Sanjeev V Sardesai
On June 25, 2019, Goans woke up to sad news. One of the star freedom fighters of the journey to the freedom of Goa had become a comet!
This is the story of late Manohar Apte, known more famously as the legendary Mohan Ranade, who entered Portuguese Goa, under the guidance of R K Barve of Banda, Maharashtra, with an objective to throw his might behind the snowballing freedom struggle – violently and non-violently, to push the foreign power out of Indian soil. Born in Sangli, Maharasthra on December 25, 1930, Apte was inspired by the fiery propaganda of the freedom struggle of Goa, – especially after the spark of revolution lit by Ram Manohar Lohia on June 18, 1946 on Goan soil, to openly defy the might of the Portuguese administration.
Apte walked for over 20-25 hours from Maharashtra and entered the Goan borders covertly. He trekked through the jungles to reach the residence of Vishnupant Vaze, who resided near the Sri Ram Mandir of Colvale. Upon being served a hot meal, he slept through the night at Vaze’s house and rose only at sunrise.
He recounted later with pride that the first thing he saw was, ‘Jai Hind’, painted on the wall of a house. It was important to note that at that time if anyone was caught saying “Jai Hind” – that person would be subjected to the most horrendous torture, either publicly or in darkened rooms, without any concern for the life of the person and no concern for human rights!
Apte then settled down on Goan soil in the year 1949 at Dhargalim in Pernem Taluka. When this writer took him around in Goa, especially Betim and the Police HQ in 2017 and then interviewed him at his residence in Budruk, Pune in 2018, Ranade informed that ‘initially he had arrived in Goa, with a staunch personal belief that the non-aggressive, satyagraha movement was not going to succeed, with such an unjust regime’.
During that era, there were no organised educational institutions to teach Konkani or Marathi, as they were considered as ‘nationalistic languages’. Hence many affluent Goan families would engage the services of individuals, primarily from Maharashtra, to impart education to a handful of students, in temples or in private houses. Such teachers would be paid through grains and sometimes, a meager salary.
In Dhargalim, Apte made an acquaintance with a temple priest (bhat), one Sonu Apte, who gave him shelter. He recounted that after about four-five months he had asked this priest if a pistol could be arranged. But someone snitched to the Portuguese that a person from Maharashtra by the name of Manohar Apte was infusing nationalistic ideas among the students and people. Thus, the Portuguese administration, under the orders of the dreaded Agente Casimiro Monteiro issued a warrant to arrest Apte.
Apte was advised to escape into the Indian territory till things cooled down. But the urge to fight brought him back to Goa in April 1950, at Colvale, but now as ‘Mohan Ranade’. Vaze advised him to proceed to a safer place, the jungles of Ambeli in Sattari, where he met Padmakar Sawaikar of Adpai Village of Ponda. It was then that his journey started again in Goa, at Savoi Verem. He never missed the opportunity to infuse the spirit of retaliation against the Portuguese in the small group of private students he taught.
The first arrest came when Ranade had to adhere to a law which required every person entering Goa from outside its border to register at the nearest police station. When he went to register himself at Ponda Police Station he was implicated in one Balu Sathe case and sent to Panaji Police Station. After spending 10 days in jail, he was released by the court, since he had voluntarily come to the police station to register.
Later he joined the Azad Gomantak Dal in 1952. Formed in 1947, this organisation was a wing of the freedom struggle which acknowledged an armed agitation to damage the morale and spirit of the Portuguese. He, along with other fighters gave an oath of total alliance for the cause at Amboli where they were also given basic training for about 10 days, in guerilla warfare and handling of arms.
Later this training and the spirit of these incumbents was to win Silvassa, with a motley group of freedom fighters and a few “Diwali atom bombs” on August 1, 1954. Though the Indian Government accepted the release of this region, they did not allow the freedom fighters to take the arms and ammunition to carry on their fight against the Portuguese in Goa, Daman & Diu.
By then, the armed fight had commenced. Many police stations were raided and arms looted. Among a few were the Banastarim Police Station on January 1, 1955, Calangute Police Station on February 11, 1955, Assanora Police Station on February 12, 1955, Ravan Police Station on March 19, 1955 and Aldona Police Station on May 27, 1955. On August 18, 1955, Mohan Ranade, infuriated by the action of a police personnel Custodio Fernandes of Savoi Verem, for pulling down the Indian Tricolor and stamping on it, went at night to his house, called out to him and then shot him. The whole of the Portuguese administration was in turmoil and they avenged this death by torturing men, women and even children.
But it was at ‘Vijaya Dashmi’ – a day that India celebrates a win of ‘good over evil’, that brought the downfall and arrest of Mohan Ranade. On October 22, 1955, an attack was planned in the afternoon, on the Betim Police Station, with an intention to loot the arms. But things went wrong and Ranade was shot in the stomach during this raid and wounded. He ordered his colleagues to escape with the looted arms but fell down wounded.
He was arrested and sentenced to 26 years in jail. He started a long term of extended sentencing at Caixas Jail in Portugal, where he spent 13 years and 90 days in jail from October 22, 1955 to January 23, 1969. After his release, he arrived via Italy to Mumbai and finally to free Goa. He was received at the Bombay airport by the then Chief Minister of Goa, Daman & Diu Late Dayanand Bandodkar.
Later the Indian Government bestowed the Padma Shri Award on him for his valiant services in the freedom struggle of Goa, Daman & Diu.
Ranade later penned his autobiography in a book titled ‘Satichi Vaan’, which makes inspiring reading. On June 25, 2019 at about 5:30 a.m., Mohan Ranade finally freed himself of the earthly shackles in the Hridaynath Mangueshkar Hospital at Pune, and was bestowed a state funeral at the Vaikunth Crematorium, Pune. The Goa Government, through the benevolence of the Chief Minister of Goa, had supported the medical expenses of Ranade through a request from the Trust that looked after him, in his final days.
We salute the soul of this great man and also of those people, who granted us freedom at a huge price to them and their families.