GOA GLORIOUS
A prominent freedom fighter whose legacy is showcased at the Sinquerim-based Aguad Interactive Museum: Goa – The Land, The Struggle, The People, Purushottam Kakodkar was born in Kakode on May 18, 1913, to Keshav Vishwanath Kakodkar. He was educated in Marathi and at the Lyceum and earned a Shastri degree in Banaras. After participating in the underground activities of the Quit India movement, he founded the Goa Seva Sangh in Margao in 1945, promoting constructive activities including Khadi production and mobilising volunteers for Dr Lohia’s 18th June 1946 Civil Disobedience movement. Arrested in August 1946, he was sentenced by the TMT in September to nine years' imprisonment and deprived of civil rights for 15 years; he was deported to Portugal in December that year. Following his return in 1956, he established a Sarvodaya centre and later served as president of the Pradesh Congress Committee and as a member of Parliament (Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha). Awarded the Tamrapatra, he was a key architect of Goa’s political transition, working closely with associates like Nilkant Karapurkar, Dr VN Mayenkar and Evagrio George.
