LarhondaG28: added bio

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{{Short description|Indian surgeon (1913–1992)}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2016}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Pundalik Gaitonde
| image = Pundalik Gaitonde at Konkani Viswakosh.jpg
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_name = Pundalik Dattatreya Gaitonde
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1913|07|03|df=y}}
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1992|11|13|1913|07|03|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Borim]], [[Goa]], [[Portuguese India]]
| death_place = [[London]], [[United Kingdom]]
| other_names =
| spouse = {{marriage|[[Edila Gaitonde]]|1948}}
| children =
| occupation = Surgeon
| years_active =
| known_for =
| alma_mater =
| other_party =
| notable_works =
| office = [[Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha]]
| term_start = 1962
| term_end = 1963
| predecessor = ''Office established''
| successor = [[Peter Alvares]]
| constituency = [[North Goa Lok Sabha constituency|Panjim]]
| party = [[Indian National Congress]]
}}

''' Pundalik Dattatreya Gaitonde''' (3 July 1913 – 13 November 1992) was a [[surgeon]] from [[Goa]] and an active participant in the [[Goa liberation movement]].<ref name="IndependentObituary">{{Cite news |first=Antonio |last=de Figueiredo |date=21 December 1992 |title=Obituary: Pundlik Gaitonde |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-pundlik-gaitonde-1564838.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220707203350/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-pundlik-gaitonde-1564838.html |archive-date=7 July 2022 |access-date=2024-12-22 |work=The Independent |language=en-GB |url-access=subscription |url-status=live }}</ref> Along with Antonio Colaco, Gaitonde was nominated by the [[President of India]] to the [[3rd Lok Sabha]] in 1962<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/in.gazette.e.1962.241|title=Extraordinary Gazette of India, 1962, No. 241|first=Government of India|last=Directorate of Printing|date=20 June 1962|publisher=|via=Internet Archive}}</ref> following the incorporation of [[Goa, Daman and Diu]] into [[India]] on 19 December 1961.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/goa/LS-polls-Parties-play-the-usual-faith-cards/articleshow/4346947.cms|title=LS polls: Parties play the usual faith cards - Times of India|website=The Times of India|date=April 2009 }}</ref>

==Early life==
Pundalik Gaitonde was born on 3 July 1913 to Dattatreya alias Mangesh Gaitonde and Anandibai at [[Borim]], [[Goa]] in [[Portuguese India]]. Pundalik Gaitonde's father Dattatreya hailed from [[Palolem Beach|Palolem]] in [[Canacona]] while Anandibai hailed from [[Borim]]. Pundalik Gaitonde was the third among nine siblings. His father Datatreya was a local [[landlord]].<ref name="Jeevanrekha09">{{cite book|title=डॉ. पुंडलिक गायतोंडे: जीवनरेखा |trans-title = Dr. Pundalik Gaitonde: Jeevanrekha|editor-first=Somnath |editor-last=Komarpant |date=April 2009 |publisher= Shivanand Gaitonde, Sateri Prakashan |location=Pune |language=mr}}</ref> His younger brother, Nanda, was also a participant in the [[Goa liberation movement]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Tombat |first=Nishtha |date=1995 |title=Tristao de Braganza Cunha 1891-1958 and the Rise of Nationalist consciousness in Goa |url=https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/handle/10603/31750 |journal=Goa University |page=194 |hdl=10603/31750 |via=Shodhganga}}</ref>

Aged five, Pundalik was initiated into education and he attended a local school. Aged eleven, the [[Upanayana]] ritual was performed. Gaitonde pursued his higher education at the Escola Primaria de Canacona at [[Chaudi]], [[Canacona]].<ref name="Jeevanrekha09" />

Since there were no further opportunities for higher education in [[Canacona]], Gaitonde joined the A. J. de Almeida School at [[Ponda, Goa|Ponda]] to pursue his first year of [[Lyceum]]. It was at this school that Gaitonde befriended poet [[Bakibab Borkar]].<ref name="Jeevanrekha09" /> During these years, Gaitonde mastered the [[Portuguese language]]. But since the A. J. de Almeida School did not have the facility to study the third year of [[Lyceum]], Gaitonde went to [[Margao]].<ref name="Jeevanrekha09" />

