A fortnight ago there was a report that the forest fires in the Northern State of Uttarakhand could have a devastating effect on the glaciers in the area, and this could affect a wider area of northern India as the glaciers are the lifeline of some of the major rivers that flow in this area. That’s a physical catastrophe whose effect can be gauged, quantified and even remedial measure proposed, but the same cannot be done with the political crisis in the same State. The fires have been doused, but the political crisis continues. Similarly, the effect of the fires that are burning in our tiny State, can neither be gauged nor quantified, simply because the fires are not tangible and visible flames, but of a political bearing that can be felt but not seen. The scars that all the players of the Goan political vaudeville have been leaving on the land remain unseen but they do exist, not just on the surface, but even gouged deep into the red soil of Goa.
The State hits the national headlines at frequent intervals but almost always for the wrong reasons. Right now the State is in the news because of the rape and human trafficking allegations and case filed against a sitting MLA. One day last week anybody watching any national television channel would see the headline crawl on their TV screens saying – ‘Goa MLA held for raping minor’ – a reminder of the news that was on the newspapers that morning. Not too many months ago it was the JICA bribery case and involvement of local politicians that had taken Goa to the national headlines and before that was when another MLA whose conviction and sentence had been upheld by the Supreme Court had gone into hiding. All these instance have occurred in a period of just the past 12 months, not 12 years, and between all these instances FC Goa reached the finals of the ISL and lost, leading to a fracas on the field, and has now been fined Rs 11 crore and has had other strictures passed against it.
Where has the good news been in the past year? Was it just an entry of a Konkani film in the shortlist of films for an Academy Award? If that was it, then it was taken up only by the media at home, not beyond the boundaries of the State. For another brief period, Goa cheered when a person of Goan origin, Antonio Costa, was appointed as Prime Minister of Portugal.
If bad news comes at frequent intervals, good news for Goa has been coming at very infrequent intervals, and the football team that united all of Goa behind it was the one spark of cheer that came in the past few months. Unfortunately, that too has now ended in a pall of gloom and outrage as the team has been fined an unreasonable amount. Goa needs some good news, it needs something to cheer about, something that all Goans can collectively take pride in. And for a brief moment, FC Goa had provided this. It had mirrored the hopes and aspirations of the smallest State of India as it hungered for something to feel good about. But it was short lived and ended last week in a nightmare of sorts.
There is the season of autumn, the period when the trees shed their leaves and days get shorter and nights longer and the world turns into shades of grey. There is no autumn in Goa, but the general mood this summer in the State is almost complementary of autumn – despondent and grey. There is a dire need for something that will improve the mood in the State and though it may not come immediately, the fact that Goa is just months away from an election to bring in a new government, one thing that could change the mood in the State is getting in politicians who will make a positive impact on the State, not just in policy matters, but also through their personal deeds.
Over the past months there have been calls that have gone out to change politics in the State. Parties, aware of these demands from the people, have promised new faces and young ones, but somehow though at every election there have been new faces elected, governance has not seen any positive change. The taint that politicians in Goa have lent the State cannot be easily erased and so will not vanish soon. Right from the 1990s till date – a period lasting over two and a half decades – politics in Goa has been the bane of the State. It started with defections and frequent changes in government, and then as stability came in, there have been allegations of corruption and other charges and an onslaught on the environment. As Goa rushes towards another election, the feel good factor is sorely missing. No doubt the feel good factor will be slow in coming, but the efforts to bring it back need to start now.
The feel good factor in Goa cannot be restricted merely to an economic or financial sense. The shutdown in mining operations has already played a role there, and politics is contributing to the general lack of a well being among the people. The protests across Goa, whether on MoI or the coconut tree amendment, the PILs and cases filed in court, are all indications that the residents of this State – the aam aadmi – are far from satisfied with the manner in which the State is being governed or by the shenanigans of its politicians. There is a change needed and this perhaps can only come by way of the ballot, the way the people vote so that the existing fires can be doused and the affected terrain be restored so that Goa goes back to being what it once was, and its people have something to cheer about.
(Alexandre Moniz Barbosa is Executive Editor, Herald)
