Sudin Dhavlikar, may not have quite read or imbibed the farcical plays of the Shakespearean era or for that matter delved into farcical black comedy. He would perhaps know little that farce as a genre is an enduring and a very influential drama form, where the protagonist is often at odds with the environment.
And yet, Dhavlikar has positioned himself as one of the most farcical characters in Goa’s history, completely at odds with the environment of a larger, multicultural, educated Goa, with its held high and morals intact, at odds with the fact that morals and morality are passed down through generations of families, at odds with the fact that both Christians, Hindus and other faiths live here and share these values of liberty and responsibility coupled with freedom to lead their lives their way.
Contrary to farcical protagonists who are ultimately loved because there’s a genial fun side to every farce, Sudin Dhavlikar will never be because his farcical morality rendition of asking women not to drink, to not wear bikinis on beaches; has spewed anger, outrage and hate. And even as he chose to retract his statements, realising that there was a world beyond a boxed-in mind set, it was like trying to back-peddle on a bicycle to retrieve an arrow that was fired from a quiver.
But the joke is on him and a government which tolerates him, because Goa has moved on. Yet something changed on Tuesday, July 1, 2014 which will never be retracted. What changed was the belief that politicians in Goa were different from those of others in India. Goa believed that men and women in Goa could be just what they wanted to be and lead lives they wanted, within perfectly acceptable parameters. Dhavlikar has challenged that belief.
But while his sexist remarks have hogged a lot of television and print space, he is guilty of a larger crime- insulting and degrading the idea of Goan-ness and the importance of family values that Goan culture actually has. He has insulted this culture. Goa’s culture of music, merry making and dancing that has been a part of the growing up years of so many Goans. And almost all of this happened and continues to happen within the larger confines of families and friends, where every occasion is an opportunity to rejoice.
In this milieu, restaurants, shacks and now hotels have become extensions as larger residential set ups give way to much smaller ones. For close to a century till now, no one complained of this ‘culture’, which was built on the bedrock of family togetherness and friendship. Dhavlikar will not know this but he should do now, that morality does not get diluted by a sip of wine or holding your dance partner, who very often is your own mother or sister in family functions. It is diluted by a perverse mind of people. And with due respect to the position he holds as minister, but should not be, Dhavlikar shares that same mind which looks at these things with jaundiced eyes.
The use of the word pub too has been loosely used, almost giving it the status of an establishment of lose morals where among other ills, women of less virtue ply their trade. But for most sensible people with a world view slightly larger than Dhavlikars, pubs have been community drinking establishments in pastoral England where they are focal points of the local community. In Goa, tavernas have played that role. While tourism has led to the opening of high-end watering holes including those in five star hotels, they come as part of the eco system of any bustling tourist town or state. Goans, especially on weekends partake in evenings of music, food and drink like others all over the country. While Dhavlikar has no problems with men going and drinking there, he wants to hold the women back. Has he tried selling this plot to his own daughter who has studied in the Symbiosis Institute in Pune in a healthy environment where young adults take care of their lives and are responsible for it? Other daughters can do the same, thank you very much, Mr Minister.
Goa has no place for men like Dhavlikar. He is deeply sexist when he asks women not to wear bikinis, on beaches meant for sun bathing and swimming in a civilized environment. If anyone should be banned, it is the underwear clad leering men, who leave their own women behind and desperately try and pose for photographs with foreign women as souvenirs for their ostensible manly conquests.
Meanwhile, if Dhavlikar’s lesson in morality was because he is worried about the safety of women, he need not waste time since neither he or anyone else can guarantee a woman’s safety even in the confines of her village or home. Here women get molested, stripped and beaten up by police men, forced to perform oral sex in police stations and in police vans, and get chilly powder stuffed in their genitals by brutes at home. None of these women wear bikinis when they get violated.
In doing what he has done, Dhavlikar has caused further damage. To the outside world, he may be seen as a spokesman of a new Goa mindset which is dangerous and intolerant. This will drive away tourists and investment and deal a telling blow to tourism. It is our responsibility to tell the world that he is a very severe aberration to the mindset of Goans who are proud of their culture and tradition.
The minister has to end this farce and leave Goa alone. But even then, Goa should not redeem him.
