Media Release
Sydney, Sep 26: The Mangalorean Catholic Association of Sydney (MCAS) organized a virtual homage meeting on Sunday, September 19 for the late Oscar Fernandes, who left for his heavenly abode on Tuesday, September 13 in Mangaluru.
Stanley D’Cruz, president of the association, in his address welcomed the attendees from Sydney, the rest of Australia, India, and other parts of the world. He remarked that it was a great honour for MCAS to organize this homage meeting, to pay respects to an exceptional human being, who held numerous eminent senior positions in public life at the district, state and national levels in India. Glowing tributes were paid by all who attended, for his extraordinary and dedicated service. The Sydney-based Indian Overseas Congress (IOC) provided valuable support in helping to organize the evening’s event, represented at the meeting by Manoj Sheoran, president of the IOC.
Stanley announced the distinguished Mangalureans who actively associated with Oscar Fernandes as the speakers for this meeting. They were:
His Eminence Cardinal Oswald Gracious, archbishop of Mumbai
Margaret Alva, former governor, union minister, and national leader
Oshanie Saldanha (Fernandes), daughter of Oscar Fernandes
Manoj Sheoran, president of Indian Overseas Congress Australia (IOC)
J R Lobo, former commissioner of Mangluru City Corporation & former MLA
Derek Lobo, past president of Catholic Association of South Kanara (CASK)
Peter D’Mello, senior financial controller, past treasurer of MCAS
Aubrey and Lorraine Aloysius, directors of Lorraine Music Academy (LMA)
Stanley D’Cruz, MCAS president introduced Joylene Moras, general secretary of MCAS. Joylene has a masters degree in marketing, has great passion for community work and has a long tenure in MCAS.
Joylene delivered the official MCAS homage. He touched upon Oscar Fernandes’ staunch Catholic faith, strong family values, tremendous community service, love for the down trodden, immense capacity to serve, and his prowess as an able administrator, which made the late Oscar Fernandes a unique and stupendous leader. Finally, he offered condolences to Blossom Fernandes, Oshanie Saldanha (Fernandes), Oshan Fernandes and the extended family.
Stanley welcomed Marianne Aiman, well-known professional film singer from Mumbai, who then performed a powerful and exquisite rendition of the hymn ‘How Great Thou Art’. Marianne’s electric vocal range added further grace and elegance to the meeting, and left a lasting impression on all attendees.
His Eminence Cardinal Oswald Gracious: Stanley commenced the official proceedings by introducing the main speaker of the evening. He noted that Cardinal Oswald Gracious is a source of pride for all Indian Catholics around the world, and is a highly respected leader of the faith globally.
Cardinal Gracious elucidated the strong Catholic faith of Oscar Fernandes, which we devoutly observed throughout his life. The Cardinal dwelt on his Fernandes’ role as a faithful husband and father, noting his dedication to his family despite his hectic and long work schedules, while expressing genuine concern and service for the poor and the marginalized in India. The Cardinal also lauded the assistance provided by Oscar Fernandes to the clergy in several dioceses of India. The Cardinal concluded by saying that he would miss a dear friend with whom he discussed frequently the problems faced by the Catholic Church, relationship with state and governments, and the society in general.
Stanley introduced the next speaker of the evening, Manoj Sheoran, who was previously a youth Congress leader in India, and is currently the President of the Indian Overseas Congress Australia based in Sydney.
Sheoran described Oscar Fernandes as a towering leader in the service of the district, state and the country. He spoke about his human qualities of selfless service, and then elaborated on his tenure and notability in the party affairs. He recalled how Fernandes used to meet people until the early morning hours daily to reach out to people. In closing, Mr. Sheoran touched upon his personal association with Fernandes during his time as youth Congress leader in India, and about his exceptional skill at galvanizing the youth leadership in the country.
Stanley then presented Margaret Alva, who has a long history of national service in India and needed no introduction. Alva has held various positions within the Indian National Congress Party hierarchy, including union ministerial positions for Youth and Sports, as well as pioneering Women & Child Development. Margaret Alva has the unique distinction of being the Governor of three states in India, Uttarkhand, Rajasthan and Gujarat.
