Vijaysakumedia at 04:48, 18 February 2026

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{{Short description|Indian independence activist (born 1924)}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Libia Lobo Sardesai
| birth_name = Libia Lobo
| image = Libia Lobo Sardesai celebrating her 100th birthday (cropped).jpg
| caption = Lobo celebrating her 100th birthday in 2024
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1924|5|25|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Porvorim]], [[Goa]], [[Portuguese India]]
| nickname = Libby
| known_for = [[Voice of Freedom (radio station)|Voice of Freedom]]
| spouse = {{marriage|[[Vaman Sardesai]]|1964|1994|end=died}}
| occupation = {{hlist|Lawyer|anti-colonialist}}
| awards = [[Padma Shri]] (2025)
| honorific_prefix =
}}

'''Libia Lobo Sardesai''' ([[née]] '''Lobo'''; born 25 May 1924) is an Indian independence activist and lawyer. Along with [[Vaman Sardesai]], whom she later married, she ran an [[underground radio]] station, [[Voice of Freedom (radio station)|Voice of Freedom]], that transmitted across [[Portuguese Goa]] from 1955 to 1961, advocating the cause of the [[Goan independence movement]].<ref name="GTVoice24">{{Cite web |date=2024-05-25 |title=At 100, Libia Lobo's voice still inspires Goans |url=https://www.gomantaktimes.com/news/goa/at-100-libia-lobos-voice-still-inspires-goans |access-date=2024-07-05 |website=Goa News in English on Gomantak Times |language=en}}</ref> Following the [[Annexation of Goa]], she was the first Director of Tourism of [[Goa, Daman and Diu]].<ref name="HeraldDoT24">{{Cite web |date=26 May 2024 |title=Freedom fighter and first tourism director of liberated Goa, Daman & Diu felicitated on 100th birthday |url=https://www.heraldgoa.in/Goa/Freedom-fighter-and-first-tourism-director-of-liberated-Goa-Daman-Diu-felicitated-on-100th-birthday/221819 |access-date=2024-07-06 |website=oHeraldo}}</ref> In January 2025, Libia Lobo Sardesai was honored with the [[Padma Shri]], India's fourth-highest civilian award, by the [[Government of India]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Padma Award Winners 2025 Full List: Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan, Padma Shri |url=https://www.brutimes.com/news/social/padma-awards-2025-arijit-singh-ajith-kumar-shekhar-kapur-and-late-pankaj-udhas-honored-for-excellence |website=Bru Times News |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Padma Awards 2025 announced |url=https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2096285 |website=pib.gov.in}}</ref><ref name="HinduPadmaShriJan25">{{Cite news |date=2025-01-25 |title=30 unsung heroes awarded Padma Shri |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/unsung-padma-shri-award-recipients/article69140565.ece |access-date=2025-01-25 |work=The Hindu |language=en-IN |issn=0971-751X}}</ref>

==Life and career==
===Early life (1924–1954)===
[[File:Libia Lobo Sardesai.jpg|thumb|150px|Lobo in her early years]]
Libia Lobo, known by the nickname of "Libby",<ref name="MenezesHeraldLiberdade24">{{Cite web |first=Vivek |last=Menezes |date=28 Apr 2024 |title=LIBBY DE LIBERDADE |url=https://www.heraldgoa.in/Edit/By-invitation/LIBBY-DE-LIBERDADE-/220727 |access-date=2024-07-10 |website=oHeraldo}}</ref> was born on 25 May 1924 to a [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] family<ref name="PerezNationalist18">{{Cite journal |last=Perez |first=Rosa Maria |date=2018-07-02 |title=Provincializing Goa: Crossing Borders Through Nationalist Women |url=https://journals.library.brocku.ca/index.php/ijpds/article/view/3278 |journal=InterDISCIPLINARY Journal of Portuguese Diaspora Studies |language=en |volume=7 |pages=225–240 |issn=2165-2694}}</ref> in [[Porvorim]], [[Bardez taluka]], [[Portuguese Goa]].<ref name="ShirodkarWho86">{{Cite book |last=Shirodkar |first=Pandurang Purushottam |author-link=Pandurang Purushottam Shirodkar |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ISScyAEACAAJ |title=Who's Who of Freedom Fighters, Goa, Daman, and Diu |date=1986 |publisher=Goa Gazetteer Department, Government of the Union Territory of Goa, Daman, and Diu |volume=1 |pages=303–304}}</ref> Her family moved to [[Bombay]] some time in her childhood. She was friends with painter [[F. N. Souza]] in her childhood and they both grew up near [[Crawford Market]]. As a student, she was part of [[T. B. Cunha]]'s Goan Youth League.<ref name="MenezesHeraldLiberdade24" /> She was its secretary from 1948 to 1950.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Salgaonkar |first=Seema P. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zkvaAAAAMAAJ |title=Women, Political Power, and the State |date=2006 |publisher=Abhijeet Publications |isbn=978-81-88683-95-6 |page=46}}</ref>

