Is Goa lost to populist nationalism?

For several older generation Goans, the recent political development in J&K may have brought back memories of the 1961 military conquest of Goa by the Indian Army. For some others, the threat of a ‘Merger’ into Maharashtra came alive. Probably, the tantalising promises of security and development, sold by the Indian State to Goans, at that time were not much different from what is presently being guaranteed to the people of J&K. From the bitter political experiences of Goans over the years, it can be seen that the devil lies hidden in the fine print of such solemn declarations made by the Union Government to the people of J&K. This is why the most talked about benefit for Hindutva nationalists after the abrogation of Article 370 revolves around the opportunity to buy land in J&K and marry fair Kashmiri women without her losing the property rights. It is this same warped mentality with which several Indians look at Goa and Goans. The manner in which political decisions were taken on J&K, all in a matter of minutes and no consultations, must worry every citizen concerned about the survival of democracy in this country. The aggressive propaganda about ending the Pakistani misadventure, defeating terrorism and developing J&K, to justify such an undemocratic and hasty political decision is symptomatic of populist nationalism. For any reasoning citizen it is not difficult to understand and realise that the abrogation of Article 370 has more to do with the Muslim domination of politics in Kashmir, which was mentally unbearable for the Hindutva bigots, than the terrorism in the region. 

Nowadays, every sectarian adventure of the government finds some sort of innocent justification. Behind several of the controversial legislations and government policies, there is always an excuse about some compulsion to defeat a fictitious monster which is suffocating Bharat. All undemocratic operations, whether it is the curtailment of civil liberties and failures in administration to the deviations from the Constitutional statutes, get preceded with fake news about a ‘tukde-tukde’ conspiracy. 

 This storyline of Hindutva victimhood can vary from staged terrorist attacks to fudged statistical data, in order to reinforce the post-truth. It’s important to understand these political developments in the context of Goa and Goans’ future.

The assault on J&K has not happened overnight. The fertile ground for the betrayal of the J&K people has been shaped gradually. Hostilities between various local political players in the State and the unholy and opportunistic alliance forged by the PDP with the BJP, in order to keep out the National Conference, contributed to the success of such a covetous design. The irony is that ultimately leaders of both the local competing political parties, the PDP and NC, now find themselves under house arrest while the right-wing forces roam freely on the streets. This political development in J&K sets a precedent for a populist nationalist regime to split any State, or reduce it to a Union territory, simply by citing the excuse of national security and development. Given the prevailing culture in Parliament, it will hardly take any time to interfere with the rights to freedom of speech and equality.

Goa’s politics is also victim to a similar carnival of opportunistic compromises and unholy alliances. The politics for hate, comprising the 4 Ms namely Majoritarianism-Merger-Marathi-Migrant, has also been effectively exploited in Goa. This is why the sentiments of Goans on the abrogation of Article 370 appear to be as much polarised on religious lines as during the Opinion Poll of 1968. This strategy of arousing a feeling of Hindutva victimhood by citing the excuse of minority appeasement by Congress, which has been employed in J&K and Goa, is currently also being implanted in West Bengal. 

There exists a parallel when it comes to the plight of the 68% Muslims in J&K and the 25% Christians in Goa. The Kashmiri Muslims have been demonised for several decades, while the Hindus in J&K get projected as innocent victims. However much the Kashmiri Muslims sacrifice to stand with the Indian Union, they are humiliated as being Pakistani sympathisers and separatists. Such a pattern is also observed in Goa. In spite of the Christian community contributing its 100% in defending the separate identity of Goa and its environment since 1961, it constantly gets taunted as being pro-Portuguese and anti-national no sooner it raises any political or social issue. It becomes nationalist or anti-national depending on the whims of the majority.

The tragedy of this 84% literate State of Goa is that its people easily get foxed by populist politics, because they never learnt to ask the right questions at the right time. The Goans, particularly the minorities and marginalised, can be expected to continue repeating the past blunders by remaining in denial and ignorant of history. With parivartan, acche din, special status and goemkarponn having exhausted their shelf life, the latest populist lollipop of a State anthem in Konkani and the migrant bashing has already sent a section of Goans in a tizzy. The warriors, revolutionaries and the rest from the noisy Goan brigade, who wave the flag of ‘Special Status’ and ‘80% jobs’, are mysteriously silent over the abrogation of Article 370 and suspension of civil liberties in J&K. Is it not relevant for Goans to know the political leanings of these champions of ‘Goa Bachao’ and ‘goemkarponn’, when it comes to civil rights and liberties in J&K?

(The author is a social activist)