Peter Augustus Alvares (1908–1975) was an Indian politician. He was the first Member of Parliament from

North Goa Lok Sabha constituency North Goa Lok Sabha constituency (formerly, Panaji Lok Sabha constituency) is one of the two Lok Sabha (parliamentary) constituencies in Goa state in western India along with South Goa. Assembly segments Presently, North Goa Lok Sabha parliamen ...

(then Panjim), after liberation of

Goa Goa (; ; ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...

from Portuguese rule in 1962. He served as president of

All India Railwaymen's Federation The All India Railwaymen's Federation (AIRF) is the largest trade union of Indian Railways workers with a membership of 1.4 million. AIRF was founded on 16 February 1925.. It is affiliated with the socialist trade union centre Hind Mazdoor Sabh ...

from 1968 to 1973 and was its general secretary from 1957 to 1968.

Early life

Peter Augustus Alvares was born on 31 March 1908 in Parra,

Bardez ''Bardez'' or ''Bardes'' ( IPA: ) is a ''taluka'' of the North Goa district in the Indian state of Goa. Etymology The name is credited to the Saraswat Brahmin immigrants who emigrated to the Konkan via Magadha plains in northern India. B ...

, Goa.

Goa liberation movement

Alvares encouraged many volunteers in Bombay to work in hiding from Goa for its freedom. From 1953 onwards, Alvares was the president of the National Congress (Goa) (NCG). Alvares was a member of the

Praja Socialist Party The Praja Socialist Party, abbreviated as PSP, was an Indian political party. It was founded in 1952 when the Socialist Party, led by Jayaprakash Narayan, Rambriksh Benipuri, Acharya Narendra Deva and Basawon Singh (Sinha), merged with the ...

. He helped organise the ''

satyagraha Satyāgraha (from ; ''satya'': "truth", ''āgraha'': "insistence" or "holding firmly to"), or "holding firmly to truth",' or "truth force", is a particular form of nonviolent resistance or civil resistance. Someone who practises satyagraha is ...

'' on 15 August 1954, assembling three groups of about 15 satygrahis each who marched to three different parts on the border of Goa. In June 1957, Alvares was part of a delegation of 11 Goans chosen for consultation by then

Prime Minister of India The prime minister of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen Union Council of Ministers, Council of Ministers, despite the president of ...

Jawaharlal Nehru Jawaharlal Nehru (14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat, and statesman who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20th century. Nehru was a pr ...

. Others included

Armando Menezes Armando Menezes (1902–1983) was an Indian civil servant, writer, academic and poet who wrote in English. Biography Armando Menezes was born on 11 May 1902 in São Matias, Divar, Goa to Luis Manuel de Menezes, a lawyer and Arminda Correia L ...

and his brother Nicolau Menezes, along with Luis Gracias, J. N. Heredia, Evágrio Jorge, Vishwanath Lawande, Gerald Pereira,

Rama Hegde Rama Krishna Hegde (29 April 1912 - ?) was an Indian freedom fighter and physician from Goa, India. Life Early life Rama Krishna Hegde was born on 29 April 1912 in Madgaon to Krishna Rama Hegde. He studied medicine at the Escola Médico-Cir� ...

Pundalik Gaitonde Pundalik Dattatreya Gaitonde (3 July 1913 – 13 November 1992) was a surgeon from Goa and an active participant in the Goa liberation movement. Along with Antonio Colaco, Gaitonde was nominated by the President of India to the 3rd Lok Sabha i ...

and

Purushottam Kakodkar Purushottam Kesava Kakodkar (; 18 May 1913 – 2 May 1998) was an Indian politician and social worker. He served as a Member of Parliament in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. Role as a freedom fighter He took part in the Quit India Moveme ...

Political career

In the 1963 election for the Lok Sabha, Alvares represented the

and was supported by the

Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party ( MGP) is a political party in India. It was Goa's first ruling party after the end of Portuguese rule in Goa in 1961. The party has its base amongst non-Brahmin Hindu migrants from Maharashtra and their desce ...

(MGP) and Bhausaheb Bandodkar, the first Chief Minister of Goa. He won with 53% of the votes. He thus became the first elected Member of Parliament to represent the

(since his predecessor

was recommended without any election). In the 1967 election, Bandodkar and the MGP withdrew their support. Alvares contested on the PSP ticket but lost, pushed down to the sixth position with only 4% of the votes.

Death

Alvares died on 6 May 1975.

Awards and accolades

The Government of Goa, Daman and Diu honoured him after his death.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mueller, Mike 1908 births 1975 deaths India MPs 1962–1967 Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party politicians Lok Sabha members from Goa