Today is the 55th anniversary of the Opinion Poll, the first and only referendum held in free India on January 16, 1967. Inspired by the superlative and eloquent orator Dr Jack de Sequeira who was then the leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, the Two Leaves, which was the symbol of the anti-merger group triumphed above all odds against a formidable pro-merger force by 34,021 votes in a unique poll that encompassed diversity of the electorate that decisively made Goa a unique entity where religion, caste and creed pooled their collective resources so as to maintain Goa's identity which now consists of a Legislative Assembly of 40 MLAs and two Lok Sabha MPs as well as one Rajya Sabha MP, which otherwise would have become only a district of Maharashtra. It should be stressed here the Opinion Poll was a collective effort wherein the majority of Goans came together to save the unique identity of Goa. Mention should be made here of the prolific writer Uday Bhembre, who wrote a special column in favour of a separate identity in the Rashtramat which was avidly followed by enthusiastic readers and formed a cornerstone of the print media support for a separate entity. In the Assembly polls on February 14, Goans should take a leaf out of the Opinion Poll and vote for a dispensation that will lead to the resurgence of a Golden Goa, preeminent in India and the world.