After successfully completing the course of [[Lyceum]], he joined the [[Lyceum]] at [[Panaji]]. Aged twenty, Gaitonde delivered a lecture on [[Albert Einstein]]'s [[Theory of relativity]]. This lecture was appreciated by many. Gaitonde also attended programmes organised by the União Académica in [[Panaji]]. Thereafter, he attended the [[Escola Médico-Cirúrgica de Goa]] to study medicine.<ref name="Jeevanrekha09" /> Gaitonde then went to [[Portugal]] in order to pursue higher studies in medicine. He graduated in [[surgery]] from the Faculty of Medicine at the [[University of Lisbon (1911–2013)|Lisbon University]], where he was taught by [[António Egas Moniz]] (who went on to become a [[List of Nobel laureates|Nobel laureate]] in [[List of Nobel laureates in Physiology or Medicine|1949]]) and Reynaldo dos Santos.<ref name="IndependentObituary"/> During the same period, Gaitonde started his independent research regarding [[cancer]].<ref name="Jeevanrekha09" />

==Goa liberation movement==
While working as a hospital's director in Mapusa in the 1940s, he was active in the underground activities of the National Congress (Goa) (NCG). On 1 January 1954, he attended a meeting of underground workers of the NCG, held at [[Sawantwadi]]. At this meeting, it was decided to restart the non-violent movement in Goa from 18 June 1954 (18 June is celebrated as [[Goa Revolution Day]]). He was also elected as the chairman of the executive committee at this meeting.<ref name="ShirodkarWho86">{{Cite book |last=Shirodkar |first=Pandurang Purushottam |author-link=Pandurang Purushottam Shirodkar |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ISScyAEACAAJ |title=Who's Who of Freedom Fighters, Goa, Daman, and Diu |date=1986 |publisher=Goa Gazetteer Department, Government of the Union Territory of Goa, Daman, and Diu |volume=1 |pages=106–107}}</ref>

On 17 February 1954, while attending the farewell party of a Portuguese judge, Pundalik objected to the toast proposed by one of the invitees, saying "Eu protesto" ({{Translation|"I protest"}}). This incident attracted the attention of both the Portuguese rulers, who were upset with him, and the nationalists, who were impressed.<ref name="ShirodkarWho86" /> It was also the subject of multiple discussions in the [[Parliament of India]].<ref name="PDDoubleEngine24" /> He was arrested the following day and deported to Portugal with his wife, Edila. He was then tried at the Lisbon High Court on 7 July 1954 and was sentenced to three months' imprisonment (including the detention period), or a fine of 40 [[Escudo]]s per day in lieu of jail term. His civil rights were suspended for 12 years, and he was placed under surveillance for five years, during which time he was to not leave Portugal or associate with anyone anti-Portuguese. The NCG then celebrated 17 February 1955 as the "First Gaitonde Day", organising ''[[satyagraha]]'' across Goa.<ref name="ShirodkarWho86" />

He was released on 25 May 1955, returning to India on 14 June. He then settled in [[New Delhi]]. While there, he was tried in Goa by the TMT, who on 5 July 1955 sentenced him to 10 years rigorous imprisonment, a fine of 20 Escudos per day for two years and a suspension of his political rights for 15 years.<ref name="ShirodkarWho86" />

In June 1957, Gaitonde was part of a delegation of 11 Goans chosen for consultation by then [[Prime Minister of India]], [[Jawaharlal Nehru]]. Others included [[Armando Menezes]] and his brother [[Nicolau Menezes]], along with Luis Gracias, [[J. N. Heredia]], [[Evágrio Jorge]], [[Vishwanath Lawande]], [[Gerald Pereira]], [[Rama Hegde]], [[Peter Alvares]] and [[Purushottam Kakodkar]].<ref>{{Cite news |work=[[Times of India]] |location=Delhi |title=Goan Nationals Allowed To Send Money Home |date=1957-06-11 |url=https://archive.org/details/goan-nationals-allowed-to-send-money-home |access-date=2024-09-11}}</ref><ref name="FaleiroGoa1961">{{Cite book |last=Faleiro |first=Valmiki |author-link=Valmiki Faleiro |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GYLyEAAAQBAJ |title=Goa, 1961: The Complete Story of Nationalism and Integration |date=2023-07-24 |publisher=Penguin Random House India Private Limited |isbn=978-93-5708-175-7 |pages=22–23, 81, 343 |access-date=21 August 2024}}</ref>