Margaret Alva paid glowing tributes to a wonderful friend and colleague for about 45 years, and that the loss of Mr. Fernandes has left an indelible void. She further stated that Oscar Fernandes was a dedicated parliamentarian for 42 years, the longest tenure in India. He was well respected within the party, and was readily accessible and always on hand to help people. His energy and work ethic were unmatched. Mrs. Alva ended her tribute by saying that she lauded the qualities of Oscar Fernandes, which made him a unique leader, and then paid condolences to the bereaved family members, who she said, were dear to her.
Stanley then introduced Oshanie Saldanha (Fernandes), daughter of Oscar Fernandes. Stanley expressed his profound gratitude to her for attending and addressing this homage meeting amid her family’s bereavement period.
Oshanie Saldanha (Fernandes) fervently thanked all the participants of this homage meeting and appreciated the speakers for their very generous tributes to her late father. She agreed with all the speakers’ sentiments that he was loved and respected across all walks of life in the country. Oshanie remembered Fernandes as a most lovable and affectionate father, who was an outstanding role model for his children. He had genuine compassion and love for people. Oshanie Saldanha thanked the organizers of this meeting, MCAS and IOC, particularly Stanley, Beryl D'Cruz, and Manoj Sheoran. She concluded by saying that the family was completely overwhelmed by the outpouring of love displayed at the evening’s proceedings.
The programme was then interspersed with another popular hymn. Bobby Cash a highly acclaimed and popular Indian country western singer popular the world over, sang with guitar accompaniment “Amazing Grace”, a most beautiful tribute.
Dr Stanley proceeded to introduce the next speaker, Dr. Derek Lobo, who was a past president of the Catholic Association of South Kanara (CASK), and has provided extensive social service and participated in charity projects in and around Mangalore for decades. At present Dr. Derek Lobo is providing Covid relief measures in Mangalore and Udupi dioceses.
Dr Lobo mentioned his personal relationship to the family of Oscar Fernandes. He described his workaholic nature in that he worked about sixteen hours each day, well into the early hours of the morning on most days. He mentioned Mannu Deva Deva. He was very versatile and was kingmaker of the Congress party in the 1990s. Lobo noted that Fernandes was a leading rice farmer, and was presented with best rice producer award. He further stated his multi-faceted talents, not only in culture and music, but that Fernandes was also a versatile athlete, and participated in swimming, kabaddi and volleyball. He performed several types of dances like Yakshagana, Kuchupudi and also practiced yoga. In conclusion, Dr Derek Lobo offered his condolences to the bereaved family.
Stanley introduced the next speaker, J R Lobo as he is popularly called. Lobo joined the Karnataka State Administrative Service, and held many positions finally being the commissioner of Mangaluru Municipal Corporation, where he carried significant development work in Mangaluru. He is also former member of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly (MLA). Lobo is a popular figure in Mangaluru and has great passion to serve people.
JR Lobo praised Oscar Fernandes as a very tall leader and that the nation has lost a valuable administrator. He particularly mentioned his association for 25-30 years with Mr. Oscar Fernandes who worked tirelessly to secure funding for the various road transports, expressway and other infrastructural projects for Mangaluru. Many projects for Mangaluru were also expeditiously approved, due to the esteemed standing of Oscar Fernandes within the government. He said Oscar Fernandes was also planning a fisheries port for the development of fisheries in the district. JR Lobo explained probable reasons for Oscar Fernandes not winning the subsequent election for the Lok Sabha, in spite of the wonderful service to the district.
Stanley welcomed the next speaker of the evening, Peter D’Mello, a Senior Financial Controller in Sydney, and past Treasurer of MCAS. He has a keen interest in community activities here in Australia as well as in India.
