->MPGuy2824 at 10:33, 30 December 2021

2021-12-30T10:33:14Z

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{{Short description|Indian politician}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2018}}
[[File:Jack de Sequeira.jpg|thumb|Jack Sequeira]]'''João Hugo Eduardo de Sequeira''' (20 April 1915 – 17 October 1989), popularly known as '''Dr. Jack de Sequeira''';<ref name = "djs_profile">{{Cite web |url=http://drjackdesequeira.com/profile.html |title=Profile |access-date=30 April 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110815065238/http://drjackdesequeira.com/profile.html |archive-date=15 August 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> also known as ''Jak Siker''<ref>[http://www.mail-archive.com/vascokarsunited@yahoogroups.com/msg00607.html [VascokarsUnited] GOA: Dr. Jack Siqueir - Father of Opinion Poll (Short]</ref> according to local naming conventions, was an Indian politician and is widely considered in [[Goa]] to be the ''Father of the Opinion Poll'', which led to the former territory attaining statehood in 1987.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.thegoan.net/Goa/News/Parsekar-Dept-of-Posts-release-special-cover-on-Dr-Jack-de-Sequeira/09722.html |title=Archived copy |access-date=1 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304023147/http://www.thegoan.net/Goa/News/Parsekar-Dept-of-Posts-release-special-cover-on-Dr-Jack-de-Sequeira/09722.html |archive-date=4 March 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> He was Goa's first Leader of the Opposition when the Legislative Assembly was launched in 1963. He was born in Burma, of Goan parents, and shaped politics in Goa during the 1960s and 1970s in particular.

[[File:Statue of Dr Jack Sequeira at Calanguage, Feb 2011.jpg|thumb|Statue of Dr Jack Sequeira at Calangute, Feb 2011]][[File:Dr. Jack de Sequeira - Statue at Dona Paula.jpg|thumb|Statue at Dona Paula]]

==Founder-President of the UGP==
Dr. Jack de Sequeira was the founder president of the [[United Goans Party]].<ref name="djs_ugp_mgp">[http://drjackdesequeira.com/the_emergence_of_ugp_and_mgp_.html The emergence of UGP and MGP] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150506081045/http://www.drjackdesequeira.com/the_emergence_of_ugp_and_mgp_.html |date=6 May 2015 }}</ref> He played a pivotal role in convincing the government of India to hold an opinion poll to decide the issue of the merger of [[Goa]] into the state of [[Maharashtra]].

==Life==
Dr. Sequeira was born in Burma (now [[Myanmar]]) on 20 April 1915, to Mr. Erasmo de Sequeira and Mrs. Ana Julia de Sa e Sequeira.<ref name="djs_profile"/>

After completing schooling in Portuguese medium at the Lyceum, he studied medicine at Escola Médica de Goa. However, his father died when he was 21, forcing him to discontinue studies in order to look after the family business<ref name="djs_profile"/>

At the age of 23, he married Lilia Margarida de Gouveia Pinto. They had nine children.<ref name="djs_profile"/>

He died on 17 October 1989, aged 74.<ref name="djs_profile"/>

==Political career==
[[File:Remembering Jack Sequeira, at the Goa University.jpg|thumb|Remembering Jack Sequeira, at the Goa University]]Sequeira was the leader of a group known as ''Goyncho Pokx'', which later merged with other groups to from the United Goans Party (UGP or UG Party).<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.navhindtimes.in/in-memory-of-jack-de-sequeira-on-his-100th-birth-anniversary/|title=In Memory of Jack de Sequeira on his 100th Birth Anniversary|date=19 April 2015|first=Balaji Sudas|last=Shenoy|newspaper=[[The Navhind Times]]|accessdate=16 July 2018 }}</ref>

[[File:Dr. Jack de Sequeira, a photo by JoeGoaUk.jpg|thumb|Dr. Jack de Sequeira, statue at a function]]Dr. Jack de Sequeira was the founder president of the [[United Goans Party]].<ref name="djs_ugp_mgp"/>
He represented [[Santa Cruz, Goa|Santa Cruz]] assembly constituency three times. He lost in the fourth attempt in 1979 and did not contest elections again.<ref name="djs_profile"/>

==Role in the Goa Referendum ("Opinion Poll")==
{{main|Goa Opinion Poll}}
Goa was annexed into India by an Indian Army operation on 19 December 1961. It was integrated into the Indian Union in 1962.

Goa's first polls were held on 9 December 1963.

