04 Dec 2022  |   07:03am IST

Everyone, including MLAs and Ministers, has to be an activist for the sake of future children of Goa

People have the first right to use the democratic instrument of protest to make themselves heard, and the government must work and be with the people to understand that voice and jointly do good for their land
Everyone, including MLAs and Ministers, has to be an activist for the sake of future children of Goa

This is in continuation with our earlier exchange of thoughts and views with our readers on why the system is so weakened to allow the merchants of greed who control the system to take over leaving simple hardworking citizens empty, cheated and suffering.

But in spite of this, the situation also offers hope, for people’s action by respecting the law and using rights available to the common man.

Everyone has to be an activist for the future of the children of Goa, including MLAs and Ministers

 From Goa being used as a coal transportation conduit affecting the health, well-being, and longevity of people,  to illegal mining transportation, to double tracking through the Mollem forests, to rampant hill cutting in Anjuna, to the  felling of cashew trees on the Mopa link road, to illegal sand mining, to the destruction of fields due to the western bypass, to the dumping of sewage in our rivers and fields,  to all night trance parties, to smuggling, importing and exporting of drugs, to the grabbing of the land of ancestors of Goans,  to even rash drunk driving killing people and above all, to rampant corruption eating in the vials of institutions and so on, are all worth fighting against.

It is the responsibility of every Goan to try all possible means including reserving the right to protest on the streets democratically under the parameters of the law;  to show public dissent on each of these and so many other issues.

But this is not about people vs government. It is about everyone vs forces that destroy Goa

While people and several activists, lawyers, and NGOs have done a commendable job, often litigating with their own funds, this is a fight for everyone who loves Goa including Ministers, former ministers, and present and former MLAs, members and heads of local bodies, institutions, and the police. The criteria are not whether you are elected or selected, highly educated or not, whether you work in the government or in private, or are a professional. The criteria are simple. Whether the one who fights for Goa; does so to protect the future of Goa and preserves the uniqueness of this land for the sake of the future of their children.

Yes, the saying goes that they are sons of the soil and hence must be custodians of the soil. But there is something that one needs to say here. Haven’t some sons of the soil let their land down?  The core culprits of  Goa’s land grab cases are a gang of unscrupulous Goans aided and abetted by revenue officials, some mamlatdars, and registrars according to complaints and FIRs in several cases being investigated by the Special Investigation Team. 

Many sons of the soil are allegedly involved in several corruption cases. The scourge trance parties with sleep-killing music beyond 10 pm in residential villages of North Goa would not have been possible without help from sons of the soil.

The distinction therefore must be between those who want to protect Goa and those who don’t. And everyone has to stand up for Goa.

The Judiciary and Media cannot be lighthouses and sentinels on their own

A responsible media that is the voice of the people, and a robust judiciary have ensured that systematic failures and weaknesses are covered by strong awareness creation, reportage, and timely and decisive judicial intervention. This was evident as the High Court came down heavily on noise pollution and directed the police and Revenue officials to ensure that no music is played outdoors at any venue after 10 pm.

Many of the judicial actions that have taken place against the greed of a few with the backing of the greed of more than a few in the system, due to grassroots activists of whom Claude Alvares of Goa Foundation, Abhijit Prabhudesai of Rainbow Warriors, the GBA, earlier the Village Groups, the Save Mollem Campaign group, the Goencho Ekvott, a coalition of umbrella organisations which have fought against or supported the agitation against Double tracking projects, the Western bypass through the fields  of Benaulim, the pollution of the River Sal, etc.

The list is endless, and won't still be complete. Anthony da Silva and Tahir Noronha and others fighting for the demolition of the illegal palatial villa in the heritage precinct of Old Goa. Hanumant Parab fighting to protect the fields of Sattari and Bicholim from mining dust (and getting thrashed by the Valpoi n police in doing so, according to his several complaints that have not been taken heed of) , the anti-sand mining activists in Pernem taluka and parts of upper North Goa like Uguem Gram Sangharsh Samiti convenor Vinayak Mahale and those like Luelle Fernandes and Frankey Rodrigues of Curtorim, Macazana, Guirdolim, Chandor and Curchorem. By no means is this list exhaustive or even representative of all sections fighting their own battles in towns and villages. But they represent the true spirit of people's power.

Behind them are big teams, some a part of their organisations, but many and much more outside. But the moment this becomes only their battle, the battle is lost. The fight for Goa must evoke and give birth to a crusader in every home, who does not oppose for the sake of opposing but is a true sentinel of the Goa they all love.

Up against forces that feel that people's will be suppressed and crushed, the collective force of people’s action within the constitution and the law must be seen and felt. These people respect the law and its institutions, they knock on the doors of the judiciary, but they also need to send this message that the courtroom and the street are equal platforms of democracy, using the constitution to amplify their voice and their strength, in the actual public interest and for a cause greater than their own.  


IDhar UDHAR

Idhar Udhar