The race to retrieve Goa from the dominating criminal gangs of predators, not just outsiders but remorsefully Goemkars too, has been going on for sixty years now, for more than half a century. The on-going mantra, repeated religiously over the years has been “save our Goa”.
By the most fortunate stroke of good fortune, we have our patriots and bravehearts, our revered heroes, who have been fighting relentless battles over the years, motivated by the call for survival, winning a skirmish here and there, and to them we owe a limitless debt, however, only total victory will do.
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The way to repay their priceless, invaluable sacrifice is to offer and deliver our total support, regardless. They have kept us in the race to outrun the agents and lords of destruction, demons misusing the law, who operate with the powerful engines of greed, cash and corruption, with total disregard for what Goa is all about.
They employ bulldozers that run over anything and everything in their path, citizens, people’s lives, property, our priceless heritage, culture, cherished religious beliefs, irreplaceable centuries-old eco systems, everything that’s so preciously and uniquely Goa, with total contempt for the laws of the land and nature.
To keep abreast of what’s so dangerously going on, the newspaper is your best source. Painful as it may be, the heart-rending stories of what is happening all across the State keep showing up every single morning. But now, it’s gloves off, no holds barred, let’s jump into the ring and fight until we deliver that final knockout punch.
What then is that final knockout punch, that victorious moment when we all will truly know for certain that the battle has been won? To win, every concerned, responsible citizen, everyone who is aware about the gravity of the predicament that Goa is in, must come forward and do whatever each one of us can.
If there’s nothing you can do, that’s accepted and understandable, but if there’s something, anything, you could offer to support the cause, you must. If not, then you too are party to and stand guilty of the crimes being perpetrated by corrupt and viciously evil people. The remedies, the solutions are at hand, these need to be tabulated and acted upon, as soon as possible.
The enemies of the State are driven by blind, insatiable greed, and that makes for a formidable force to counter.
To camouflage their misdeeds, they hide behind their self-proclaimed entitlement as ‘rulers’, when indeed they have been appointed as agents to serve the people who selected and elected them to bring about the comfort and welfare of every citizen of the State, to protect their rights, not trample upon them!
Step One: Our first action is to bring to their notice that they can only lay claim to becoming Leaders if they do what the people want them to do. We need to publish the oath they take when being inaugurated.
Step Two: Select citizens who are aware of the gravity of our predicament, who will devout their time and life to the wellbeing of the State and all its inhabitants.
We need to step out and identify new leaders, made of the right stuff. Men and women of unquestioned integrity, strong-willed citizens of wisdom and high-calibre nobility, people who have fully grasped the perception that living their life for others is the highest attainment one can achieve in this lifetime.
Step Three: Established a focal point, an office, from where to direct, manage and control whatever action needs to be taken and where critical decisions will be made to concentrate our energies towards achieving ultimate and total success.
Most important of all, constitute a core, or lead group that would plan and initiate the blueprint for the strategies to be deployed.
A fully equipped central office is required laden with communication devices and of course selected personnel endowed with inner discipline, dedication and determination to perform duties that demand the desired effect to ensure ultimate operational effectiveness.
The major focus of the overall plan is to organize a well-trained and motivated brigade of foot soldiers, yes soldiers, nothing less, to develop an outreach and communication system and establish a platform wherein word goes out to every single citizen in every nook and corner of the State to explain, infuse and imbed the idea within each and every household and every eligible individual of what the situation is and how we plan to execute the action needed so that next time around we give back Goa to whom it really belongs.
An effective propaganda machine is essential, which should be clean and sincere that sends a clear message to one and all, that only victory is acceptable.
This means a majority of votes in every level of constitutional governing platform, the legislature, judiciary, bureaucracy, panchayats, law enforcement agencies, Zilla Parishads are all operated and run by people who will only follow the dictates and demands of the people.
To ensure this crucial scenario we need to fully support every single candidate chosen by us.
The battle cry should be – “take back Goa from the wolves”. Full outreach and effective propaganda will do what needs to be done.
The time for these plans to begin to kick off could/will happen soon. Reading the title here you may have thought this would be a story about winning track events.
In a way it is, we are looking to win a race that will determine the future of Goa for our children. One may say “Hey, why should I bother, I’ve already seen the best of what Goa has been”. But those very memories should motivate you ensure that we leave behind a more promising legacy.
Currently the destructive forces we are up against are on a rampage, take a moment and try to imagine what things would be like if we allowed them another five years. Be aware, stay alert. Ready…Steady…Goa!
(The author is now a
permanent resident of Goa after many years of
living in Mumbai,
New York and London)
