Panaji: Governor P S Sreedharan Pillai said that the Padma Shri award announced to Libia Lobo Sardesai is a fitting tribute to her dedication for the country.
Sardesai was awarded the fourth highest civilian honour by the President on the occasion of 76th Republic Day on Sunday.
Pillai on Monday paid a visit to the 100-year-old freedom fighter’s house in Panaji and congratulated her on behalf of the Goa government and the Centre, wishing her good health and strength.
During his half-an-hour long visit, Pillai expressed pride in Sardesai’s recognition by the central government.
Responding to the governor’s gesture for her contribution to Goa’s Liberation movement, Sardesai said, “I don’t think I did anything extraordinary; I simply did what came my way. 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.”
The governor acknowledged that for six years, from 1955 to 1961, in the backdrop of the suspension of all civil liberties in Goa, Libia and her husband Vaman Sardesai had set up an underground ‘secret’ radio station — ‘Voz da Liberdade’ (Voice of Freedom) — in a forested area in 1955 on the outskirts of Goa to counter Portuguese propaganda.
When Goa was liberated on December 19, 1961, Libia and Vaman Sardesai travelled over Panaji and other parts of Goa in an Indian Air Force plane that had a radio transmitter onboard and a loudspeaker fitted to it. They made announcements in Portuguese and Konkani and dropped leaflets, informing people that Portuguese rulers had surrendered, and Goa was free after 451 years of colonial rule.
They would broadcast news, speeches of Indian leaders in Parliament, and updates on the nationalist movement and anti-colonial struggle.
The radio stations – ‘Goenche Sodvonecho Awaz’ (Voice of Freedom of Goa) for Konkani broadcasts and ‘Voz da Liberdade’ for broadcasts in Portuguese — also supported the Indian Army in setting up a transmission centre to send messages to the Portuguese rulers to surrender.
Vaman Sardesai, was also a diplomat and awarded the Padma Shri in 1992. He had played a pivotal role in the struggle against the Portuguese colonial rule. Agencies
