India has just celebrated its 68th Independence day with pomp and gaiety. Some may have been die-hard patriots, others semi-patriots and yet some still not so patriots at all. And so we have them all.
But more than being Indian, we in Goa are proud to be Goans first as we joined the national mainstream in 1961 only. There are still unanswered questions in every mind; whether we have achieved our goal after joining the Indian Union or did Goa just surrender to the destiny which promised us the heaven and instead landed in hell? Even after achieving the statehood in 1987, Goa today is at a loss to explain its goodness towards citizens. The gossips around the village corners just keeps boiling against the mismanagement and plundering of our resources. The changing of political equations in the last elections had raised high hopes for better functioning of the government but alas! We have now landed from frying pan into the fire. The fire that is burning the pockets of common man at large and there is no hope of any recovery as Goa is slowing entering into the dangerous trap of quick sands. Its matter of time when center-state relations will one day turn sour and the reality will be knocking at the door. Howsoever good slogans they invent and shout from the rooftops no magic wand will ever be able to guide and satisfy citizens’ concerns but simple planning, free mind and transparency and dedication can achieve the goals though.
Some may be thumping their chests and taking pride in what we read of late in the newspapers regarding the various arrests taking place. But in fact, it is the shame and disgrace that has engulfed the state of Goa. Goans are eagerly waiting to see when the mining scam’s worth of Rs 35000 crores will be recovered. Or whether this amount will ever be recovered? The latest call to ‘Gôychi Mati Permanent Fund’ suggested by the HERALD seems to be the best solution amicable to one and all.
Free us from the slavery of corruption and corrupt minds that are hovering over our heads.
Even a simple look at the gram sabhas tells the same story. Allegiance to any party is looked down as serious crime to those who cannot bear others’ wellness. The good opposition is always welcome, but those who fail to see the development in its true sense of word show their true colours of petty mindedness. What ought to be remembered by the opposition is that one day they themselves may be wearing the same shoes. And it will be a just co-incidence that they will feel the pain of the same shoe bite and make them uncomfortable. And this is what we are experiencing in Goa at large.
It is high time we face the realities and enact laws that will prevent people being taken for a ride and enforce the people who are helms of affairs accountable.
