We live in a modern society. Not all are equal in any society. Every member of the society is different from others. These differences lie in his social, political and economic status. Whether rich or poor, literate or illiterate, every individual makes efforts to achieve a higher standard of living. In his pursuit to impress others in the society he tries to ape something new, something recent and something that attracts others’ attention in his way of living. In order to achieve this he attempts to improve the standard of his living such that it matches the standard of living in the so called modern society.
In other words, his efforts are directed towards becoming a part and parcel of modern life. He hopes to be modern and he wishes that others too call him a ‘modern’ man. Thus he runs after everything that is modern – modern music, modern dance, modern theatre, modern fashions, modern gadgets, etc. etc. In short, he is obsessed with the modern lifestyles that dominate the modern society.
If we analyze our Goan society, Goans too have undergone a rapid change in this aspect in order to attain the so-called ‘modern’ status. Some have done it because they have pots of money and they have succeeded because in today’s Goan society money matters more than anything else. Even criminals and anti-social elements have achieved this status only because they are rich and wealthy. There are some who have managed to climb the ladder because they have excelled in education. There are also a few individuals who attained this status because of their excellence in their respective fields such as art, science, economy, etc. There are many individuals thus who could become a part of this category, thanks to our democratic system. People have elected them and helped them to possess political power due to which they can control and execute things the way they wish. Political influence that they yield has helped them to get admission into this class of people.
However there are poor and middle-class families in Goa who also wish to be modern. They go all out to ape the Western culture. They struggle to show that they are superior compared to others in that category. They intentionally avoid speaking in their mother tongue Konkani and opt for English. Many a time the elders in the family do not know a word of English yet they speak broken English and make it compulsory for their children too to speak in English. They go all out to wear fashionable dresses that originate in the western countries. Electronic media such as TV and Internet have helped them in this respect.
If we observe this phenomenon we come to the conclusion that the rich or poor, literate or illiterate do make concerted efforts to be a ‘modern man’ or a ‘modern woman’. Although these people have attained this superficial modernity, yet they strongly believe in their age-old traditions, customs and rituals. Old fashioned rituals among the family members of these people can be observed on the occasion of marriages, births, deaths, etc. Hence the question arises, ‘ Who is a modern man or a modern woman?’
A modern man is one who has a high sense of his own personal value. He believes that a person’s status in life depends more on his own efforts than on fate. He believes that a job with more responsibility and more opportunity to exercise control is better than a job with less responsibility. He believes scientific research is beneficial. And at times he becomes so concerned about a public issue that he wants to do something about it. In other words a modern man or woman is aware of everything that affects his/her life and the lives of people surrounding him/her.
Modern people have greater hopes of being able to control their own situations. They tend to have more ambition; they believe that preventing accidents is more a matter of care than of luck. They believe that medicine is more effective in curing the sick than only prayers. They want to take up their own jobs and marital choices instead of allowing their family to decide these matters for them. They like to meet people and to make plans; they belong to various organizations that are active in bringing change in the old mind-set of the people.
The modern person is broader in his vision and secular in his attitude. He believes in reality and not in superstitions. For example, modern man would take the advice of the government authorities instead of religious leaders. He would identify with the nation and not with the ethnic group, the religion, or the region to which he belongs. He believes in giving charity, not because of fear of God, but because of generosity.
The crop of the so called ‘modern men’ or modern women’ that is emerging in our Goan society, I am afraid, does not seem to have such a broad outlook. Until and unless we inculcate in ourselves the scientific attitude, until and unless we are aware of the problems and challenges surrounding us and until and unless we equip ourselves to face these challenges with confidence, it will be meaningless to call ourselves ‘modern’.
(Tomazinho Cardozo is a former Speaker of Goa Legislative Assembly)
