On Monday, August 5, J&K were stripped off its status as a State by the Modi government
by doing away with the special status the state enjoyed under Article 370,
scrapping Article 35A and splitting the sensitive border state into two Union
Territories of J&K and Ladakh.
Goa on the other hand, has had its tryst
with being a Union Territory , which became a state in 1987. Unlike what
happened in Kashmir, when statehood was snatched away from them, Goa was
rewarded, a result of persistent efforts of its people with statehood
When Goa was declared a state, the news was rejoiced throughout
Goa. With high aims and great plans for the future, the government had to take
leads in various sections for development. Over the last three decades, has Goa
done enough to reap the benefits of statehood. Has it managed itself, taking
decisions for its people, taking advantage of the powers of statehood it had,
the most important being the power to control the destinies of its people by
taking decisions in their favour.
“We are a long way of 32 years of statehood but from people’s
point of view I don’t think there is much tangible progress. I don’t find much
evidence in the first two decades post liberation. The real demand for
statehood began in the 1980s when you see the then ruling Congress taking up
the matter with the central leadership demanding Statehood. The overt
dependence on the centre got reduced. Goa got more empowered from the political
perspective,” says Dr Cajetan Raposo, Department of Political Science of St
Xavier’s College Mapusa, whose PhD thesis topic was Goa’s Comunidades.
Prajal Sakhardande, a History professor at Dhempe College of
Arts and Science, Miramar has an entire chapter to the history of statehood in
his book, ‘Goa Gold, Goa Silver Her History Her Heritage - from Earliest Times
to 2019’ which was conferred on Goa by Rajiv Gandhi on May 30, 1987. “It was a
Golden day in Goa’s History. However, it saddens me to see the desecration of
Goa’s pristine natural heritage in the name of the so called development. We
should promote heritage tourism in Goa in a big way to showcase Goa
internationally as a land rich in cultural and historical heritage,” says
Prajal.
He further explains how Goa functioned as a state, “Goa had to
generate her own revenue and not depend on the centre for financial assistance.
The 30 member assembly shot up to 40 and Daman and Diu were separated from Goa.
The designation of the Lieutenant Governor was changed to Governor and Goa
attained an identity and entity with Konkani becoming the 25th state of our
Indian union. It was a constant struggle from 1961 to attain Statehood as
leaders such as Purushottam Kakodkar, Babu Naik and Dr Jack de Sequeira were
demanding it.
MLA Raghuvir Pankar moved a resolution to that effect during the
tenure of the Shashikala Kakodkar Government. Shashikala Kakodkar sent a
proposal to Delhi seeking Statehood for Goa. Dr Jack de Sequeira demanded
Statehood for Goa and during the tenure of MPs Shantaram Naik and Edurado
Faleiro, we attained Statehood following the Konkani movement led by Konkani
Porjecho Avaz.”
A doctor by profession and an activist right from his young
days, Dr Francisco Colaco from Margao has been following the formation of the
state very closely. “When Goa was a Union Territory there was a much more rush
to Delhi for every decision. We thought by gaining statehood we would be able
to handle the planning, decisions and future of our small state. Unfortunately,
all ambitions proved to be paradoxical. Now we have 40 people wanting their pie
and ruling in an unruly manner. They knew what Goa needed but they started
plotting in such a manner that there was nothing good for Goa”
Dr Colaco said that Statehood opened the doors for big
businesses and huge imports. The coast was destroyed and urban cities have
turned into concrete jungles which is unproductive for everyone. Goa was
totally destroyed contrary to its mandate for Statehood. “This is a mockery of
the voter who is become a mute spectator in the shenanigans of the politicians.
We are also accomplices in this matter because we are selling our properties
for high prices. It’s been chaos,” he adds, emphatically.
Padmashri Suresh Amonkar is a celebrated Konkani writer who has
translated several classics into Konkani language. Dr Suresh has lived through
the Liberation of Goa, the Opinion Poll and the Statehood of Goa. “After a
marathon struggle, the 450 years of Portuguese colonization was brought to an
end on December 19, 1961. Goa was declared a Union Territory and Late
Jawaharlal Nehru in his speech in the Lok Sabha on March 14, 1962 gave
assurance to Goans that the Central Government would maintain Goa’s separate identity
and separate individuality and Goans themselves can decide their future in the
union of states. He also said the Konkani would be recognised as a language of
India. However, politicians in Maharashtra aided by a few Goan politicians
wanted to be merged with Maharashtra. After a long struggle, the first Opinion
Poll was held in India on January 16, 1967 and Goans decided against the
merger. Statehood for Goa was declared on May 30, 1987 and soon Konkani
language was included in the 8th Schedule in 1992,” says Dr Amonkar.
He further adds, “When Goa was a Union Territory, there was no
problem of getting funds from the Central Government and sometimes funds were
even returned unutilized. No political parties were inclined to form Statehood
and but once it was a state, Goans by large had to raise funds to run the
government. We failed to get special status from the government of India.
Mining and tourism were the main sources of income as agriculture was been
given up by Goans due to high cost of labour. Supreme Court has already banned
mining in Goa and our successive governments will have to raise income through
tourism.”
Has the well fought struggle for statehood been effectively used
for its people? “The general tendency of the current government is to change
the policy of the previous governments. All political parties should get
together and plan a sustained and well thought out economic policy to make the
state economically viable,” says Dr Amonkar.
While Goa is basking in the glory as the 25th State of India, there is still a lot more to achieve in every section of the society. We are masters of our own destiny but have we created a great destiny for our land and its people? This will remain a haunting questing question.