Felicio S. Fernandes
With ref. to your Editorial ‘Celebrate landmarks in Goan History’ (Herald, 14 February), I salute and honor your efforts to highlight and celebrate the defining moments of Goan history post liberation. It is these historical events (Opinion Poll, Official Language Act, Statehood) that have given us the identity of Goenkars and a shared Goan consciousness called “Goenkarponn”. Sad however that the current dispensation given its viscous agenda has turned a Nelson’s eye and is doing its utmost to douse the fire burning among Goans to reclaim and revel in the oneness that we Goans embrace. Their surreptitious efforts to regularise migrants in the Goan fabric, the communalisation of employment, the anti-Portuguese rhetoric, the blatant disregard to the recognition of the Romi Konkani script, the devious conversion of ancestral lands, the open patronage to the ‘Delhification’ of our beautiful villages, the ‘care-a-damn’ attitude to the destruction of our hills, rivers, trees, valleys and fields, the unabashed corruption in almost every sector where government machinery and ministerial berths compete to churn out money for personal greed, yes its the ‘brokerisation’ of governance, the ‘lollipop’ schemes for senior citizens and housewives, the subtle patronage to right wing agenda rather than to the civility of our culture. It’s “make hay while the sun shines” and the loot goes on and on without thinking for a moment that one must close his eyes one day and become ossified.
Goa has become a ‘Looters Paradise’ where land, law and license has become free enterprise for the right bidder with all controls and vigilance thrown to the winds by charlatans holding power.
Goa, the once nurturing mother has now been turned into a harlot by the stark silence and undiscerning tolerance of its own sons and daughters who stand by and watch like helpless impotent savants, afraid of confronting this malignant dispensation. Inaction and indifference are social sins that rob us of our innate rights toward a just and responsible governance.
Today Goa is like a “Pearl thrown to the swine”. It has been raped, ravaged and trampled by our mindless leaders and their selfish, short sighted nay self-centered policies. However, more so it is the silence of most of us (we the educated Goans) who love to sit back and watch the disastrous devastation happening around us and expect someone else to take up the cudgels.
If Goa has to retain its Goenkarponn than every Goan has to become a stakeholder in the idea of “GOA”. Every Goan must feel the urgency of standing up and challenging everything that is against the Goan identity, culture, ethos, heritage, environment et al. Right from the Panchayats to the Legislative Assembly our policies, regulations, directives, have to be deliberated to save Goa for our future generation. Every corrupt batsman has to be bowled off during the elections.
We need to banish the communal ideology that is being thrust upon us, the subtle ‘divide and rule’. We need to weed out the rusted and rotten leaders who shamelessly dictate our well-being and put back instead a people centered leadership. If we Goans can look beyond our narrow domestic walls and stand united to save our land only then will the Opinion Poll, our fight for Konkani and our Statehood will not have been in vain.