In 1960, he was elected president of the NCG at its Bombay session.<ref name="ShirodkarWho86" /> He attended the Conference of the Nationalist Organisations of the Portuguese Colonies at [[Casablanca]] in 1961, along with [[George Vaz]] and Cajetan Lobo.<ref name="FaleiroGoa1961" /> He then visited several countries, including the [[United States]], [[Brazil]], [[United Kingdom]], [[Sweden]] and [[USSR]], and was at the [[United Nations]] representing the case of Portuguese colonies in general and Goa in particular. While in the US, he met leaders like [[Norman Thomas]]. His campaigns lead to the Seminar on Portuguese Colonies organised in New Delhi, with the help of the Indian Council for Africa.<ref name="ShirodkarWho86" />

== Post-Liberation of Goa ==
After the [[liberation of Goa]] from the Portuguese by India in 1961, then [[Prime Minister of India|Prime Minister]] [[Jawaharlal Nehru]] appointed Gaitonde as one of the two [[Member of Parliament (India)|Members of Parliament]] for Goa, representing the [[North Goa Lok Sabha constituency]] (then known as the Panjim Lok Sabha constituency) on 6 August 1962. He was active in his one year as a Parliamentarian, participating in debates over issues not just concerning Goa but also national and international issues like cancer, health and drugs and international relations. He was also appointed as a member of important committees such as the one forming port authorities and another amending the [[Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940]].<ref name="PDDoubleEngine24">{{Cite book |last=Prabhudesai |first=Sandesh |author-link=Sandesh Prabhudesai |title=Double Engine: History of Goa Lok Sabha Elections |date=March 2024 |publisher=goanews.com |isbn=9-789358-985627 |pages=16–18, 23–27}}</ref>

Also in 1962, Gaitonde and [[Purushottam Kakodkar]] were chosen as co-convenors of an ad-hoc committee of the [[Indian National Congress]], with the intention of beginning work of the Congress in Goa.<ref name="PDDoubleEngine24" />

In the 1963 Elections for Lok Sabha members from Goa, when he contested as a candidate for the Indian National Congress, he secured the third position with only 20,000 (16%) of the total votes. He was succeeded by [[Peter Alvares]]. He never contested again and quit politics.<ref name="PDDoubleEngine24" />

He later became a member of the Goa Planning Board.{{citation needed|date=December 2024}}

==Medical career==
On his return to Goa, then still a territory of Portugal in 1948, Pundalik Gaitonde was appointed Surgeon-Director of the Hospital dos Milagres in [[Mapusa]].<ref name="IndependentObituary" />

He worked as the honorary senior surgeon at the Irwin Hospital, New Delhi, in the 1950s, and was responsible for the creation of the Cancer Unit, which he headed.<ref name="IndependentObituary" />

After retiring from politics in Goa and moving to London, he worked as a consultant in the cancer department of the [[Royal London Hospital]], [[Whitechapel]] in the 1960s.<ref name="IndependentObituary" />

He spent his later years compiling a computerised book for the treatment of cancer, marketing it to Indian doctors.<ref name="IndependentObituary" />

== Writing career ==
In 1983, Gaitonde wrote a book, ''Portuguese Pioneers in India - Spotlight in Medicine''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Vaz |first=J. Clement |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7DJLxYBYA-YC |title=Profiles of Eminent Goans, Past and Present |date=1997 |publisher=Concept Publishing Company |isbn=978-81-7022-619-2 |pages=287–288}}</ref> The book covered the history of medicine and east–west relations during the sixteenth century.<ref name="IndependentObituary" />

His second book, ''The Liberation of Goa: A Participant's View of History'', was released in 1986 and covered the history of the liberation of Goa.<ref name="IndependentObituary" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=1988-10-31 |title=Book review: P.D. Gaitonde's 'The Liberation of Goa: A Participant's View of History' |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/society-and-the-arts/books/story/19881031-book-review-p-d-gaitonde-the-liberation-of-goa-a-participant-view-of-history-797873-1988-10-30 |access-date=2024-12-22 |website=India Today |language=en}}</ref>