The two main parties [[United Goans Party|UGP]] and [[Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party|MGP]] were formed with two opposing ideologies. The MGP wanted to merge the state of Goa into the newly formed state of Maharashtra whereas UGP wanted to retain independent statehood for the [[Portuguese India|former Portuguese enclaves]].<ref name="goacentralcom_historic">{{Cite web |url=http://goacentral.com/Goahistory/Historyofgoa.htm#Historic%20Opinion%20Poll-%20Goans%20vote%20to%20maintain%20identity |title=GoaCentral.Com-History of Goa |access-date=17 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070111164348/http://goacentral.com/Goahistory/Historyofgoa.htm#Historic%20Opinion%20Poll-%20Goans%20vote%20to%20maintain%20identity |archive-date=11 January 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The [[United Goans Party]](UGP) was formed in 1962-63 following the merger of three local parties. Dr Sequeira was its founding president<ref name="goacentralcom_historic"/>

Of the 30 seats in the assembly 28 belonged to [[Goa]], and one each to [[Daman, Daman and Diu|Daman]] and [[Diu, India|Diu]]. MGP formed the government, having secured 16 seats while UGP secured 12.<ref>[http://www.whatsingoa.com/opinion/vf_goas_first_election2.shtml Goa News, What's happening in Goa, Goan opinion, goan society, Issues facing Goans, Davina Solomon, Valmiki Faleiro, Nandkumar Kamat, Aires Rodrigues, Savio Fernandes etc - What's in Goa? - Opinion Main Page]</ref> The assembly of Goa, Daman and Diu convened on 9 January 1964. [[Dayanand Bandodkar]] of MGP became the first Chief Minister.

The MGP and politicians in Maharashtra were elated at the victory and touted it as a mandate that the majority of Goans were in favour of merger.

At the time of Goa’s accession into India, Prime Minister [[Jawaharlal Nehru]] had categorically stated that Goa would retain its distinct identity.<ref name="djs_shaping">{{Cite web |url=http://drjackdesequeira.com/_shaping_the_outcome_of_the_opinion_poll_verdict_.html |title=Dr. Jack de Sequeira: Shaping The Outcome Of The Opinion Poll Verdict |access-date=17 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110815064540/http://drjackdesequeira.com/_shaping_the_outcome_of_the_opinion_poll_verdict_.html |archive-date=15 August 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Following MGPs victory and the raised pitch for merger. Dr. Sequeira visited New Delhi along with his MLAs and impressed Nehru about the need of an opinion poll on this matter . However Nehru died before Parliament could take this decision and [[Lal Bahadur Shastri]] succeeded him as Prime Minister. A delegation consisting of MGP MLAs and Maharashtra’s leaders went to New Delhi to convince him that a vote on the merger should be conducted in the Goa Assembly.<ref name="djs_legis">{{Cite web |url=http://drjackdesequeira.com/_legislative_or_people__.html |title=MERGER CONFLICT: Legislative or people ? |access-date=19 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110815064435/http://drjackdesequeira.com/_legislative_or_people__.html |archive-date=15 August 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Dr. Sequeira, along with others went to [[Bangalore]] where an AICC session was being held and met Shastri. They opposed the move to get the merger voted in the Assembly and impressed on Shastri and Kamraj, the need to put this question before the people of Goa themselves.<ref name="djs_legis"/>

Dr. Sequeira shrewdly managed to get the backing of the legislators of [[Mysore state]]( now [[Karnataka]]).<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.colaco.net/1/ValmikiMonumentalShame.htm |title=Valmiki Faleiro: What a monumental shame |access-date=19 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070303095040/http://www.colaco.net/1/ValmikiMonumentalShame.htm |archive-date=3 March 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref> He impressed them that if Maharashtra managed to convince the centre to merge Goa into Maharashra, it would only bolster their case for [[Karwar]] and [[Supa, Parner|Supa]].

However Shastri died in 1966 in [[Tashkent]] and this decision was now left to the new Prime Minister [[Indira Gandhi]]. Again Dr. Jack and his legislators met the new Prime Minister 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. The [[referendum]] could be conducted via a signature campaign or by [[secret ballot]].<ref name="djs_people_power">{{Cite web |url=http://drjackdesequeira.com/peoples_power_triumphs_goa_remains_goa.html |title=Peoples’ Power Triumphs; Goa Remains Goa |access-date=19 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110815065141/http://drjackdesequeira.com/peoples_power_triumphs_goa_remains_goa.html |archive-date=15 August 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Since a large number of Goans worked outside Goa, and indeed, outside India itself as [[Expatriate|expats]], UGP demanded that these expats should be allowed to vote by [[postal ballot]]. Parliament finally agreed to conduct a referendum by means of secret ballot but ruled out postal ballots.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://drjackdesequeira.com/_a_force_to_reckon_with.html |title=Dr Sequeira: A force to reckon with |access-date=19 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110815063832/http://drjackdesequeira.com/_a_force_to_reckon_with.html |archive-date=15 August 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Now that the referendum would be conducted, Dr. Sequeira feared that Bandodkar may use the state’s administrative and law-enforcement machinery to browbeat the anti-mergerists into submission. The UGP demanded that the MGP government resign so that the referendum could be conducted in a free-and-fair atmosphere. On 3 December 1966, the MGP government resigned.<ref name="djs_people_power"/>

