PANAJI
Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Research Foundation, New Delhi will celebrate 75th year of Goa Revolution Day by releasing a reprint of a rare historical book ‘Action in Goa’ by Dr Lohia.
In a live online function telecast internationally from Lohia Foundation’s Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/drmlrf/), Goa Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant will release the most precious historical book in the presence of Leader of Opposition Digambar Kamat.
The symbolic function is being organised since the Foundation had to postpone a two-day tri-national conference planned on June 18 AND 19 in Goa due to pandemic. It will now be held on 18 and 19 September at Ravindra Bhavan Margao.
The book release function would be held on Friday, June 18 at 4 pm sharp, coinciding with the time Dr Lohia had risen in Margao in 1946 in the presence of over 5,000 people gathered from all over Goa to break the ban on freedom of expression and begin a movement for civil liberties.
While announcing this at a press conference, Abhishek Ranjan Singh, Chairman of the Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Research Foundation, said he found this historic document in the library in Kolkata and also locally in Goa with verteran freedom fighter Nagesh Karmali.
The book contains Dr Lohia’s historic speech in Margao, which he could never deliver as he was arrested and also another historic document - An Open Letter to Goans - he had written in December 1946.
The book also contains articles and reports written and published by Mahatma Gandhi in his periodical ‘Harijan’in support of Lohia’s Goa movement and also his public debate with the then Governor General of Portuguese India.
In addition, the book includes a first-person account by Dr Juliao Menezes of the 18th June incident in Margao and the protests followed all over Goa till July as well as a reportage by Mrs Shanti Nayak, a journalist, about the mobilisation activities carried out by Dr Lohia across Goa borders.
The function would be comprered by Anant Agni, secretary of Nehru Trust, Goa.