Goa Governor Pillai Visits Padma Shri Awardee Libia Lobo Sardesai

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Panaji: Governor P S Sreedharan Pillai on Monday paid a visit to Padma Shri awardee and Goan freedom fighter Libia Lobo Sardesai.

When Goa was liberated on December 19, 1961, the 101-year-old freedom fighter and her husband Vaman Sardesai had flown over Panaji and other parts of Goa in an Indian Air Force plane that had a radio transmitter on board and a loudspeaker fitted to it, making announcements in Portuguese and Konkani and dropping leaflets announcing that the Portuguese had surrendered, freeing the state after a 451-year-old rule.

During his half-hour long visit to Sardesai’s house in Panaji, the Governor expressed pride in Lobo Sardesai’s recognition by the Central Government, stating that the award is a fitting tribute to her dedication to the nation.

The Governor congratulated her on behalf of Goa and the Central Government, wishing her continued health and strength.

Responding to the gesture by the Governor, Sardesai attributed her achievements to divine grace. “I thank God for this good fortune in my lifetime, even at this stage. Without God’s grace, none of this would have been possible,” she said.

Speaking about her contribution to Goa’s liberation movement, Sardesai said, “I don’t think I did anything extraordinary; I simply did what came my way.”

Her husband, the late Vaman Sardesai, was also a diplomat and had been awarded the Padma Shri in 1992.

During the Portuguese regime, Sardesai had played a pivotal role in the struggle against Portuguese colonial rule.

He said that for six years, from 1955 to 1961, in the backdrop of the suspension of all civil liberties in Goa under a Portuguese dictatorship, Libia and Vaman Sardesai had set up an underground ‘secret’ radio station in the jungles on the outskirts of Goa to counter Portuguese propaganda, and broadcast news, speeches of Indian leaders in Parliament, and updates on the nationalist movement and anti-colonial struggle.

The radio station – ‘Goenche Sodvonecho Awaz’ (Voice of Freedom of Goa) for Konkani broadcasts and ‘Voz de Liberdade’ for Portuguese – also supported the Indian Army in setting up a transmission centre to send messages to the Portuguese to surrender.

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