- Alvaro de Loyola Furtado
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Alvaro de Loyola Furtado (Born:, Died : 23 August, 1981), was a member of the Goa assembly and a parliamentarian. He was a founding member of the United Goans Party[1] and also the leader of the United Goans (Furtado Group).[2] He was also a social worker, a historian, journalist, physician and humanitarian. He was described as a leader among men, a man of great integrity and honour.[3]
Contents
Birth and Family
Alvaro de Loyola Furtado was born in Goa, in the village of Chinchinim.[3]. He was born into one of the prominent families of Goa: the Loyolas of Orlim. His great-grandfather Dr. José Inácio de Loyola, was a fierce patriot, much before the mainstream Goa freedom struggle and the founder of Partido Indiano.[1] His elder brother, Mario de Loiola Furtado was the icon behind Goa's oldest publication the "A India Portuguesa" and is considered a legal luminary amongst Goan Lawyers from the Portuguese era, although, he died at the young age of 33 years.
Education
He After primary school he joined the Rachol Seminary. He moved to Bangalore for further studies and then passed Inter-Science with distinction from St. Aloysius College[disambiguation needed
]. He obtained his medical degree from Madras Medical College in 1941.[1]World War II
He was in active service in the Indian Medical Service in the South East Asia command during World War II for four years.[1] He was awarded the Burma Campaign Medal, the Long Service Medal and War Medal for his meritorious service.[3]
Philanthropy
After World War II, he returned to his native village and started a medical practice there. He served the poor and the rich without distinction, often waking up at unearthly hours.[1]. He was actively involved in the Tuberculosis Control Programme and rose to the post of Chief of ‘Ordem dos Médicos da Índia Portuguesa’.[1] Dr. Alvaro was concerned about the decline of the Comunidades and in 1961 he wrote a paper advocating its continuance. As a member of the Goa legislature he moved various resolutions that covered Goan rural life.[3]
Mayor of Salsette
During Portuguese rule, Dr. Alvaro was the mayor of Salcette Municipality for two years where he worked pro-bono[1]. He resigned as he felt that the Portuguese Administration hurt nationalist feelings.[3]
Instituto Vasco da Gama
At the Instituto Vasco da Gama , he wrote articles that led the Governor General Vassalo e Silva to reinstate to the comunidades full ownership rights and abolish rents (foro). Later, he resigned from the Instituto in protest against the Governor’s interference in cultural institutions. The Portuguese administration had marked him as a member of the Margao Group of Autonomists and anti-Salazarists.[3]
Scholar
Dr. Alvaro spoke fluent English, Portuguese, Konkani and Latin. He wrote various papers , mostly in Portuguese. Os Primordios de Inprensa e do Jornalismo em Goa e no Resto da índia was an essay on the history of printing and journalism in India. O Diréito de Propriedade Rústica nas Comunidades Aldeanas was a treatise on the Communidades(Ganvkaar) system in Goa and an advocacy of its continuance.[3]
Role in Goa's Liberation Movement
Dr. Alvaro was a Goan patriot. He advocated autonomy for the Portuguese colonies in India. When India's independence was declared, the movement for Goa's freedom gained momentum. In July 1946, he took part in a public meeting that openly petitioned the Salazar administration to grant autonomy to the Estado da India. The meeting was presided by his grand-father Jose Inacio de Loyola. Laxmikant Bembre proposed a committee to pursue autonomy. Dr Alvaro was one of the members of this committee. However their efforts did not move Salazar.[4]
Political career
Dr. Alvaro was a founding member of the United Goans Party headed by Dr. Jack de Sequeira. He successfully brought about the merger of four political parties that formed the UGP. He was also a member of the ‘Congresso Provincial de Goa’ and also a member of the delegation that met Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, to apprise him of the aspirations of Goans, for a separate political identity.[1]
In the first Goa, Daman and Diu Assembly elections, Alvaro de Loyola contested from Navelim on the United Goans Party ticket and won. He led a revolt against the party president Dr. Jack de Sequeira in 1967 on the issue of the Goa Opinion Poll and formed a splinter group that came to be known after him as United Goans (Furtado Group). The remaining members came to be known as United Goans (Sequiera Group).[5]
The assembly had been dissolved prior to the Opinion Poll in order to ensure a free and fair referendum. In the following election, the Furtado Group contested in six constituencies. They lost all seats.[5]
Death
Dr. Alvaro died on 23 August 1981. His funeral at Chinchinim was attended by thousands.[1]
Remeberance
Teotonio de Souza published a work "A Scholar's Discovery of Goa", Alvaro de Loyola Furtado: A Tribute from his Fellow Citizens in 1982 as a tribute to Dr. Alvaro.[6]
See also
- United Goans Party
- Goa Opinion Poll
- Dr. Jack de Sequeira
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i COLACO, Dr FRANCISCO C; Xanno Moidecar (Tuesday, August 22, 2006). "THE STATE OF GOA". http://thestateofgoa.blogspot.com/. Retrieved 2009-05-23.
- ^ Souza, I.C.. "Dr.Alvaro de Loyola Furtado". http://icsamy.wordpress.com/2009/03/01/dralvaro-de-loyola-furtado/. Retrieved 2009-05-22.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Loyola-Furtado House-Chinchini". Houses of Goa Museum. http://www.archgoa.org/loyala%20futardo/main.htm. Retrieved 2009-05-23.
- ^ Leitao, Lino (Friday, December 23, 2005). "BLOOD, NEMESIS AND MISREADING QUITE WHAT MAKES GOAN SOCIETY TICK by Ben Antao, review by Lino Leitao". http://goabooks2.blogspot.com/2005/12/blood-nemesis-and-misreading-quite.html. Retrieved 2009-05-23.
- ^ a b Prabhudesai, Sandesh (29 November 1999). "Goa has 'glorious' history of defections !". Goanews.com. http://www.goanews.com/defect.htm. Retrieved 2009-05-22.[dead link]
- ^ "Teotonio R. de Souza - Publicações / Publications - 1972-2008". Archived from the original on 2009-10-25. http://www.webcitation.org/5kmlY8D91. Retrieved 2009-05-23.
External links
Categories:- Indian politicians
- People from Goa
- 1981 deaths
- Madras Medical College alumni
- Politics of Goa
- Indian Roman Catholics
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