The announcement of the singularly prestigious Jnanpith Award to our great Konkani writer Damodar Mauzo is a joyous and uplifting occasion for our land and for us all — indeed a bright spark, midst the gloom and nauseating political environment.
A very down to earth and outstanding personality, Damodar Mauzo, whom I have personally known for decades, has been a prolific author and very outspoken in all that he writes and speaks. Extremely knowledgeable and always with a very broad outlook, Damodar Mauzo has always been a symbol of honesty, integrity and commitment for all to emulate. He truly embodies the noble spirit of universal humanism.
The very candid Damodar Mauzo has always stood tall among Goans, yet an extremely affable person. He has been a source of inspiration and an insightful fountain of knowledge for so many.
In times when we are battling through very dark and turbulent times, with the much celebrated world’s largest democracy now in deep peril, great writers and thinkers like Damodar Mauzo are a ray of hope, the plank of rescue from ignominy.
While we celebrate the great honour bestowed on our very own Damodar Mauzo, let us remain committed to this struggle to ensure that our voices of dissent are not stifled and nobody is allowed to suppress our right to express the thoughts we have. Let us not forget that some fanatics did try to do that to him, a few years ago. Our great country must retain, nay regain, its democratic and secular fabric.
We should always be guided by those words of the great French intellectual Voltaire “I do not agree with you. But I shall give up my life for your right to say what you wish”