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 simultaneously completed a degree at [[Siddharth College of Arts, Science and Commerce]], which was established by [[B. R. Ambedkar]]. Ambedkar himself expressed his pleasure during her admission process. It was in her college days that Lobo began contributing to the [[Goa liberation movement]]. She was greatly influenced by [[M. N. Roy]], who had been introduced to her by [[Nissim Ezekiel]] and other professors of hers.<ref name="MenezesHeraldLiberdade24" /> Lobo 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.<ref name="ChadhaIEMural24">{{Cite web |first=Pavneet |last=Singh Chadha|date=2024-05-18 |title=As a mural comes up in Panaji, the muse, a 99-year-old Goan freedom fighter, looks on from her balcony |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/long-reads/panaji-mural-muse-99-year-old-goan-freedom-fighter-9337556/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240524165536/https://indianexpress.com/article/long-reads/panaji-mural-muse-99-year-old-goan-freedom-fighter-9337556/ |archive-date=24 May 2024 |access-date=2024-12-26 |website=The Indian Express |url-access=subscription |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Baruah |first=Rishika |date=2015-12-18 |title=The Underground Voice That Fought for Goa, Meet Unsung Libia Lobo |url=https://www.thequint.com/news/india/the-underground-voice-that-fought-for-goa-meet-unsung-libia-lobo |access-date=2024-07-05 |website=TheQuint |language=en}}</ref>

===Voice of Freedom (1955–1961)===
{{Main|Voice of Freedom (radio station)}}
In 1954–55, the Portuguese attacked and killed several [[Satyagraha|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 independence activist 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 became the [[Voice of Freedom (radio station)|Voice of Freedom radio station]], through which Lobo, Sardesai and Menezes would transmit news and important information to Goans.<ref name="ChadhaIEMural24" /><ref>{{Cite web |first=Vivek |last=Menezes |date=24 Dec 2022 |title=Libia Lobo Sardesai's Voice of Freedom |url=https://www.heraldgoa.in/Cafe/Libia-Lobo-Sardesai%E2%80%99s-Voice-of-Freedom/198571 |access-date=2024-07-05 |website=oHeraldo |archive-date=10 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240710091944/https://www.heraldgoa.in/Cafe/Libia-Lobo-Sardesai%E2%80%99s-Voice-of-Freedom/198571 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

They initially lived in the jungles of [[Amboli Ghat]], {{Approx.|{{Convert|100|km|mi|abbr=on}}}} from Goa, transmitting an hour-long programme. After Menezes and his wife left, Lobo and Sardesai shifted to [[Castle Rock, Karnataka]] ({{Approx.|{{Convert|50|km|mi|abbr=on}}}} from Goa).<ref name="ChadhaIEMural24" /> Lobo took the alias of "Vimal Nadkarni" to hide from the Portuguese.<ref name="GTVoice24" />

In the days preceding [[Operation Vijay (1961)|Operation Vijay]], Lobo and Sardesai were contacted by the [[Indian defence forces]]. On 17 December 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 and the [[liberation of Goa]] on 19 December 1961, 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.<ref name="ChadhaIEMural24" />

===Post Liberation (1961 onwards)===
Following the [[Liberation of Goa]], Lobo joined the [[Ministry of External Affairs (India)|Ministry of External Affairs]] to help in their efforts to [[repatriate]] the captured Portuguese troops.<ref name="MenezesHeraldLiberdade24" />

Lobo and Sardesai got married on 19 December 1964, the third anniversary of Goa's Liberation. They had no children.<ref name="MenezesHeraldLiberdade24" />

Lobo was the first Director of Tourism for [[Goa, Daman and Diu]] after the [[liberation of Goa]].<ref name="HeraldDoT24" /> She is regarded as the first practicing female lawyer in Goa. She went on to be the founder and promoter of the Women’s Cooperative Bank, which, as of 2024, is fully run by women. She was also the founder and president of the Goa College of Home Sciences.<ref name="MenezesHeraldLiberdade24" /> In 1994, following her husband's death, she founded the Vedanta Institute "to help people become better versions of themselves".<ref name="GTVoice24" />

Lobo currently lives in the city of [[Panaji]], [[Goa]].<ref name="PerezNationalist18" />

==Legacy and awards==
Lobo's life story is displayed at the renovated museum at the [[Aguada fort]].<ref name="GTVoice24" />

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]].<ref name="ChadhaIEMural24" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=16 May 2024 |first=Ajit |last=John |title=Making an artistic mark in Panjim |url=https://www.heraldgoa.in/Cafe/Making-an-artistic-mark-in-Panjim/221429 |access-date=2024-07-05 |website=oHeraldo}}</ref>

She was awarded the [[Padma Shri]] in 2025.<ref name="HinduPadmaShriJan25" />

{{Gallery
|title=Legacy of Libia Lobo Sardesai
|width=233 | height=233
|align=center
|File:Mural depicting Libia Lobo Sardesai.jpg
|Mural depicting Libia Lobo Sardesai in Panjim, Goa
|The President of India, Smt Droupadi Murmu presenting the Padma Shri Award to Smt. Libia Lobo Pratap Rao Sardesai at the Civil Investiture Ceremony-I at Rashtrapati Bhavan, in New Delhi on April 28, 2025.jpg
|Lobo receiving her [[Padma Shri]] in 2025
}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{Commons category-inline}}

{{Padma Shri Award Recipients in Social Work}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lobo Sardesai, Libia}}
[[Category:1924 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian women]]
[[Category:Indian lawyers]]
[[Category:Goa liberation activists]]
[[Category:People from Portuguese India]]
[[Category:People from North Goa district]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Shri in social work]]
[[Category:Siddharth College of Arts, Science and Commerce alumni]]

Libia Lobo Sardesai - Revision history

Vijaysakumedia at 04:48, 18 February 2026