Libia Lobo Sardesai
Libia Lobo Sardesai | |
|---|---|
| File:Libia Lobo Sardesai celebrating her 100th birthday in 2024 (cropped).jpg Libia celebrating her 100th birthday in 2024 | |
| Born | Libia Lobo |
| Occupations |
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| Known for | Voice of Freedom (radio station) |
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Libia Lobo Sardesai (born 25 May 1924) is an Indian freedom fighter from Goa. Along with her husband Vaman Sardesai, she ran an underground radio station, Voice of Freedom, that transmitted across Portuguese Goa from 1955 to 1961, advocating the cause of the Goan independence movement.[1]
Biography
Early life (1924–1954)
Lobo was born in Goa but her family moved to Bombay some time in her childhood. She was friends with painter F. N. Souza in her childhood. She began her career as a translator and a "censor", working on deciphering cryptic letters written by Italian prisoners of war during World War II. She was later hired as a stenographer and a librarian at All India Radio (AIR), Bombay. She pursued a degree in Law while employed at AIR. It was in her college days that she began with the Goa liberation movement.[2][3]
Voice of Freedom (1955–1961)
In 1954-55, the Portuguese attacked and killed several Satyagrahis who had peacefully entered the Goan borders, demanding the end of colonial rule in Goa. Following this, India closed its borders with Goa, imposing an economic blockade, thus reducing free movement and trade. Lobo, Vaman Sardesai and Nicolau Menezes, a Goan freedom fighter who had been living in hiding in Bombay, came together to form a team. Using two wireless radio sets, which were confiscated the Portuguese, were converted into a radio transmitter. This grew to be the Voice of Freedom radio station, through which Lobo, Sardesai and Menezes would transmit news and important information to Goans.[2][4]
They initially lived in the jungles of Amboli Ghat, approx. 100 km (62 mi) from Goa, transmitting an hour-long programme. After Menezes and his wife left, Lobo and Sardesai shifted to Castle Rock, Karnataka (approx. 50 km (31 mi) from Goa).[2] Lobo took the alias of "Vimal Nadkarni" to hide from the Portuguese.[1]
In the days preceding Operation Vijay (1961), Lobo and Sardesai were contacted by the Indian defence forces. On December 17, 1961, the station transmitted a direct message from then Defence Minister of India, V. K. Krishna Menon, requesting the Portuguese Governor General to surrender. Following the success of Operation Vijay, Lobo and Sardesai boarded an Indian Air Force plane with a radio and loudspeaker attached to it, flying over Goa and dropping leaflets and announcing the freedom of Goa.[2]
Post Liberation (1961 onwards)
Lobo and Sardesai got married in 1964.[2] In 1994, following her husband's death, she founded the Vedanta Institute "to help people become better versions of themselves".[1]
Legacy
Lobo's life story is displayed at the renovated museum at the Aguada fort.[1]
On the occasion of her 100th birthday in 2024, F. N. Souza's grandson, Solomon Souza, painted a mural on the wall of a building facing Lobo's house in Panaji.[2][5]
References
- ^ a b c d "At 100, Libia Lobo's voice still inspires Goans". Goa News in English on Gomantak Times. 25 May 2024. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f Singh Chadha, Pavneet (18 May 2024). "As a mural comes up in Panaji, the muse, a 99-year-old Goan freedom fighter, looks on from her balcony". The Indian Express. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
- ^ Baruah, Rishika (18 December 2015). "The Underground Voice That Fought for Goa, Meet Unsung Libia Lobo". TheQuint. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
- ^ Menezes, Vivek (24 December 2022). "Libia Lobo Sardesai's Voice of Freedom". oHeraldo. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
- ^ John, Ajit (16 May 2024). "Making an artistic mark in Panjim". oHeraldo. Retrieved 5 July 2024.