In Goa, a tiny island named Santo Estêvão — a thriving land for growing delicious okra — was home to several farming families, including that of Manuel Francisco Dias and Escolástica Fernandes e Dias.

The couple had five children, and on most days, struggled to make ends meet. But their son, Miguel Caetano Dias, had big dreams of becoming a doctor.

Not only did Miguel fulfil these dreams but he also went on to fight the deadly Bubonic Plague.

As Dr Luis Dias, Miguel’s great-grandson, tells The Better India, “The Medical School of Goa (Escola Médico-Cirúrgica de Nova Goa) had only recently come up and was not up to a very good standard.”

So, Miguel went to Lisbon to study, a feat for which the family had to make many sacrifices.

“When my great-grandfather exceeded expectations with his performance in his school’s final exam, all his family could offer as a reward was a watermelon. That’s how impoverished the family was,” Dr Luis says.

Pressed for money, Miguel couldn’t afford to buy the textbooks so he would copy the textbooks by hand to keep up with academics in the university.

Today, while the Dias family has settled in different parts of the globe, each has a copy of these texts, which Dr Luis notes are a marvel to look at.

At the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Lisbon, Miguel graduated with distinction in 1882. Following this he was sent by the Portuguese to Mozambique, Africa.

“The medical setup there was quite primitive, but he performed several life-saving surgeries with very little surgical equipment at his disposal,” Dr Luis says.

In 1888, Dr Miguel was sent back to Goa where he was appointed as Director of Health Services of Medical School of Goa and given the designation of ‘General’, the highest rank in the Portuguese medical cadre.

He was the first and only native of Goa to receive this honour. Later appointed as the director of the medical school, he performed several groundbreaking surgeries, including the first appendectomy in the state, where the patient lived to tell the tale.

“Remember, this was a time before antibiotics and blood transfusions and anaesthesia. Antisepsis was still at its infancy, even in the rest of the world,” Dr Luis says.

During the Bubonic Plague, Dr Miguel ran several anti-plague campaigns and sanitary policies, and these played a significant role in the adoption of modern European medicine across Goa.

His understanding of infections and diseases remained up-to-date, which helped him eradicate the plague from Goa altogether.

Dr Miguel also fought the popular notion that vaccination methods went against common rituals and could “pollute the body”.

He also improved the sanitary conditions in Goa so vastly that the Portuguese Government bestowed several honours upon him, including the ancient order of chivalry Cavaleiro, Official e Comendador da Real Ordem Militar de S. Bento de Aviz (Knight, Administrator and Commander of The Royal Military Order of St Benedict of Aviz).

In line with Dr Miguel’s last wishes, upon his death on 26 July 1936, he was laid to rest in his native village rather than Panjim, where he lived through most of his thriving career. Today, a bust stands in Panjim to commemorate his life and achievements.

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