Author: Express Features Service
Publication: Expressindia.com
Date: February 5, 2007
The Goa Liberation Movement was Mohan Ranade's
cause for astute struggle. Today, he runs an organisation for underprivileged
children
His humble and practical bearings put you
at instant ease. For, years of patriotic struggle and a charitable disposition
have made Mohan Ranade a name to reckon. One of the leaders of the Goa Liberation
Movement, 77-year-old Ranade, goes down memory line to relive the struggle.
Born in Sangli, he was fueled with patriotic
fervour right since his childhood. "I was 13 years old when I witnessed
the Quit India Movement. That's when I really felt I should do something for
India," says Ranade who was guided by political leader like Babarao Savarkar
and Vinayak Damodar Savarkar himself. he says. Inspired by Ram Manohar Lohiya's
stance to liberate Goa-which was still under the dictatorship of the Portuguese-Ranade
went to Goa in January 1948 and started working with Azad Gomantak Dal (AGD),
the armed organisation fighting for Goa's independence. "My goal while
working with AGD was clear-to kick the Portuguese out of Goa, no matter what!"
he says.
After planning and organising people for more
than six years, Ranade and his colleagues started the armed struggle by attacking
a police station on January 1, 1955. But he was injured and arrested by the
police in 1955 and later, on December 29, 1956 the Portuguese Military Territorial
Tribunal sentenced him to 26 years of imprisonment. Four years later, he was
incarcerated at the historical Fort of Caxias, near Lisbon in Portugal.
"I was kept in solitary confinement for
six years," says Ranade, who distinctly remembers talking to himself
in the cell's darkness to keep his sanity intact. "I had nobody to speak
with. I was on the brink of lunacy. If some one will ask me what are the basic
needs of the man, you may say roti, kapda aur makaan. But I would say that
the basic need for any human being is society," he says contemplatively.
Fortunately, due to political pressure by the Indian government, Ranade was
finally released in January 1969 after 14 years of imprisonment.
He went back to Goa in 1970 to start the Gomantak
Marathi Shikshan Parishad that sponsored education for poor children. But,
he had to shift base to Pune in 1998, to nurse his ailing wife who hails from
the city. Today, Ranade looks at his golden era with pride and has a piece
of advice for the youth. "Values and principles have changed, but patriotism
hasn't. The best way to serve your country now is to give your best shot in
whatever you do," smiles Ranade, who established the Swami Vivekanand
Jeevan Jyot Sanstha in Pune in 2001. the charitable organisation This organisation
sponsors education of students from economically backward backgrounds. "These
children are deprived of good education. I just want to help them," says
Ranade, who gave financial assistance of almost Rs 2.5 lakhs for these students,
last year.
A qualified lawyer, Ranande has even penned
two books-Struggle Unfinished and Satiche Vaan-on the Goa Liberation Movement.
Most importantly, he was honoured with the Padmashri in 2001 and later with
the Sangli Bhushan in 2006. Also, the chairman of the Goa Red Cross for over
five years, Ranade was awarded the Goa Puraskar in 1986 for his social work.
But, while talking about these honours he firmly says, "I feel proud
to call myself Freedom Fighter Mohan Ranade!"
