. Even as a student he was attracted towards political agitation. He went to Germany for higher studies.
It was during his education in Germany that Dr. Lohia was introduced to Goa through another student Dr. Julião Menezes. Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia spent a little over three years, from 1929 to 1933 as a doctoral student at the Humboldt University in Germany. On January 24, 1933 he submitted his dissertation on “Salt Taxation in India”.
Interestingly as a student Dr. Lohia had struck a friendship with Dr. Julião Menezes before submission of this work. Dr. Menezes was studying MD in Dermatology while Dr. Lohia was pursuing his doctorate in economics. Undoubtedly, Dr. Menezes would have exchanged facts on the condition of the salt industry in Goa and the draconian Anglo-Portuguese treaty of 1878. By this treaty Bombay Presidency Government in British India exercised monopoly on the manufacture of salt and its trade in Portuguese India, with the powers granted to the British India Government to limit the manufacture of salt and suppress, if necessary, the salt works therein. It appears that Dr. Menezes and Dr. Lohia were in touch from 1939-1946 except during Dr. Lohia’s period of imprisonment. Their friendship ended only after the death of Dr. Lohia on October 12, 1967. On July 02, 1980 Dr. Julião Menezes died in Bombay taking with him lots of memories of his association with Dr. Lohia. Neither the central nor the Goa government did anything to record his narratives. If had been done, one would have known about their association in Germany in more detail and how Dr. Lohia would have meticulously planned the action on June 18, 1946. After his release from Lahore in 1946, Lohia visited Bombay and met Dr. Menezes who examined and told him that he needed rest. He offered to take him to his village Assolna in Goa. Dr. Lohia accepted the invitation and arrived at Dr. Juliao’s place in Assolna on June 10, 1946. The news of Lohia’s arrival spread among some Goans, but when Evagrio Fransisco Jorge reported it with biographical notes of Lohia in O Heraldo the news spread all over Goa.
Dr. Juliao’s home in Assolna became the meeting place for many Goan intellectuals and political activists, who went there to consult with Lohia and Julião. It was there that the movement for Goa’s civil liberties was born. In that respect, Julião’s house in Assolna is one of Goa’s historical landmarks.
Dr. Lohia decided to fight for the civil liberties of Goans. Till June 14, the two leaders met numerous important people from all walks of life at Dr. Julião’s residence. On June 15, Dr. Menezes took Dr. Lohia to Mormugão at the invitation of the Nationalists and the next day they met in Panjim at Damodar Vidyalaya.
But the main climax of the movement for civil disobedience happened on June 18, 1946 in Margão, as planned. Goans – men and women came in huge numbers to welcome Dr. Julião Menezes and Dr. Lohia as they were entering the Margão square in a horse carriage. Purushottam Kakodkar was given the responsibility of organizing the meeting. The colonial administration which was caught off-guard failed to sub-due the enthusiastic crowd. Dr. Juliao and Dr. Lohia were arrested and then moved at the dead of the night to the police station in Panjim.
Dr. Julião hosted Dr. Lohia at his Mansion in Assolna from June 10, 1946. However, there is no detailed monograph of these ten eventful days until Dr. Lohia was released on June 19 evening and sent to Collém and was ordered to leave Goa. History of Goa changed in these ten important days. But definately the anti-colonial pot had begun to boil in Germany itself, producing a lot of steam in Geneva and the real explosion shaking the foundation of colonialism in Asia and Africa took place on June 18, 1946 at Margão.
It is definitely not possible that Dr. Lohia got to know about Goa only from June 10, 1946. Dr. Juliao was associated with him till 1933 in Germany. One can imagine what they may have discussed about British and Portuguese colonialism. The young Dr. Menezes had entered Germany influenced by the patriotic thoughts of Luis de Menezes Braganza. Dr. Lohia valued his friendship and that was the only reason we saw them together in Geneva in 1930 at the assembly of the League of Nations inscribing their names as young Asian revolutionaries. That revolution may have reached the banks of Sal, Zuari and Mandovi on June 18, 1946. But its German origin must not be neglected.
The news of their arrest spread throughout Goa, and the people demonstrated it in most of the towns. In Margão, next morning, the citizens drove in procession and in the evening, they gathered in front of the Câmara Municipal de Salcéte. Even though the troops sought to disperse the crowd, they squatted resolutely on the ground, shouting in unison at the top of their voices: Jai Hind!! Asking the authorities to release Dr. Lohia and Dr. Julião Menezes.
They were taken to Panjim and the next day evening Dr. Lohia was released in Collém. Dr. Menezes was released in Margão. Meanwhile Portuguese authorities and business communities spread rumors that the leaders got out of jail after tendering their apology to authorities. Soon Dr. Menezes departed for Mumbai, but before leaving Goa he gave a message contradicting the rumors that they had not tendered any apology. His message was read by Mr. Evagrio George at the meeting held on June 20 in Margão.
Dr. Julião Menezes returned to Bombay and continued the campaign for civil liberties through his paper Gomantak and published a booklet, Goa’s Freedom Struggle (1947) recounting the events that took place for the fight for civil liberties. He was also one of the founders of National Congress of Goa (NCG) and played a very active role.
“June 18 popularly hailed as ‘Gôy Kranti Dis’ was a rainy Tuesday in Margão . While the watershed June 18 June in 1946 was Tuesday, Goa’s liberation too culminated on a Tuesday, December 19, 1961. National socialist leader Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia led this struggle to regain the lost civil liberties under Salazar along with Dr. Julião Menezes a socialist from Assolna. As Dr. Lohia began to deliver his speech, he was arrested along with Dr. Juliao Menezes. Miss Vatsala Kirtani came forward and raised the nationalist slogan of Jai Hind for which she too was rebuked and arrested. Vatsala was the first woman to be arrested in Goa’s freedom struggle. Purushottam Kakodkar, Jaisinghlal Shah, Laxmidas Borkar, Vasant Kare, Madhav Bir, Nikubab Karapurkar, Smt. Pramilabai Zambaulikar were the other leaders of this historic movement that triggered Goa’s freedom movement which was actually begun by Dr. T.B. Cunha way back in 1928 eventually leading to Goa’s liberation from the Portuguese yoke in 1961”, says Prajal Sakhardande, a noted historian from Goa.