Goemkarponn desk
Panaji: In celebration of the 78th anniversary of Goa Revolution Day, 350-plus schoolchildren from across Goa and prominent Goan freedom fighters visited the historical Aguad Port & Jail Complex, Sinquerim, to garland and honour the statue of eminent Indian freedom fighter, Dr Ram Manohar Lohia, who had been incarcerated there for catalysing a new phase in Goa’s freedom struggle on June 18, 1946.
Dr K.B. Hedgewar High School, Cujira, Shri Shanta Vidyalaya, Sodiem, and Vidya Prabodhini’s L.D. Samant Memorial High School, Porvorim, brought their students on study tours to the Aguad Port & Jail Complex to highlight the role played by the historical monument during the Portuguese regime and the consequent freedom struggle.
According to Vishwas Raghunath Sangale, the history teacher at Shri Shanta Vidyalaya, Sodiem, the main intention of bringing their students to The Aguad to visit the Aguad Interactive Museum: Goa – The Land, The Struggle, The People; The Aguad Cinema; and India’s Civilisational Marvels exhibition is to be knowledgeable about Goa’s freedom struggle and the significance of the port and jail complex in Goa’s history.
“Dr Ram Manohar Lohia, who was an integral part of Goa’s liberation movement, was incarcerated at the Aguad Port & Jail Complex, which is why it is vital to teach our students about The Aguad. We brought them here as part of a study tour, as it is our duty to teach them about our freedom fighters’ sacrifices, so they can pass on this information to their parents and peers and educate more people,” said Sangale.
President of the Goa, Daman and Diu Freedom Fighters’ Association Rohidas Raghunath Naik Desai; veteran freedom fighter Yeshwant Malik; committee members of the Navjeevan Society of Freedom Fighters Goa Raya Shirodkar, Prabhakar Dattaram Naik, Dashrath Naik, Arun Dhargalkar and Dhiraj Naik; secretary of the Goa, Daman and Diu Freedom Fighters’ Association Chandrakant Pednekar were the freedom fighters, along with their families, who visited the Aguad Port & Jail Complex.
June 18 is annually celebrated as Goa Revolution Day or ‘Kranti Din’, after Dr Lohia stirred popular consciousness at a public gathering in Margao where he issued a clarion call for liberation from Portuguese colonial rule.