==Personal life==

===Marriage===
After Gaitonde completed his medical studies, he started his practice in [[Portugal]]. He began a relationship with one of his patients, a Portuguese woman named [[Edila Gaitonde|Edila Brum Dutra de Andrade]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://correiodosacores.pt/NewsDetail/ArtMID/383/ArticleID/20420/Faialense-Edila-Gaintonde-merece-uma-distin231227o-nos-A231ores-e-em-Portugal|title=Faialense Edila Gaintonde merece uma distinção nos Açores e em Portugal|url-status=dead|access-date=2 May 2021|archive-date=2 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210502100137/http://correiodosacores.pt/NewsDetail/ArtMID/383/ArticleID/20420/Faialense-Edila-Gaintonde-merece-uma-distin231227o-nos-A231ores-e-em-Portugal|language=pt}}</ref> Edila was born at the [[Faial Island]] of the [[Azores]]<ref name="HeraldTyrants20">{{Cite web|first=Selma|last=Carvalho|date=26 Nov 2020|url=https://www.heraldgoa.in/Edit/Opinions/Thus-always-to-tyrants/167962|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210502100806/https://www.heraldgoa.in/Edit/Opinions/Thus-always-to-tyrants/167962|archive-date=2 May 2021|title=Thus always to tyrants |work=[[oHeraldo]]}}</ref> and had studied music at the National Conservatory of Lisbon.<ref name="Jeevanrekha09" /> Pundalik and Edila decided to marry, but faced stiff opposition from their respective families. However, Pundalik's father later relented and granted permission. Pundalik and Edila married in a civil ceremony<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/goa/bringing-alive-trials-triumphs-of-goans-under-the-portuguese/articleshow/13912708.cms|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210502094148/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/goa/bringing-alive-trials-triumphs-of-goans-under-the-portuguese/articleshow/13912708.cms|archive-date = 2 May 2021|title = Edila Gaitonde: Bringing alive trials, triumphs of Goans under the Portuguese | Goa News - Times of India| website=[[The Times of India]] | date=8 June 2012 }}</ref> in 1948<ref name="HeraldTyrants20" /> in [[Lisbon]] and spent their [[honeymoon]] at [[Peniche, Portugal|Peniche]].<ref name="Jeevanrekha09" />

Gaitonde selected [[Peniche, Portugal|Peniche]] as his honeymoon destination because it was the location of the prison-fort where several activists of the [[Goa Liberation Movement]], such as [[Tristão de Bragança Cunha]], [[Purushottam Kakodkar]], [[Rama Hegde]], [[José Inácio Candido de Loyola]] and [[Laxmikant Bhembre]] were imprisoned. These prisoners organised a celebration in honour of Pundalik and Edila. They hosted a meal for the newly-weds. A woman journalist from France was on a visit to the prison in order to meet [[Tristão de Bragança Cunha]]. When she questioned Pundalik Gaitonde about why he had selected [[Peniche, Portugal|Peniche]] as the destination for the honeymoon, Dr. Gaitonde replied, "Homage to sacrifice!"<ref name="Jeevanrekha09" />

===Retirement===
Following his defeat in the 1963 Lok Sabha elections, Gaitonde left Goa permanently for [[London]]<ref name="ShirodkarWho86" /> with his wife Edila. He then worked in a hospital there till he retired and began writing.<ref name="IndependentObituary" />

== Death ==
Gaitonde died in London on 13 November 1992.<ref name="IndependentObituary" />

== Works ==
* ''Portuguese Pioneers in India - Spotlight in Medicine'' (1983)
* ''The Liberation of Goa: A Participant's View of History'' (1986)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* The Liberation of Goa. A Participant's View of History, Oxford University Press, 1987
* Portuguese Pioneers in India: Spotlight on Medicine, Bombay Popular Prakashan 1983
* The [[Goa Opinion Poll|Goan Opinion Poll]], 1967 (co-author), Tipografia Rangel, Bastora, Goa
* The Goa Problem, Indian Council of World Affairs, New Delhi, 1956.
* Atomic Energy in Medicine, [[Indian Council of Medical Research]], New Delhi, 1958.
* In Search of Tomorrow, Edila Gaitonde (https://books.google.com/books?id=nUhPGfFg10sC&source=gbs_book_similarbooks&redir_esc=y)

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaitonde, Pundalik}}
[[Category:Medical doctors from Goa]]
[[Category:People from Mapusa]]
[[Category:1913 births]]
[[Category:1992 deaths]]
[[Category:Goa liberation activists]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian surgeons]]
[[Category:Lok Sabha members from Goa]]

Pundalik Gaitonde - Revision history

LarhondaG28: added bio