The United Goans Party is a political party in
state of Goa
Goa () is a States and union territories of India, state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan Plateau, Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian st ...
. It was formed in 1963 in the former union territory of
Goa, Daman and Diu
Goa, Daman and Diu (, ) was a union territory of the Republic of India established in 1961 following the annexation of Portuguese India, with Maj Gen K P Candeth as its first Military Governor. The Goa portion of the territory was granted fu ...
, with
Jack de Sequeira
Jack de Sequeira (Born João Hugo Eduardo de Sequeira; 20 April 1915 – 17 October 1989), popularly known as Dr Jack de Sequeira; also known as Jak Siker according to local naming conventions, was an Indian politician and is widely considered ...
as its
party leader, when multiple regional parties merged during the
Konkani language agitation
The Konkani language agitations were a series of protests and demonstrations in India, concerning the uncertain future and the official status of the Konkani language. They were held by Goans in the then union territory of Goa, Daman and Diu g ...
.
Formation
After Goa's accession into the Indian union in 1961, Goa became a union territory with its own legislature. Elections to the state assembly were scheduled to be held in
1963
Events January
* January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Co ...
. There were calls from many sections in Goa and the neighbouring state of Maharashtra to merge the tiny state into Maharashtra. This demand was spearheaded by the
Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party.
Sensing that the merger would mean the gradual disappearance of Goa's distinct identity and culture, four parties merged to form the United Goans Party in September 1963. The four parties were the
Partido Indiano
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 languag ...
,
Goan National Union,
United Front Goans and
Goancho Paksh.
Its first president was
Dr. Jack de Sequeira. The United Goans Party was formed by merging Goencho Pokx of Jack Sequeira, the Partido Indiano of
Alvaro de Loyola Furtado, the Goa National union of J M Desouza and United Fronts of Goans and Democratic Party who shared a common goal, that of separate identity for Goa, and which was against the merger of Goa with Maharashtra. The think tank for the United Goans Party came from its second in command, Dr. Loyola Furtado, who many consider as the brains behind the United Goans Party. The main support base for the UGP came from the
Catholics of Goa and upper-caste Hindus.
Although it was predominantly Christian it did not exclude other groups and also put up Hindu and Muslim candidates.
Performance in elections
In the first elections held in 1963, the MGP secured 16 from a total of 30. UGP put up candidates in 24 constituencies and secured 12 and formed the opposition. Two seats, one from
Daman and
Diu each went to independent candidates. De Sequeira became the leader of the Opposition. Its main manifesto item was "Separate Statehood in and outside the Assembly of the Union Territory of Goa, Daman and Diu and in Parliament". Among its key promises were the setting up of a University, industrialization, land reforms and the recognition of
Konkani as the regional language.
The Church supported the
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
-dominated UGP against the
Communist-led
Frente Popular.
Role in the Goa Opinion Poll
Following MGPs victory in the first election, the MGP demanded that Goa be merged into Maharashtra. The MGP wanted that the issue should be voted in the Goa legislature, as was the norm in a representative democracy. The UGP was of the opinion that such an important decision should not be left to them MLAs but should be put before the people of Goa to decide. If the merger was to be voted in the Goa legislature, it was a foregone conclusion that the MGP with its majority would push through the merger.
The UGP MLAs visited New Delhi several times to convince them to hold a referendum in Goa. First they met
Jawaharlal Nehru
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat—
*
*
*
* and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...
; and after his death, met
Lal Bahadur Shastri
Lal Bahadur Shastri (; 2 October 1904 – 11 January 1966) was an Indian politician and statesman who served as the 2nd Prime Minister of India from 1964 to 1966 and 6th Home Minister of India from 1961 to 1963. He promoted the White Re ...
to press for a referendum.
However Shastri died in 1966 in
Tashkent
Tashkent (, uz, Toshkent, Тошкент/, ) (from russian: Ташкент), or Toshkent (; ), also historically known as Chach is the capital and largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of 2 ...
and this decision was now left to the new Prime Minister
Indira Gandhi. The UGP delegation met her and submitted a memorandum that such a monumental decision affecting the future of the State could not be left to legislators alone, but should be put before the people to decide. Finally the central government agreed to
hold a referendum in Goa.
The UGP demanded that all people from Goa, regardless of where they were staying in India, should be allowed to vote. Those staying outside Goa could vote by postal ballot. However this request was denied. They also demanded that all deputationinsts from Maharashtra should not be allowed to vote and that the Bandodkar ministry should resign to conduct a free and fair poll. The centre conceded the demand for Bandodkar's resignation.
The
opinion poll
An opinion poll, often simply referred to as a survey or a poll (although strictly a poll is an actual election) is a human research survey of public opinion from a particular sample. Opinion polls are usually designed to represent the opinion ...
was held on 16 January 1967. A total of 3,17,633 votes were polled. The merger was defeated by 34,021 votes.
First split
A section of UGP MLAs were unhappy with the very idea of an Opinion Poll. A splinter group of four MLAs headed by
Dr. Alvaro De Loyala Furtado came to be known as United Goans (Furtado Group). The main body of the party was known as United Goans (Sequeira Group). The U.G.(F) received recognition from the
Election Commission and used ''The Rising Sun'' as its symbol. The Furtado Group received the support from
Goa Organised Alliance and fielded eight candidates in the next election. The Sequeira Group used ''The Hand'' as a symbol. The symbol was associated with
St. Francis Xavier. It contested all thirty seats this time, claiming primary responsibility for the Opinion Poll and its verdict and promised a ''separate Konkani State of Goa''.
Second split
In 1977,
Erasmo de Sequeira
Erasmo Jesus de Sequeira (1938/1939 - 16 July 1997) was an Indian politician, social worker and parliamentarian from Goa. He represented the Marmagoa parliamentary constituency twice from 1967–1977. He has been described as a "man of le ...
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, ...
, headed by
Charan Singh. He did this without consulting his party members. The party members were enraged, causing the UGP(Sequeira 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 ...
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.
Decline
The UGP had never won an election. It split, first in 1967 and the second time in 1977. Its decline (1977–1989) corresponded with the rise of the Congress, a national party which did not win any seat in the first elections.
Finally it merged with the Congress.
See also
*
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 ...
*
Dr. Jack de Sequeira
*
Erasmo de Sequeira
Erasmo Jesus de Sequeira (1938/1939 - 16 July 1997) was an Indian politician, social worker and parliamentarian from Goa. He represented the Marmagoa parliamentary constituency twice from 1967–1977. He has been described as a "man of le ...
*
Dr. Alvaro De Loyala Furtado
*
Atanasio Monserrate
Atanasio Monserrate, also known as Babush, is an Indian politician from the state of Goa. Babush is a three term member of the Goa Legislative Assembly. He is a member of the Goa Legislative Assembly from Panaji. He was the Member of Legislative ...
*
United Goans Democratic Party
United Goans Democratic Party (UGDP) is one of two formerly dominant political parties in the Indian state of Goa. UGDP has its base amongst the Christian part of the population. It was founded in 1983 by Churchill Alemao.
In Goa, the UGDP is h ...
*
Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party
References
{{reflist
Defunct political parties in Goa
1963 establishments in Goa, Daman and Diu
Political parties established in 1963
Political parties disestablished in 1989
1989 disestablishments in India