The Goa Union of Journalists (GUJ) mourns the passing away of veteran journalist, history researcher and writer Valmiki Faleiro on Thursday. He was 67 and is survived by his wife. Faleiro was a staff reporter with the West Coast Times and also worked for national publications like Current Weekly, Free Press Journal group of publications and Indian Express.
He also contributed articles and features to various other publications which included The Navhind Times, Goa Today, Sun Weekly, Newstrek, Detective Digest, Mirror and Newsmag. Faleiro’s Sunday column ‘All ‘n’ Sundry’ was very popular among readers. Faleiro inspired many youngsters to take up journalism as a career while nurturing their writing skills.
In 1977, Faleiro was selected for the prestigious ‘Workshop for Asian Writers’ held at the India International Centre, New Delhi. Faleiro was a prolific writer and history researcher. His popular books include ’Patriotism in Action: Goans in India’s Defence Services’, Soaring Spirit: 450 Years of Margao’s Espirito Santo Church (1565-2015) and the latest ‘Goa, 1961: The complete story of nationalism and integration’.
He has also written chapters for ‘In Black and White: Insiders’ Stories about the Press in Goa’. On the civic front, Faleiro headed the Margao Municipal Council in 1985 for two years. The Goa Union of Journalists conveys its sincere sympathies to the Faleiro family.