PANAJI
The Goa Union of Journalists (GUJ) condoled the demise of veteran journalist Lambert Mascarenhas, winner of the Padma Shri award for distinguished service.
The freedom fighter and writer passed away on Sunday morning. He was 106.
The state government honoured Mascarenhas with the Gomant Vibhushan Award, the highest state civilian honour, in 2014.
Five years later, he was presented with the first Lifetime Achievement Award in journalism by the department of information and publicity.
Mascarenhas started his journalism career as a junior reporter with Morning Standard and later worked at Bombay Sentinel and Onlooker, before becoming editor of the Goan Tribune, which espoused the cause of Goa’s liberation from Portuguese rule.
He became the editor of Navhind Times, Goa’s first English newspaper, and after a three-year stint, founded Goa Today, a monthly magazine, which he edited for several years.
Mascarenhas has written several books too, including the most famous of them all, ‘Sorrowing lies my land’. Written in 1955, the book won critical acclaim and has been translated into Konkani, Marathi and Portuguese.
Mascarenhas was the first president of the historic Press Club of Goa, inaugurated by the then Lt Governor of Goa, Daman and Diu, Mulkraj Sachdev in 1963.
The Goa Union of Journalists extends its deepest condolences to the bereaved family.
