Lambert Mascarenhas

Summary

Lambert Mascarenhas (Goan Konkani: लॅम्बर्ट मास्कारेन्हस, 17 September 1914 – 27 June 2021) was an Indian journalist, independence activist, and writer.

Lambert Mascarenhas
The President, Shri Pranab Mukherjee, presenting the Padma Shri Award to Shri Lambert Mascarenhas in 2015
Mascarenhas receiving the Padma Shri in 2015
BornEmidio Francisco Lamberto Mascarenhas
(1914-09-17)17 September 1914
Colva, Goa, Portuguese India, Portuguese Empire (now in India)
Died27 June 2021(2021-06-27) (aged 106)
Dona Paula, Goa, India
Occupation
  • Writer
  • journalist
  • independence activist
NationalityIndian
EducationSt. Xavier's College, Mumbai[1]
Notable worksSorrowing Lies My Land[2][3]
Spouse
Jolly Mascarenhas
(m. 1961)
Children4

Career edit

Journalism edit

Mascarenhas started his career as a journalist in the Morning Standard at Mumbai.[1] He worked as a sub-editor at the Bombay Sentinel, under editor B. G. Horniman.[4] Mascarenhas later joined the Onlooker as an assistant editor. He later edited the Goan Tribune, which espoused the cause of Goa's invasion by India. Upon his return to a liberated Goa in 1961, he joined as the editor of The Navhind Times and later established and edited Goa Today.[4]

Contribution to the independence movement edit

Mascarenhas also contributed to India's freedom movement.[5] He authored the Goan Tribune, which was dedicated to the cause of Goa's liberation.[6] While at the Goan Tribune, he wrote numerous articles against the Portuguese colonial regime in Goa and caught the attention of both Indian leaders as well as the Portuguese regime. While on a visit to Goa, he was arrested and jailed by the Portuguese for his articles. He was later released on bail and expelled from Goa.[7] In Bombay, he joined the National Congress (Goa).[8]

Personal life edit

Mascarenhas was born in Colva, Portuguese India, but his early education took place in Pune and later at the St. Xavier's College, Mumbai.[1] He was married to Dr. Jolly Mascarenhas.[9][1] He had four children.[7] He had taken a vow that he would marry only after the liberation of Goa from colonial Portuguese rule.[7][1] Hence, he married on 29 December 1961, exactly ten days after Goa's liberation by India on 19 December 1961.[7] His family hailed from the Goan Catholic community.

Mascarenhas died on 27 June 2021 at the age of 106.[10][11]

Bibliography edit

Mascarenhas authored several books, including the novel Sorrowing Lies My Land, published in 1955.[12] This work of fiction was based in the anti-Portuguese movement launched by the Indian politician Rammanohar Lohia.[13]

Mascarenhas' other works include The First City, In the Womb of Saudade, The Greater Tragedy and Heartbreak Passage.[5]

Awards edit

Mascarenhas was awarded the Laxmidas Borkar Memorial Award for journalism for 2004.[14] He was also awarded Goa's highest civilian award, the Gomant Vibhushan, in 2014.[5][4][7] He was awarded Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award of India, in 2015.[15]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e Narayan, Tara (11 September 2004). "Goans must be disciplined and hate nobody: A dialogue with Lambert Mascarenhas". Independent Goa Observer. Archived from the original on 13 August 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  2. ^ "Sorrowing lies my land - revisited". Colaco.net. Archived from the original on 7 July 2017. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  3. ^ "Sorrowing Lies My Land". Goa News. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  4. ^ a b c "Lambert Mascarenhas conferred 'Gomant Vibhushan' award". News.webindia123.com. 29 May 2014. Archived from the original on 31 March 2017. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  5. ^ a b c "Lambert Mascarenhas to get Gomant Vibushan". Times of India. 30 May 2014. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  6. ^ "NRI Commission of Goa". Nri.goa.gov.in. 19 December 1961. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  7. ^ a b c d e "A Daughter Speaks – Nayantara Lima Leitao". Vasco Watch Online. 24 November 2014. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  8. ^ Kunte, B. G., ed. (1978). "National Congress (Goa)". Goa Freedom Struggle Vis-A-Vis Maharashtra (1946-1960). Source Material for a History of the Freedom Movement in India. 8 (1). Government Central Press Bombay: 183.
  9. ^ "Lambert Mascarenhas: Still sorrowing for his land". Panorama / The Navhind Times. 7 October 2012. Archived from the original on 11 October 2012. Retrieved 26 January 2019.
  10. ^ "Renowned journalist and Padma Shri Lambert Mascarenhas no more". The Goemkarponn. 27 June 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  11. ^ Lisa Monteiro (28 June 2021). "Freedom fighter and journalist, Lambert Mascarenhas dies at 106 | Goa News - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  12. ^ Rodrigues, Jonathan (14 September 2014). "The musings, moods & memories of Goa's jolly good fellow". The Times of India. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  13. ^ Passos, Joana (2012). Literatura goesa em português nos séculos XIX e XX : perspetivas pós-coloniais e revisão crítica (1st ed.). Ribeirão: Edições Húmus. p. 93. hdl:1822/35179. ISBN 978-989-8549-40-2. OCLC 875314124.
  14. ^ "Karnataka News : Briefly". The Hindu. 27 October 2005. Archived from the original on 23 May 2006. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  15. ^ "Padma Awards 2015". Press Information Bureau. Archived from the original on 28 January 2015. Retrieved 25 January 2015.

External links edit

  • Review of Sorrowing Lies My Land by Francisco Correia-Afonso (in Portuguese)