FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2024
Elwyn Decruz
Seventy-five years on, June 18, 1946, the day Dr Julião Menezes and Dr Ram Mohan Lohia “plotted and planned” for the Liberation of Goa. But have we won the Battle for Freedom to live life the way we want? Instead we have settled into a sense of denial that keeps us in suspension, after 61 years of independence, or “freedom” if you will, the fight has not yet been won. Given the present situation, we have surreptitiously surrendered to forces that are controlled by the most undesirable “qualities” of human nature, Greed and Ignorance, two disastrous demons that rule the Ministry of Misery. Entire nations are now stifled under the yoke of their most heinous offspring, a phenomenon that has been created by humans, an evil we are all so familiar with and viciously effected by, a carcinogenic creature called Corruption.
The question then, today, June 18, 2021, are we Victors or Victims. We are all so aware of the answer. It is a sacred and our foremost duty to come out as victors and redeem the sacrifice of those heroes, many with their lives, to ensure that the quality of life and the liberties that freedom promises, are deeply entrenched in the moral attitudes and the cherished character of the Goan way of living.
If we take an inventory of what has been lost, of what has been denied and stolen from the citizens of the State in the last 60 years, it would turn out to be a narrative of both, a commendable success and a tale of unforgivable and unnecessary suffering. To begin with, not many places on Earth have been endowed with such an abundance of beauty and natural resources as Goa. Our foremost occupation as humans is the struggle for survival, but here it is arguably among the most comfortable endeavors as compared to other parts of the planet. Unfortunately, we are at par with other societies around the globe in performing acts of abuse and utter destruction of the wondrous gifts that nature has prepared for us over hundreds of millions of years before our arrival. The guilt of our gross negligence, the absence of gratitude and atonement, our immeasurable and insatiable greed, stands glaring at us each time a Gargantuous act of nature confronts us with a warning of impending “retaliation”. Mankind is an integral part of Nature, albeit with a “free will” bundled into our psyche, but it is an irrevocable demand that we live and act according to the rules of Mother Nature, Laws of the Universe prescribed at the moment of Creation, and “cast in stone”. Creation is perfect of itself; nothing is really good or bad, it’s the consequence of our actions that actually matter. We are left with just one choice, to follow the “yellow brick road”.
To select the proper path for an all-round Human Success Story, we need to bring forward what’s best in the current state of our society. On the one hand, we have all the “mallum” and means to solve any and every problem that faces mankind today. Human beings have never before been in this situation with such an unassailable degree of technological prowess supported by a high degree of physiological and cerebral advancement. What we cannot do, that’s OK, but what we can do, we absolutely must. If not, it spells total disaster!
The time to startup and start over has long gone, procrastination is not an option, so is staring quizzically at the situation that now exists with a foggy view of what must be done. This is a critical moment when we must assess the state of affairs, its time now to evaluate, calculate and follow up with positive and precise, willful and wise and aggressive action.
We don’t know who as yet, but there is a person out there, maybe a man or a woman, who needs to step forward, step up, and take the lead. And perhaps that individual doesn’t as yet know that it’s him, or her. However, the luxury of waiting has expired, we need to know now: Who and where are you?
That when done, will be followed by the Leader selecting a Team of equally promising citizens. A Team whose Trust and Will and Wisdom should be all encompassing and beyond reproach. Rebuilding will start here, there are hundreds of thousands of young soldiers just waiting, citizens of high caliber and courage, to carry the battle to its logical conclusion.
Great sacrifices may lie ahead, but just an idea of the endless rewards this heroic endeavor will bring, is enough to uproot the most complacent Armchair Activists (“amche” activist), from their reverie of conjuring a better life for everyone, and prompt them to act. After all, Action is the Hallmark of an Activist! All that has been missing, all that has been denied to the people over the last six decades can be retrieved from the dustbins of the corrupt and heartless creatures. Human and Financial resources are in abundance if only the leaks in the Treasury tanks are plugged.
The very challenge of the task is so enticing.
Farms and Forests are waiting to bloom and deliver their fortunes for everyone to share.
The shores, the beaches, the lakes, the waterways and the rivers are looking up to us for rescue and revival.
The unique and exquisite flora and fauna, the rarest of species of frogs and birds and insects and reptiles and vertebrates that inhabit the planet’s most beautiful habitats are ceaselessly and pitifully crying for our appreciation and protection.
And most of all, People. What every society needs: Good health, education, fresh air, clean water, electricity, safe and efficient transportation, better engineered roads, high performing electronic communication infrastructure. This is only part of the story, curtailed by the space allotted.
We all know what has to be done, we can do it all, so let’s.
(The author is now a permanent resident of Goa after many years of living in Mumbai, New York and London)
