GREAT MEN OF INDIA (CONTINUATION) by Paulo Colaco Dias

This list intends to be a continuation from the excellent list of Great Men of Goa by Marcos Gomes Catao.

Estado da India had a Tribunal da Relacao (High Court) with jurisdiction over Timor and Macau. It was immediately extinguished by India after the invasion of 1961, with Goa High Court becoming forcibly subordinated to the District Court of Ratnaguiri and placed under jurisdiction of Bombay High Court.

Many of pre-1961 Chief Justice of Estado da India were Goans. It is worth noting that under the British, no Indian, however brilliant his academic or administrative record might have been, ever held the post of Chief Justice in any of the High Courts. Goans, however, held in their own hands (at least in the last 50 years or so of Portuguese administration) all the higher posts of the judiciary system as well as of Civil Administration and shared with the other Portuguese full citizenship rights (again, the same was not true during British Administration of India)

Only the post of Governor-General of Estado da India was as a rule not open to Goans. This was the rule for many other countries, including India (even today!). As you must know the constitution of many countries prevents a province to be governed by one of its own sons. Yet, even so, this rule had its exception when in 1835, Bernardo Peres da Silva (Native from Neura - Goa) held for a period of time the appointment of Governor-General of Estado da India with the designation of Prefect. Other Goans were appointed Governor-Generals elsewhere.

Since 1822, when the Liberal Revolution introduced a Parliamentary

Government in Portugal, Estado da India Portuguesa had been sending her sons to represent the interests first to the Portuguese cortes (during the monarchy) and after to the Portuguese National Assembly in Lisbon.

Many of these Goans came to occupy positions of eminence and distinction as Ministers, Province Governors, Ambassadors, High Court and Supreme Court Judges, Scientists, Professors, Doctors, etc.

To my short memory, I would like to add these to your list (in no particular order)

1. Dr. Antonio F. de Noronha (from Loutulim) who was the first Chief Justice (Presidente do Tribunal da Relacao) of Estado da India, Macau and Timor after the Republic.

2. Dr. Antonio de Miranda, Chief Justice (Presidente do Tribunal da Relacao) of Estado da India, Macau and Timor in the early 1950s.

3. Dr. Balwanta Rau, High Court Judge.

4. Dr. Jose' Antonio Ismael Gracias (junior)(from Loutulim, 1903-1993) was Director of Civil Administration of Estado da India (1954-1958) and also the last Chief Justice (Presidente do Tribunal da Relacao) of Estado da India, Macau and Timor (1958-1961). He was one of the sons of the historian and writer Jose' Antonio Ismael Gracias (senior)(from Loutulim but born in Curtorim, 1857-1919) mentioned in the list of Great men of Goa by Marcos Gomes Catao.

5. Dr. Roque Antonio Benjamim Gracias (Loutulim, 1915-1999), High Court

Judge (Luanda).

6. Joao Baptista Amancio Gracias (Loutulim, 1872-1950)- Historian, Writer, Director da Fazenda.

7. Prof. Dr. Alfredo da Costa (Margao, 1859-1910). He has been acknowledged in Portugal and has a hospital (maternidade) with his name - MATERNIDADE Dr. ALFREDO DA COSTA - Lisbon - where more than 500.000 Lisbon people have been born there since 1932. http://tecnicosmac.no.sapo.pt/acosta.htm -

http://tecnicosmac.no.sapo.pt/maternidade.htm;

http://www.mac.min-saude.pt/Hist0.htm

8. Most Rev. Archbishop and Apostolic Nuncio Blasco Collaco (from Raia, born 1931). He was last posted to South Africa as Apostolic Nuncio and he is now retired and lives in Rome.

9. Fr. Andre Vaz (from Carambolim) was the first Goan Priest to be ordained in Goa around 1558!!! (information from

http://www.archgoadaman.org/Dioceses/history.htm)

10. First Goan Bishop: Most Rev. Mateus de Castro, from Divar, ordained bishop in 1637 (vide http://www.archgoadaman.org/Dioceses/history.htm).

11. Dr. Abel R. Colaco (High Court Judge) but posted as General Secretary of the Government of Estado da India Portuguesa (1958-1961).

12. Dr. Jose Militao Quadros (High Court Judge) but posted as Attorney-General of the Republic in Estado da India Portuguesa (1958-1961) (Procurador Geral da Republica).

13. Dr. Souza Franklin, High Court Judge of Estado da India (1958-1961)

14. Dr. Caetano Gonsalves, Supreme Court of Portugal Judge.

15. Dr. Abreu Lobo, Supreme Court of Portugal Judge in the 1960s.

16. Dr. Ludovico da Costa, Supreme Court of Portugal Judge in the 1960s.

17. Dr. Francisco Bruto da Costa, Supreme Court of Portugal Judge in the 1960s.

It is worth noting that in the 1960s, the total number of Supreme Court

Judges of Portugal was only 15 and 3 of those were Goans, which represented 20% of the available posts for Supreme Court Judge of Portugal.

Between 1958 to 1961, the total number of Portuguese Overseas High Court Judges was 15 (divided in three High Courts: 1)Luanda with jurisdiction over Angola, Sao Tome' and Principe, Cabo Verde and Guine Bissau; 2) Mozambique with jurisdiction over Mozambique; Goa with jurisdiction over the whole Estado da India Portuguesa, Timor and Macau). Seven of the total fifteen Overseas High Court Judges were Goans (almost 50%). Four of them were posted in Goa as referred above (Dr. Ismael Gracias - Chief Justice, Dr. Souza Franklin, Dr. Abel Colaco and Dr. Jose Militao de Quadros).

INDEED, a great honour for Goa considering that the population of Portugal was in the 1960s 9 million and the population of Goa 500,000. 20% of the total number of Supreme Court Judges of Portugal were Goans and almost 50% of the total number of Overseas High Court Judges were Goans.

Source: Profiles of Eminent Goans Past and Present (by J. Clemente Vaz).

18. Dr. Vasant Krishna Tamba (Panjim, 1926), Supreme Court of Portugal

Judge, retired 1993 in Portugal.

19. Prof. Dr. Narana Coisoro. Politician, leader of a Portuguese main

Political Party, Vice-President of the Portuguese National Assembly.

20. Orlando Antonio Fernandes da Costa (1929-2006), writer from Margao.

21. António Luis dos Santos da Costa, son of Goan writer Orlando Antonio Fernandes da Costa. Politician, deputy Prime-Minister of Portugal from 2005 to 2007. Currently he is the Mayor of Lisbon since 2007.

22. Dr. Bonifacio Miranda (Loutulim) Diplomat – Represented Portugal in the Permanent Mission of Portugal to the United Nations, New York.

23. Leo Lawrence from Velim – Advocate of the Bombay High Court, Special Advisor to the Permanent Mission of Portugal to the United Nations, New York.

There are many others.