Erasmo Jesus de Sequeira (1938/1939 - 16 July 1997) was an Indian

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

social worker Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social work ...

and parliamentarian from

Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...

. He represented the Marmagoa parliamentary constituency twice from 1967–1977. He has been described as a "man of letters"; and was known for his fluency in many languages.

Personal life

Erasmo de Sequeria was the son of Dr. Jack de Sequeira and Lilia Margarida de Gouveia Pinto. His father was the founder of the

United Goans Party The United Goans Party is a political party in state of Goa. It was formed in 1963 in the former union territory of Goa, Daman and Diu, with Jack de Sequeira as its party leader, when multiple regional parties merged during the Konkani language ...

and also the first Leader of Opposition in the

Goa assembly The Goa Legislative Assembly is the unicameral legislature of the state of Goa in India. The Assembly meets at the Goa State Legislative Assembly Complex in Porvorim, Bardez. The Eighth Goa Legislative Assembly consists of 40 members. The assem ...

. He is popularly known as the Father of the Opinion Poll in Goa. Sequeira married Maureen and they had three children Dr Amita de Sequeira, Dr Anil de Sequeira and

Aisha de Sequeira Julia Maria Aisha de Sequeira (22 November 1969 – 10 December 2020) was an Indian banker. She was the co-head of Morgan Stanley India from 2013 through 2020. In 2007, she became the founding head of investment banking for Morgan Stanley India, ...

Role in the Goa Opinion Poll

The

was the main proponent of a referendum on the issue of merger of

with

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

. During the

Goa Opinion Poll The 1967 Goa status referendum popularly known as the Goa Opinion Poll was a referendum held in newly annexed union territory of Goa and Damaon in India, on 16 January 1967, to deal with the Konkani language agitation and to decide the future of ...

, Jack and Erasmo were the leaders of the anti-merger faction. Sequeira pasted posters in the dead of the night. He conducted meetings with other activists to plan strategies. He did the legwork that his father required of him.

Political career

Erasmo de Sequeira was the leader of the United Goans Party (Sequeira Group); which was founded by his father. He represented Marmagoa parliamentary constituency twice between 1967-1977. He was also a member of the Parliamentary Estimates Committee between 1968-69. During his term as a Member of Parliament, he advocated greater links with

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

. He was made the leader of Parliamentary delegations to foreign countries many times; especially when the delegations were sent to

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

and

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

speaking countries. Although Erasmo was a member of the Opposition, he was known to be on good terms with

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (; Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and a central figure of the Indian National Congress. She was elected as third prime minister of India in 1966 ...

. During the

Emergency An emergency is an urgent, unexpected, and usually dangerous situation that poses an immediate risk to health, life, property, or environment and requires immediate action. Most emergencies require urgent intervention to prevent a worsening ...

, a large number of Opposition leaders were arrested. Erasmo de Sequeria was a notable exception. He became the Opposition's voice in the Parliament. On one occasion,

invited Sequeira to join the Congress. She assured him that he would be made a Deputy Minister. When he refused, she offered to make him a Minister of State. He refused again, saying that he aimed higher. Indira told him that she could not make him a Cabinet Minister due to his lack of experience. Sequeira replied that he did not want that either. When Indira finally asked Sequeira what he wanted he replied, "Your chair, madam, your chair!".

Second split in UGP

In 1977, Sequeira joined hands with the

Bharatiya Lok Dal Bharatiya Lok Dal (English: Indian Peoples' Party) was a political party in India. The BLD or simply BL was formed at the end of 1974 through the fusion of seven parties opposed to the rule of Indira Gandhi, including the Swatantra Party, th ...

, headed by

Charan Singh Chaudhary Charan Singh (23 December 1902 – 29 May 1987) served as the 5th Prime Minister of India between 28 July 1979 to 14 January 1980. Historians and people alike frequently refer to him as the 'champion of India's peasants.' Charan S ...

. He did this without consulting his party members. The party members were enraged, causing the UGP (Sequiera group) to split into two groups: UGP (Sequeria Group) and UGP (Naik Group). He lost the next parliamentary election to

Eduardo Faleiro Eduardo Faleiro (born 30 August 1940) is an Indian politician, and former federal minister from Goa. In September 2006, he was the commissioner for non-resident Indian affairs for the Congress Government of Goa. Biography Faleiro was born on 3 ...

of UGP-N in March 1977. In the next Assembly elections, UGP-S managed to win just three seats as compared to UGP-N, which won 10 seats.

Writer

Sequeira was a prolific writer of letters. He was fluent in many Indian and foreign languages. His publications include ''My Country and Me''. He authored many poems in English. He also started a paper called the

Goa Monitor Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...

in 1977.

Death

Erasmo de Sequeira died in Goa on 16 July 1997.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sequeira, Erasmo 1930s births 1997 deaths India MPs 1967–1970 India MPs 1971–1977 Lok Sabha members from Goa People from Mormugao United Goans Party politicians Bharatiya Lok Dal politicians Janata Party politicians