Indians know their culture
Our Chief Minister was heard talking about tradition, culture, sanskriti. However, there are several issues like when our Goan lands are grabbed by the goons, rise in robberies, and the rising issues of the tenants which are not verified needs to be addressed. When these issues are solved and the religious conflicts are completely dissolved. We are Indians and tradition, culture and sanskriti is in our blood we do not want anyone to teach us how to preserve these. I am a proud Indian and proud to be a part of the culture, tradition and sanskriti. First let’s save our beautiful Goa from turning into a concrete jungle and solve the important issues which our Goan brothers and sisters are facing and this is how we will be able to preserve our tradition, culture and sanskriti.
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Anita Fernandes, Verna
SIT on land grabbing
I have read in the newspaper that the Under Secretary (Home) constituted a SIT to investigate into various complaints FIR regarding illegal land transferred , land grabbing by way of forged documents to protect land of Goa from the looters and plunderers but unless the lawmakers, legislatures amend the Goa Succession, Special Notaries and Inventory Proceedings Act, 2012 or the Mamlatdar’s are directed by the Revenue Secretary, Government of Goa not to rely on inventory court orders to delete the existing names in the occupants column of Form I & XIV there always will be the next generation lawmakers i.e. legislatures to continue the loot by keeping their guns on the shoulder of their predecessors legislatures to shoot the investors or developers creating a fear psychosis while the land of the Goan ancestors especially of the OCI’s /PIO’s shall continue to be looted with impunity. The SIT will have little or no role at all to disregard a registered sale, gift, succession deed or orders passed in Inventory Proceedings under the Goa Succession, Special Notaries and Inventory Proceedings Act, 2012
Antonio Jose D’Souza, by email
Playing with fire
The Agnipath scheme supposed to make the Indian army future combat ready and capable of the full spectrum of conflict is fraught with danger. One of the causes for the armed insurrection in 1980s Punjab was on account of the fact that a very large number of young militarily trained persons (Jawans then retired at 35 years of age) with little else to keep themselves occupied were lured to use arms against the state. The age of retirement was subsequently raised and avenues opened for them to be gainfully employed. If young militarily trained conscripts are released after four years of service, apart from it’s impact on the morale of the standing army personnel, it could create a huge threat to law and order especially when there are not enough jobs to absorb them. Also consider the colossal waste of money on training these youngsters in highly sophisticated war craft. This scheme was earlier labelled as ‘tour of duty’ but subsequently junked as the costs far outweighed the benefits. I suspect that it has been reactivated with an eye on the 2024 elections (remember our PM had promised 20 million jobs every year not long back). Imagine the amount of frustration those released after four years of government service would feel; most of them would go back to joining the ranks of the unemployed as only 25 per cent of the recruits would be reabsorbed in regular service subject to stiff conditions and need. The consequent damage to society they would be capable of on account of this harebrained plan is unimaginable. Most might line up to join militant outfits as mercenaries or soldiers of fortune across the world, while some would be manipulated by politicians for their own nefarious ends ; the lucky ones would find themselves picked up as low paid security guards, admin personnel by manpower suppliers. There is an urgent need to rethink this path of fire lest it singes our country already engulfed in the flames of hate and bigotry.
Vinay Dwivedi, Benaulim
Racing down the rabbit hole
The overarching leitmotif of the Indian government’s response to global criticism of it is worsening religious (non) freedom and human rights (wrongs actually) record with respect to the minorities is whataboutry and hyper-nationalism which believes that the nation is the ultimate moral high ground and there is nothing beyond the nation which is being increasingly conflated with the ruling dispensation and the Prime Minister. The official response to the US statement on India’s egregious religious record and the widespread social condemnation of hate speech by Muslim majority nations are recent examples of the dominant phenomenon. The first one counters trenchant criticism by pointing out America’s human rights record, the second one asserts that no other nation can criticise India least of all non democratic Muslim countries. The MEA gleefully harped on the gun violence Stateside but this is absurd false equivalence; one’s wrongs cannot be justified by other’s wrongs. India has been subject to widespread international condemnation in the last eight years due to majoritarian hate crimes and speeches inspired by the saffron ideology; aided and abetted by the rulers and state complicity in the excesses. Muscular nationalism has pushed us so far down the rabbit hole that we have reached a point of no return, it is a race to the bottom, a one way ticket to oblivion. Cry my beloved country.
Rekha Sarin, Benaulim
Borewell rescue
The National Disaster Response Force Battalion and the Indian Army have done a fabulous job, rescuing an 11-year-old, differently-abled boy from a 70-ft deep borewell. The marathon rescue operation lasted over 100 hours and involved over 500 personnel. Last Friday afternoon, Rahul had fallen into an unused borewell in the back of his house while playing in Pihrid village of Janjgir-Champa district of Chhattisgarh. He endured five days of ordeal before being pulled out alive and rushed to the hospital. We must commend the rescue team for a job well done in what was undoubtedly one of the most challenging rescue operations.
NJ Ravi Chander, Bengaluru
Sane advice by Delhi HC
This has reference to the report ‘Those in power must act responsibly: Delhi High Court’ (Herald 16 June 2022).
Sane advice that, coming from the Delhi High Court – those in power must act responsibly. What’s new, as a matter of fact, our elected representatives especially those in the government carry a huge responsibility and they are expected to act responsibly. But, the stark reality is that, when our politicians come into power, they forget who have elected them and for what they have been elected to Parliament or state Assemblies. They forget that they are in fact, servants of the people not the rulers and that they are supposed to serve the people not their own selfish interests.
Talking of hate speeches, well, they seem to have mastered the art of inciting the people; ‘gift of the gab’! They seem to prosper by dividing the people on the basis of caste, religion, language etc. Justice Chandra Dhari Singh rightly states, ‘hate speeches given by elected representatives, political and religious leaders especially on the basis of religion, region, caste or ethnicity is against the concept of brotherhood’.
At the end of the day, all leaders need to understand their responsibility. Wishful thinking? Our very unity is at stake!
Melville X D’Souza, Mumbai
