Prajal Sakhardande is a historian and heritage activist with a B.A., M.A. and MPhil in History. His Mphil thesis was on Pre Portuguese heritage of Goa. Prof Prajal is Head of the Dept of History and Associate Professor of History at the Dhempe College of Arts and Science, Miramar Panaji.

His book titled Goa Gold Goa Silver Her History Her Heritage from earliest times to 2019 was released at the Goa Art and Literature Festival on 13th May 2019. Prof Prajal has also authored Muslim History and Heritage of Goa, co-authored (with Santosh Wadkar) the title Matanhy Saldanha the legend. He has been interviewed and featured by International Discovery Channel on their first India episode anchored by film star Meiang Chang in 2020.

Prof Prajal is one of the first life members of the Goa Heritage Action Group and served on its first founding Committee. He has anchored you tube channel serials on Goa’s pre-Portuguese history and has held several walking tours. Prof Prajal is the recipient of international, national and regional awards for his contribution to the preservation of historical and natural heritage. He has led the Save Coconut Chipko Andolan in 2016 and 2017 and has discovered new heritage sites, monuments and caves.

Prof Prajal contributed a column in the Navhind Times (Pages from the Past) from 2000 to 2014 on History and Heritage of Goa. He has presented papers on History and Heritage at international, national and state level seminars and has successfully led campaigns to preserve several historical sites, heritage monuments and natural heritage sites in Goa. He has also participated in a national campaign for getting Taj Mahal on the modern heritage wonders list in 2007. He has produced, anchored and scripted a 13-part series on Doordarshan titled Goencho Itihas in 2002 and 2003 and won the prestigious West Zonal Puraskar for the series.

Invited as a resource person in colleges and various institutions to present History and Heritage of Goa. Prof Prajal conducts the Kushawati Heritage Trail, Old Goa Heritage Walk ,Miramar Tonca Donapaula Heritage Walk, Mhadei Heritage Trail for students, Veling Heritage Weekends. He has acted in the Hindi feature film Goa Ka Swadhinta Sangram and several other telefilms, documentaries and plays. Prof Prajal is a trustee at the proposed Moda Goa Museum conceptualized by the late Wendell Rodricks. He has participated in several agitations such as the Goa Bachao Abhiyan of 2006, Goa’s Movement against SEZs in 2007. He has served as President of Goa’s Movement for Special Status since 2013 and is a Member of UCTAG, Konkani Bhasha Mandal. He is the Founder of HISTORY_HISTORY for Dhempe college students and has contributed to the newspapers Herald, Sunaprant and Tarun Bharat and Gomantak.

He has led campaigns to save monuments such as the Tonca Pillar (1859), Massano de Amorim, Shri Kshetrapal Temple, Vasco clock tower (1938), the historic gunpowder millstones (1630) now displayed in the ASI Museum, Zuvem fort, rain trees at Campal, Coconut trees at Guirim, Banastarim fort wall, Aguada heritage plateau, Nagvem – Sattari viragal, Thivim cave, Chicalim underground caves, Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church at Chimbel and has enabled the installation of a bust of martyr Shaheed Karnail Singh at Torxem and Dr Jack de Sequeira statue in Donapaula. He is the History and heritage member on the committee for Aguada Lower Fort and serves on the National Monuments Mission, Goa Biodiversity Board and served as an appointed member of Goa State Archives and Archaeology overseeing the digitalisation of historic archival records in 2021. He is a member of Goa Board for 10 th Std History text book, 8 th and 9 th Std Goa History, and was instrumental in the inclusion of a chapter on the Goan folk performance dhalo in the Hindi text book.

Prof Prajal sits on the Goa State Museum Committee, Museum Committee of Casa de Muséu de Figuéreido and has been felicitated by several organisations with citations and awards such as the Jaycees, Rotary Club, Parsem Organisation, Konkan Itihas Parishad, Goenkarponn International award by a Kuwait based Organisation, He has received the Brazil-based Félga e Gracias International Award and was invited by Sultanate of Oman to deliver a lecture on History and Heritage of Goa.

Prof Prajal has travelled to Egypt, Israel, Canada, USA, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Sultanate of Oman, Thailand, Vietnam, Netherlands, Austria, Belgium, Cambodia. He often gets invited as a history subject expert overseas.