Kudos to Amita for her
excellent opinion piece
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Kudos to Amita Kanekar for her excellent opinion piece, ‘Finally, Hope in Gaza’ (Herald, Saturday, January 18). She is clearly honest, principled and extremely well informed – unlike some of your other writers on the Palestinian freedom struggle which is mistakenly referred to as ‘ a conflict’ by so many educated people. We Indians would feel terribly insulted if our freedom struggle was dubbed ‘a conflict’.
Amita Kanekar has not made that mistake. Hers was a brilliant article daring to touch and explore the elephant in the room, the fountainhead of the entire tragedy (which the likes of Pope Francis and Fr Warner D’Souza were at great pains to avoid mentioning in their recent Gaza statements): Israel’s amoral founding principle, Zionism – an ideology which dictates the establishment of an apartheid Jewish state over the lives, freedom and ancient homeland of an indigenous people, the Palestinians, with a continuous 5000 year connection to the land.
You cannot have an ideology which promotes the theft of another people’s land and expect it to be a peaceful process.
Therefore, unless Zionism is abandoned, there will definitely be another rebellion. Encaged people under physical, geographic and cultural extinction will try to break out from their concentration camp (as Jews themselves did in Auschwitz, Warsaw and Vilna). The rebellions will yet again end in the genocide of the captive Palestinians by an Israeli Occupation Force funded and lethally armed by the world’s economic, political and military superpowers.
This certainly wasn’t the first freedom rebellion by the Palestinians – nor the first genocidal suppression of a rebellion conducted by colonial occupier Israel.
Nazi Germany would have had instant peace had it abandoned its racial supremacist ideology: an ideology which proclaims Germans ‘Herrenvolk’ (‘Master Race’); and Jews, Slavs and gypsies the Untermensch (Sub human) and all of Europe its Lebensraum (living space).
Likewise, if it’s true peace the world is after, it must stop arming and funding Israel’s racist ‘We-are-the-Chosen People-and-Palestine-is-our-Promised Land’ programme.
Sadly, India’s Tata and Adani companies have been supplying arms that enabled Israel’s Gaza genocide.
On June 6, in the aftermath of Israel’s bombing of a United Nations shelter at the Nuseirat refugee camp in Gaza, the Quds News Network released a video of the remains of a missile dropped by Israeli warplanes.
Amid the tangled parts, a label clearly read: “Made in India.”
It’s supremely tragic that a nation that has felt the yoke of colonisation has armed a settler-coloniser in its genocide against an occupied people.
David Albuquerque,
Queensland, Australia
Bainguinim should not
become Sonsoddo
After several setbacks, the state government is reportedly gearing up to issue a fresh tender for the fifth time for the much anticipated Solid Waste Treatment plant at Bainguinim. It may be recalled that the Goa Waste Management Corporation (GWMC) initially floated a tender in 2019 for a solid waste treatment plant at Bainguinim.
However, due to various challenges, the process lapsed. The facility was proposed to cater for Tiswadi and the neighbouring taluka of Ponda which have seen rapid urbanization and development. There are residential complexes, a hospital and schools near the site. A political slugfest has erupted over the proposed waste treatment plant between BJP MLA from Cumbarjua Rajesh Faldessai and the Minister for Waste Management. The proposed site for the waste treatment plant is not very far from the UNESCO World Heritage site at Old Goa. There are several churches at Old Goa which have historical and spiritual importance. It is an important tourist attraction for lakhs of tourists visiting Goa. A garbage treatment plant in close proximity will raise a lot of issues. The putrid smell emitting from the garbage treatment plant will fill the air. There could be fire incidents just as in the case of Sonsoddo. Bainguinim should not be the place to treat garbage generated in Panaji and the surrounding areas. It would be prudent for each constituency to have its own waste treatment facility. Bainguinim should not be converted to another Sonsoddo.
Adelmo Fernandes, Vasco
Indian Footballer’s
reel record
It is really exciting and delightful to know that the Instagram reel of an Indian youngster has found a place in the Guiness book of World Records, for the most-viewed Instagram reel, surpassing a staggering 554 million views and the number increasing day by day. In the reel, we see Muhammad Rizwan, a talented freestyle football player from Kerala, kicking a football with precision from a distance, sending it soaring behind a waterfall’s rocks, where he and his friends had gone for a visit . The incredible kick and the astounding moment left even him visibly astonished. The clip though seemingly simple yet an awe-inspiring stunt became popular instantly.
Football lovers and casual viewers alike around the globe have praised the video’s creativity and simplicity.
M Pradyu, Kannur
Crime rate
soars in Goa
In the past year, 2024, South Goa witnessed a significant rise in murder cases compared to 2023. In 2023, only 9 murder cases were recorded in South Goa, whereas this number increased to 13 in 2024. According to police statistics, most of these crimes occurred in the Salcete taluka, where the growing number of non-Goan migrants is cited as the main reason. In 2024, South Goa recorded 10 cases of attempted murder, which was the same number as in 2023. However, in 2022, this number was only 7. The analysis of various crimes indicates that the increase in criminal activities in Salcete is primarily due to migrant workers from states like Karnataka, West Bengal, Odisha, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Maharashtra. Among these, 70% of the workers live alone, and crimes often result from disputes under the influence of alcohol. It is evident that the lack of moral and ethical education is a key factor in the rise of crimes, corruption, and atrocities. To curb crime rates, efforts must focus on providing moral education to the public and ensuring prompt enforcement of strict punishments. Such measures could lead to a noticeable decline in criminal activities.
Sagar Shirodkar, by email