Peter D’Mello’s family were neighbours of Oscar Fernandes in Udupi. Peter recalled fond memories of the family. D’Mello’s family witnessed the progress and the zeal of Oscar Fernandes from a young age, and that he was always taking up the issues of the soil of the land faced by many agriculturists even before he joined any form of government. D’Mello had the pleasure of meeting Oscar Fernandes and family during their visit to Sydney to celebrate the 5th anniversary Nativity Feast of MCAS in September 2012. He admired Fernandes’ simplicity, humility, as well as his approachable personality to mingle with ordinary people from all walks of life. Peter further lauded the pivotal role played by Oscar Fernandes during his long tenure of national service and then paid condolences to the bereaved family.
Aubrey and Lorraine had a notable and close association with Oscar Fernandes. They both have a background in Finance, but soon decided to create a career in music. They moved to Gurugram just outside of Delhi sixteen years ago where, by their sheer hard work and determination, Lorraine Music Academy was born, and is one of now India’s largest music schools. Aubrey and Lorraine also set up the LAMP Trust to provide free music lessons to the less fortunate.
Lorraine Aloysius mentioned that the impressive qualities and exceptional vision of Mr. Oscar Fernandes would last for years to come. She simply admired his unique personality and remarked that he was a member of government who gave his life for the welfare of all, without distinction of caste, creed and colour. She pointed out that his legacy would be irreplaceable.
Aubrey Aloysius said he was impacted by Mr. Oscar Fernandes to a great extent by his distinctive good nature, generosity and capacity to serve people. He was very thankful to be actively associated with Mr. Oscar Fernandes in many projects in Delhi and mentioned some of them.
A few video presentations were brought up on screen by Aubrey, showing a few events in which Oscar Fernandes had participated. As Oscar Fernandes was a nation builder with a deep love for the Indian National Anthem, the video ended with the singing of Jana, Gana, Mana. All the attendees of this virtual meeting rose to their feet in respect, and in homage to the life of Oscar Fernandes.
A few further tributes from attendees
Hugh Vaz commended Oscar Fernandes and credited him for securing a bill for land reforms passed in a short time frame.
Manoj Sheoran added that Oscar Fernandes was an adept problem-solver, who was constantly meeting under-privileged people to understand and resolve their problems.
Susai Benjamin, councilor from Blacktown City Council made special mention of how a local Australian politician was always made to feel welcome whenever he was in New Delhi by Oscar Fernandes.
Stanley welcomed Rowena Sequeira, MCAS social secretary, to present the Vote of Thanks. Rowena is a senior architect in Sydney, has a passion for community work, and has been a member of MCAS for more than a decade.
Rowena delivered a vibrant vote of thanks on behalf of Stanley D’Cruz and MCAS. After a short tribute to Oscar Fernandes, expressing her admiration for him as a leader and multi-faceted human being, she thanked all the distinguished speakers for the evening, for kindly accepting the MCAS invitation with very short notice, and for their glowing accolades in homage to Oscar Fernandes, which will be long cherished. Rowena thanked His Excellency Cardinal Gracious for his presence and time despite his busy schedule with the on-going bishop’s meet in Mumbai. Rowena expressed gratitude to Manoj Sheoran, president of the Indian National Congress for being a part of this event, and praised the good work done by IOC in Australia. She conveyed her happiness at being able to virtually see and listen to Margaret Alva in real life. Rowena was grateful to Oscar Fernandes’ family who were present for the entire meeting, and to Oshanie Saldanha (Fernandes) for providing a heartfelt glimpse into the life of her father. She thanked Joylene Moras for delivering the official MCAS homage and Marianne Aiman for her beautiful performance of the hymn “How Great Thou Art”. Gratitude and thanks were also expressed to Aubrey and Lorraine Aloysius, for all the musical videos, including the two hymns by the legendary Bobby Cash.
The final hymn 'Give Them All to Jesus' was played on screen to a guitar accompaniment by Bobby Cash.
In his concluding remarks, Stanley said that Oscar Fernandes’s demise has highlighted the phenomenal qualities of a great leader, and hoped that the attendees would imbibe some of them, put them into practice and help to make our countries and the world a better place.