Dr. Sequeira also traveled extensively exhorting people to vote against the merger. In this cause, he also visited places such as Colaba and Kalyan in Bombay, convincing Goans staying there to support the cause.<ref name="djs_shaping"/>

==Electoral results==

The [[Goa Opinion Poll|opinion poll]] was held on 16 January 1967. A total of 3,17,633 votes were polled. The merger was defeated by 34,021 votes.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://drjackdesequeira.com/the_results__post-mortem.html |title=The Results & Post-Mortem |access-date=19 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110815065605/http://drjackdesequeira.com/the_results__post-mortem.html |archive-date=15 August 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In 1963, Sequeira won Panjim with 2761 votes (42.02%) as against 2347 for the MGP (35.72%), 1371 for the Congress (20.87%) and 91 votes (1.39%) for Independents.<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=CEO Goa 1963 |url=https://ceogoa.nic.in/pdf/PER/Assembly%20Election%20-%201963.pdf#page=11|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=|website=Chief Electoral Officer, Goa}}</ref>

In 1967, 1972 and 1977, Sequeira contested the Santa Cruz constituency, for the first two times on a UGP ticket, and on a Janata Party ticket on the last occasion, after the merger of the UGP into the Janata Party.<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=CEO Goa|url=https://www.goavidhansabha.gov.in/member-election-detail.php?id=154&flag=MEM|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=|website=Goa Vidhan Sabha}}</ref>

In 1967, he got 7087 (59.94%) votes, as against 121 (1.02%) by the MGP, and 570 (4.82%) by Independents. His main rival was a UG (Furtado) candidate, contesting on behalf of a party that had broken away from his. The UG (Furtado) party won 4045 votes (34.21%).<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Assembly Elections|url=https://ceogoa.nic.in/pdf/PER/Assembly%20Election%20-%201967.pdf#page=12|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=|website=CEO Goa}}</ref>

In the 1972 elections, he retained the seat with 6586 votes (57.51%), with his closest Independent rival gaining 4483 (39.15%) votes.<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=CEO Goa Assembly Elections 1972|url=https://ceogoa.nic.in/pdf/PER/Assembly%20Election%20-%201972.pdf#page=12|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=|website=}}</ref>

In 1977, Sequeira retained Santa Cruz with 4462 votes (46.11%), beating the MGP which scored 2656 (27.45%) votes.<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=CEO Goa|url=https://ceogoa.nic.in/pdf/PER/Assembly%20Election%20-%201977.pdf#page=11|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=|website=CEO Goa Elections 1977}}</ref>

In his analysis of the 1963 Goa elections, Ram Joshi argues that the
<blockquote>urban Hindu elite, perhaps more ambitious politically, was more inclined to vote for a party which stood for separate statehood. Many of them supported the United Goans which explains the success of Dr. Jack Sequeira, the leader of the United Goans Party, in Panjim where there were only 2,839 Christian voters as against 5,130 Hindu voters<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Joshi|first=Ram|date=Oct 1964|title=The General Elections in Goa|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2642211|journal=Asian Survey|volume=4|issue=10|pages=1093–1101|via=JSTOR}}</ref></blockquote>

==Remembrance==
On 16 January 2007 a life sized statue of Dr. Jack was inaugurated at Calangute.<ref name="djs_brain">{{Cite web |url=http://drjackdesequeira.com/brain_behind_recognition.html |title=Brain Behind Recognition |access-date=17 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110815064603/http://drjackdesequeira.com/brain_behind_recognition.html |archive-date=15 August 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Another statue was inaugurated on 20 April 2007 at Dona Paula.<ref name="goacom_20apr07">{{Cite web |url=http://www.goacom.com/joel/news/2007/apr/20apr07.htm |title=www.goacom.com DAILY GOA NEWS CLIPS: 20 APR 2007 |access-date=17 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080308122234/http://www.goacom.com/joel/news/2007/apr/20apr07.htm |archive-date=8 March 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The cost of the statue was borne by his family and not by the government. A third statue will be installed in [[Salcette]].<ref name="djs_brain"/>

The road from [[Miramar, Panaji|Miramar]] to Dona Paula & [[Merces (Goa)|Merces]] junction to Merces has also been named after him.<ref name="goacom_20apr07"/>

==See also==
*[[Goa Opinion Poll]]
*[[United Goans Party]]
*[[Erasmo de Sequeira]]
*[[Alvaro de Loyola Furtado]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:de Sequeira, Jack}}
[[Category:1915 births]]
[[Category:1989 deaths]]
[[Category:Leaders of the Opposition in Goa]]
[[Category:Members of the Goa Legislative Assembly]]
[[Category:Burmese people of Goan descent]]
[[Category:People from Panaji]]
[[Category:United Goans Party politicians]]
[[Category:Janata Party politicians]]

Jack de Sequeira - Revision history

->MPGuy2824 at 10:33, 30 December 2021