Born on April 20, 1915 in Burma, now Myanmar, Dr Joao Hugo Eduardo de Sequeira popularly known as Dr Jack de Sequeira can be definitely be called as the Father of the Opinion Poll, the 56th Anniversary of which we are celebrating today.
Dr Sequeira was a brilliant student and became a medico cirugiao at the age of 21.
He became later the Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly under the banner of United Goans and was instrumental in convincing the Centre to allow an Opinion Poll to be conducted, the first referendum in the country.
In the final analysis 19 out of the 30 constituencies voted against the merger with Curtorim having polled 12,597 votes for two leaves.
Ultimately largely due to heavy support in Salcete, Goa voted to retain its separate identity otherwise it would have become only a district of Maharashtra.
Dr Jack de Sequeira should have a life size statue installed in Salcete in memory of his superlative services.
Also Uday Bhembre, who penned a column in the Marathi newspaper Rashtramat, should be remembered for having contributed towards maintaining Goa's separate identity.
