On January 16, 1967, the Goa Opinion Poll, a referendum to decide the future of the Union Territory of Goa, Daman and Diu within the Indian Union, was held. The referendum offered the people of Goa a choice between continuing as a Union Territory or merging with the state of Maharashtra. It is the only referendum to have been held in independent India. The people of Goa voted against the merger and Goa continued to be a Union Territory.
Goa on the brink of ethnic dilution: Dr Fransisco Colaco
Dr Francisco Colaço from Margao says, “Did Goa become an idyllic place we all dreamt of? Nay! Goa’s golden charms turned into a haven for sun, sand, sex, wine, drugs and even paedophiles. Goa is now for sale. Land sharks from all over, including the Russian land mafia, in collusion with those in power, forcibly evacuate small landlords and farmers from their prime lands, usurped through fraudulent deals. In the last few years, the prices of real estate have shot up beyond imagination. Children of artisans refuse to take traditional occupations. It is feared that migrants may outnumber locals by 2021. Goa is virtually standing on the brink of ‘ethnic dilution’ with unrestricted migration from other states threatening to reduce the native population to an ‘alienated microscopic minority’.”
He adds, “The irresponsible way licenses are being given to transport coal to Karnataka via Goa is an example of submission to the convenience and economic interests of giant corporates. A second airport in the extreme north of Goa is a big fraud and the damage that will be done will be irreversible. It appears that the governments are just holding on to power without the responsibility or the knowledge to make the important and crucial decision on behalf of the people of Goa. The only aim of those in power seems to be to make a fast buck through corruption, irrespective of the consequences to the people of Goa, their livelihoods, their future and their environment.”
Hurried urbanisation destroying Goa; Olencio Simoes
General Secretary of Goenchea Ramponkaracho Ekvott, Olencio Simoes, says, “After we got freedom from the Portuguese regime in 1961, the people of Goa fought to protect our identity, language, culture and land. But now, in recent years, due to government approach towards rapid urbanisation, we have seen rapid cultural, social, demographical and environmental changes in Goa. The only solution to stop this is to acquire Special Status for Goa under Article 371 like Nagaland, Assam, Manipur, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh, in order to protect our state’s unique identity and culture.”
When asked about which aspects of Goa have already been eroded and which can still be protected, Olencio says, “Today, the tourist season is on rapid decline only because Goa is losing its culture due to hurried urbanisation. The government’s aggressive approach towards rapid industrialisation has led to urbanisation, in which several people have migrated from different states and have settled in Goa, outnumbering Goans in most villages/towns. This has also led to the subsequent killing of culture, language, environment and exhausting the natural resources. The government should make migration and degradation of environment their top priority to protect our smallest ecologically fragile state of India.”
Can Goans blame others or should they blame themselves and the people they have elected for protecting the aspirations based on which people voted to prevent Goa from being merged into Maharashtra? Olencio says, “I think we have to blame ourselves as we have forgotten the sacrifices of our freedom fighters, who went to jail for more than 14 years to give us freedom from Portuguese regime and it has been just 59 years and we have lost hope in our administration. Today, we have elected politicians on basis of money and power and subsequently due to self-centred politicians, we are losing everything we have.”
What our people fought for in 1967 is not being respected – Prajal Sakhardande
Heritage activist Prof Prajal Sakhardande says, “According to me, the most pertinent and important movement in the History of Goa was the Opinion Poll. We were saved from our Goa being merged with Maharashtra, the move of the then MGP government of Goa led by Dayanand Bandodkar. It was a movement to retain our Goan identity and entity. However, today what our people fought for in 1967 is not being respected as we Goans are selling our lands to outsiders. We were fighting for Special Status since 2008 but till date we have not reached our goal.”
Sakhardande feels that eroding of the uniqueness of Goa is a culmination of various factors. “Huge influx of migrant non-Goans is flooding our beautiful state. Every non-Goan wants to make Goa his home and the elite non-Goans from Delhi and other places of our country have built bungalows on our beautiful green hills.
Goans migrating to Swindon for jobs and non Gians are finding jobs in Goa- Sakhardande
Non-Goans are outnumbering our Goans. Goans are migrating to London, Swindon and other places outside India in search of jobs, complaining there are no jobs in Goa. But the whole world seems to be finding jobs in Goa. It’s a dichotomous situation wherein the non-Goans find jobs easily in Goa but the Goans have to migrate outside in search of jobs. Our Goan identity is getting diluted and eroded. Our Konkani is dying as Goan parents nowadays speak only in English to their kids, that too incorrect English. Our natural heritage is getting desecrated and the builders, politicians and we Goans are responsible for this plight of our Mother Goa.”
Development has become rapid in Goa and the environment has to be protected- Jack Sukhija
The last word on this should go to the descendants of the father of the opinion poll Jack de Sequeira, or Jack Siker
Jack Sukhija, an active member in the heritage conservation movement in Goa, and the grandson of the Father of the opinion poll Jack de Sequeira, feels that the Opinion Poll was important for Goa for many reasons. “Goa has largely retained its identity as an independent state. There is a superior quality of life compared to what it would have as a backward taluka of Maharashtra. Goa has its own identity but in-migration and out-migration cannot be controlled. Development has become rapid in Goa and the environment has to be protected and conserved for the quality of life,” says Sukhija
Clearly the word is out. In the opinion of most Goans, they have a lot of answer for. And a lot to course correct. Today s the day we should congratulate the generation of Goans who protected Goa. At the same time we should red flag and point fingers at the next generation which probably threw away all the potential gains and need to act fast to protect whatever is left
