THE GOAN NETWORK
PANAJI
On Friday, the nation mourned the demise of General Sunith Francis Rodrigues, PVSM, VSM who passed away following a brief illness at the age of 88.
General Rodrigues and his wife Jean (61) made Goa their home, following his retirement from the Armed Forces.
A former Chief of Army Staff and former Governor of Punjab and Administrator, Union Territory, General Rodrigues was a true patriot and devout Christian.
“He shared many life lessons with us,” said his bereaved family, adding that General Rodrigues lived by three simple tenets: Put India first, I answer to my country and my God, and there is no limit to what can be achieved, as long as you don’t care who gets the credit for it.
“He was a dependable and loving husband and father. His honesty and integrity were unflinching in the face of the great challenges of his public life. We will miss him dearly,” they added.
The body of General Rodrigues will be kept for viewing - followed by a funeral service “ at The Holy Family Church in Porvorim from 12:30 pm onwards on March 7. He will be cremated at St Inez Crematorium, Panjim with full Military Honours at 4 pm.
General Rodrigues leaves behind his wife Jean, and children Captain Neale Rodrigues (former Merchant Navy officer), Susan Viswanathan (retired Senior Executive with an international airline), and Dr Mark Rodrigues (Artificial Intelligence Research Fellow). He was a loving and indulgent grandfather to seven grandchildren.
In a short note, General Rodrigues family also released a snapshot of his work and initiatives. As Chief of Army Staff, Gen Rodrigues was responsible for a historic development in inducting women within the serving arms of the Army in 1991. Prior to this, women were only permitted in nursing and medical services in the Armed Forces.
Along with his wife Jean, he identified a serious gap in the support available for officers with special needs children and established an Asha school in Delhi, directing that every military station must work towards having an Asha school.
In partnership with Jean - President AWWA, he also set up a hostel in Delhi for students of military personnel whose parents were transferred mid-term and a finishing school to enable army wives and widows to acquire skills to sustain themselves.
As Vice Chief of the Army, Gen. Rodrigues also set up a system to identify widows of serving personnel in rural areas, ensuring they receive support and monetary benefits to which they were entitled from the Army. This addressed the problem of widowed women being forced to sign over their assets to their in-laws, or being forcibly married to relatives of their deceased husbands.
From 2004-2010, General Rodrigues was appointed Governor of Punjab and Administrator, Union Territory, Chandigarh. During his tenure, he implemented more than 200 schemes for welfare and social upliftment. These included a 1000-bed home for street children; pucca construction of shops for booksellers plying their trade on the footpath; construction of one-room homes for rehabilitation of slum dwellers with infrastructure of medical care, schools and shops in the vicinity; rehabilitation of villages with three generations of drug addicts; refurbishment of iconic Tagore theatre; de-silting of Sukhna lake, etc.
A true son of Goa who worked sincerely for our Nation, General Sunith Francis Rodrigues will be missed, but he leaves a sterling legacy of service, patriotism and innovative, visionary leadership.
