Ever since liberation from the Portuguese rule, the world is keenly watching Goa as to how she has integrated herself with India. On the eve of 19th of December 63 years ago, the Indian Army marched into Goa to liberate the Goan territories from colonial rule. This intervention by the Indian government was made possible by the freedom loving people of Goa and her leaders who for decades battled against the oppressive rule of the colonizers.
The freedom fighters who led the struggle for freedom from Portuguese rule did so with a twofold vision. When the Indian army marched into Goa, they were welcomed by the populace in the hope that together with freedom the citizenry of Goa would see development with equity in their tiny state. Today we are all witness to the fact that the fulsome promises made by the Indian government in the year 1961 to the United Nations (UN) that the Goans alone will decide their destiny and that India would faithfully preserve the “identity of Goa” have been totally reneged.
Hundreds of thousands of Goans irrespective of caste, creed and religion have today secured passports of Goa’s colonizers i.e. Portugal. Thousands more are still trying to secure the same so as to ensure a brighter future for themselves and their families. Goans in hordes have moved out of Goa and continue to do so. With this uncontrolled migration of Goans and the heavy influx of outsiders from other states, we have in recent times become strangers in our own land. What is all this pointing too? It’s only a matter of time when Goa will have a Chief Minister hailing from another state. The same has already been witnessed in the elections to the local governing bodies in the state. At the time of liberation many a distinguished Goan was part of the Goan administration and bureaucracy. Soon after liberation, there seems to have been a systemic displacement of Goan officers led by the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and Indian Police Service (IPS) heading Goa’s bureaucracy.
Prior to liberation, vast tracts of land and individual homes were owned by the ‘sons and daughters of the soil’. Over the years, Goans have chosen to divest their ancestral properties and sell them to the highest bidders. This invariably means that big money has entered the real estate resulting in dispossession and alienation of Goans from their ancestral land. Powerful political influence and support has rendered the entire Goan landscape bereft of ‘Goan identity’.
Succeeding governments that ruled Goa have ensured that the working people live a precarious existence. In the present scenario, the working class is saddled with insecure working conditions, low wages and constant threat of victimization and union busting. Contract labour has become the order of the day with contractors providing cheap labour to almost all industries.
Some of the leading labour supply contractors who supply contract labour on a regular basis for various manufacturing hubs and industrial estates, factories, hospitality and service centers have enriched themselves at the cost of the workers who are paid starvation wages by them in collusion with the principal employers. Day after day, managements have been systematically dispossessing permanent workers from their muster-rolls in order to make way for casual, temporary daily age, contract, apprentice and fixed term contract (FTC) workers.
With a view to minimize on labour costs and excel in being competitive, the government in turn has been a hand-maiden to the employer-class giving them huge lands in the industrial estates to set-up their industries. Regular supply of water and electricity with infrastructure has been assured to them.
In order to ensure that workers are domesticated and kept on a tight leash, the government has placed at the disposal of every industrial estate a full fledged police station and promulgated laws such as ESMA in order to suppress workers and curb their protests and strikes. The Goa Human Resource Development Corporation (GHRDC), a government of Goa undertaking has institutionalized the employment of contract labour. Workers are paid a measly amount ranging from Rs 14,500 to Rs 20,000 per month. In terms of volume, this is Goa’s biggest labour contractor. This is in total violation of the law of the land and violates the spirit of the Contract Labour and Abolition Regulation Act, 1970. Shamefully since the last 18 years, the Goa State Contract Board has not been constituted and has been made dysfunctional by the state labour ministry.
63 years after Goa’s liberation, we find several glaring fault lines in the manner in which the livelihoods of various communities in Goa have been affected. Take a look at what has happened to our agriculture and horticulture? Conversion of land continues unabated under every minister who heads the ministry. What about our fisheries, traditional occupations and commercial crops? What has become of our rivers and water bodies? Look at the poor state of our roads and the quality of public transport. What about the quality of education imparted? Why are most Goans enrolling their wards in private or international schools?
The enrollment in government run schools many of which are in a dilapidated condition is disgraceful. What about our dying industries and the state of unemployment within the rank and file of the sons of the soil.
What has remained for us to celebrate in our liberation? In the absence of a credible opposition, successive governments and vested interests have converted Goa into a capital of vices. The ‘Casinoisation’ of river Mandovi and the ubiquitous culture of drugs, alcohol, prostitution, gambling, electronic dance festivals, rave parties, noise and coal pollution have transformed Goa shorn of character and values!
A haven for those who own the bucks and a hell for peace-loving and law abiding people in the state. Corruption has invaded every nook and corner of Goa. The cash for job scam is only the tip of the iceberg. Large tracts of land have been sold by the government of Goa for Rs 50 paisa a square meter to industrialists in the hope of employment for Goan youth. The same today has been converted into real estate. MPT has been privatized for all practical purposes and made into a coal hub despite the strong opposition by the locals.
Liberation Day is an opportunity for all of us to take stock of yesterday, today and tomorrow. A time to reflect on our past, assess the present and plan for the future. At present, Goa is facing many challenges that call for united efforts by all Goans, particularly the youth. Communal harmony that Goa is known for is clearly under threat. Thousands of our youth are migrating to “greener pastures” clutching their Portuguese passports. The demographic change as a consequence is a major cause of concern. What is it that stimulates the young Goenkar to migrate? What do we need to do to create identical or better opportunities here itself? Consequent large scale in-migration could imperil the hospitable nature of our people. Resumption of environmentally and legally sustainable mining is the need of the hour. Goa is at the cross-roads, her future is in our hands, to make or to mar our future.
What Portuguese could not destroy in 450 years of colonization, Goans have been able to do in 6 decades of freedom and liberation from colonial rule by integrating with India.
(The writer is a social scientist and a Sr. practicing criminal lawyer)