History of referendum to be part of Goa school curriculum: CM

Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar said today that the history of the state's referendum held over 50 years back will be included in the school curriculum.
The coastal state is celebrating the "Asmitai Dis" (Identity Day) today to mark the anniversary of the referendum, held on January 16, 1967, on whether to merge with neighbouring Maharashtra.
"Goa's history does not end with the liberation of the state from the Portuguese rule, but it continues till the opinion poll and even till 1987 when the statehood was attained," Parrikar said at a function in Margao, about 40 km from here, to mark the occasion.

He said efforts should be made to teach this part of history to students.
"I assure that the opinion poll would be a part of the school curriculum during the academic year 2019," he said.
Parrikar said a committee of experts would be formed to finalise the curriculum and include the referendum episode.

At the function, organised by the Directorate of Official Language and the Ravindra Bhavan, the chief minister recited a poem by veteran poet late B B Borkar.
He said that the victory during the opinion poll was because of the "unified and combined" efforts of the Goans cutting across religion, caste, creed and regional lines.

The efforts of the people who contributed to keep Goa as a separate entity should be recognised in different forms, Parrikar said.
During the event, Parrikar inaugurated a lane dedicated to those who participated in the anti-merger movement.
Some of the living witnesses of the referendum earlier expressed happiness that the people of the then Union territory did not opt to merge with Maharashtra.
When the referendum was held, the then ruling party, Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP), was in favour of merging with Maharashtra. But several leaders, led by Jack Sequeira of the United Goans party, were opposed to it.