Miguel Caetano Dias: A Great Goan

Goa has given birth to great men and women, eminent Goans who have carved a niche in history and have left a rich ‘ Great Goans Heritage”. Shenoi Goembab, Dinanath Mangeshkar, Abade Faria, Francisco Luis Gomes, Luis Menezes Braganca, Bhau Daji Lad, Father Alvares, T B Cunha, Dharmanand Kosambi, Mateus de Castro Mahale, Kesarbai Borkar, Bossuet Afonso, Krishnadas Sharma, Bakibab Borkar, Agostinho Vicente Lourenco, Angelo da Fonseca, Dayanand Bandodkar, Dada Vaidya, Nilkanth(Nikubab) Karapurkar, Jitendra Abhisheki, Mogubai Kurdiker, Menakabai Shirodker, Pandurang Pissurlencar, Jack Sequeira, Bernardo Peres da Silva, KT Telang, Vasantrao Dempo, VM Salgaonkar, Peter Alvares, Msgr Sebastio Rodolfo Dalgado, Laxmikant Bhembre. Laxmanrao Sardesai, Ramchandra P Kamat, Shankar Bhandari, Bala Raya Mapari, Francis Newton Souza, Pundalik D Gaitonde, Telo Mascarenhas, Dipaji Rane, Dada Rane Advaiker, Purushottam Kakodkar, Berta Menezes Braganca, Sudhatai Joshi, Pandurang P Shirodker, Alfred Rose, Chris Perry, Evagrio George, Mark Fernandes, Anthony(Tony) D’Souza, Alfred Afonso, Bharatkar Hegde Desai, Waman Sardesai, Jivba Dada Kerkar, Kashinath Mahale, Shankar Ramani, Vijaybai Sarmalkar and the list goes on....

All these great sons and daughters of Goa have left us but their memories and contributions have left a vibrant legacy for posterity. They have left an indelible mark. I have mentioned a few but there are so many whose contributions have enriched Goa. One such great Goan personality whose 150th birth anniversary is being celebrated by Goa is ‘General-Medico’ Miguel Caetano Dias – the first Goan doctor to be designated as ‘General’ by the Portuguese government. His bust can be seen opposite the General Post office at Panaji. The house that you can see at the rear of the bust is the Dias House (the former Casa Da Moeda) where he lived.

Dr J Clement Vaz, the author of Profiles of Eminent Goans Past and Present tells us that Gen Dr Miguel Caetano Dias was born on 9th July, 1854 at St Estevam(Jua) island. Miguel had from his youth a consuming desire to specialize in healing. He proceeded to Portugal to complete his medical studies with laurels in 1882. He served Mozambique thereafter for five years and returned to Goa in 1888, where his reputation had already preceded him to be appointed as Director of Health Services and later as Director of Escola Medica and Military Hospital in Panaji. He climbed the ladder of success by dint of his own merit having gained rapid promotions until he reached the highest with the designation of ‘General’ in the Portuguese medical cadre, the first and only Goan to be so honoured. Honour and fame followed Dr Dias for his expertise as a physician as well as for his deftness with the surgeon’s scalpel at a time when anaesthesia was perhaps in its infancy.

As an intellectual of high caliber, he was associated with a number of social, educational and scientific bodies and institutions, and was decorated with honours and medals both by the Government in Portugal and the Portuguese Government of Goa. So great was the admiration in which he was held by his large circle of friends and well wishers that they decided, even while he was living to build a memorial to him. As a result, the bust stands there.

Dr Dias always cherished the memories of his beautiful island village of Juvem- St Estevam and before his death on 26th July 1936, had expressed a desire to be buried there.

By Prajal Sakhardande
The Sunday Navhind Times
PANORAMA July 4, 2004

Posted By : Prajal Sakhardande, Goa on 02/05/2007