The Portuguese influence of the chilly
and the local flavour of the coconut and fish gave us the most sought after
xitt-kodi. Creative slogans of the Opinion poll still bring a smile to the
face, like “We do not want Shrikand Puri, we are content with our xitt-kodi”,
“Merger never, Goa forever”. In retaliation were the words, “zalach pahije”. On
16 January 1967, the people of Goa decided for themselves about their future
and the need to safeguard their identity.
The first elections in 1963 were to
govern the State, not to decide its future. However the question of Goan
identity was the subject of debate during these elections. Ballads were
composed glorifying mother Goa and Goan identity, but the 1963 MGP victory
prompted the MGP Shiroda MLA, Pandrang Sagun Naik to press for merger and the
divide over the identity of Goa began. The spark was lit! The atmosphere just
before 16 January 1967 must have been very tense.
Goa had its own identity, as it was ruled by
the Portuguese for many centuries. Down these years, there was a cultural
synthesis of two cultures a foreign and local one and therefore Goans had a
separate identity. With the Portuguese rule, came the Portuguese influence on
culture. It provided Goans with the finer graces of etiquette and grace, with
an all pervasive influence on Goan art, architecture, handicrafts music, dance
and even theatre. The common Civil Code, along with a Western liberal mind set,
is the offshoot of the Portuguese legacy of over 400 years. Goan identity is
difficult to define. Is it limited to culture, language, religion, music,
folklore, dance, a shared common history or a feeling of oneness? The meaning
of any identity-not only Goan identity includes all of this and much more.
The pro-merger forces, who wanted Goa to
be a part of Maharashtra and Marathi as its official language came together to
form the MGP (Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party). Political leaders of Maharashtra
like Y B Chavan, Peter Alvares, S M Joshi, Nath Pai were involved in the
formation of the MGP. The symbol of lion was chosen as the symbol of the MGP.
The symbol of the lion was also the symbol used by the Maharashtra Ekikaran
Parishad.
In
September 1963, to counter the MGP, (in the first elections) the United Goans
party (UGP) was formed with Jack Sequeira as the President. Four parties merged
to form the UGP–the Partido Indiano of Alvaro de Loyola Furtado, Goencho Paksh
of Jack Sequeira, the Goan National Union of J M de Souza and the United Front
of Goans. The UGP canvassed about how merger would destroy Goan identity and
the uniqueness of the culture of Goa. They propagated that Goa would then be a
district of Maharashtra. The manifesto of the party spoke of a separate State
and recognition of Konkani as the official language of Goa. The MGP warned
Goans that if UGP was elected it would help the Portuguese return back to Goa
and would mean the suppression of the Goans and history repeating itself once
again. UGP was discredited with anti-nationalism and as having ‘extra
territorial loyalties’. Goa voted for Bandodkar led MGP which provided an edge
to the pro-merger sentiment.
The UGP argued that the election is a
method to find the party which can form the government and not a method to
resolve the dispute. The UGP MLAs visited New Delhi several times to meet the
Prime Ministers from Pandit Nehru to Shastri and finally to Indira Gandhi. Purshottam
Kakodkar was steadfast in his decision that the people of Goa should decide the
future and not the few legislators. There was a demand that CM Bandodkar should
resign to conduct a free and fair poll, which he graciously did.
The PSP, with its leaders like Nath Pai
and Peter Alvares made a charge that the big landlords and the Roman Catholic
Church were behind the movement for a separate State. The Marathi press,
Gomantak and Gomantwani, went to the extent of calling it a movement for a
‘Separate Catholic Nation’. Uday Bhembre’s column, Brahmastra, written in the
Rashtramat argued that Marathi was a language of the classes while Konkani was
of the masses. O Heraldo, A Vida, Navhind Times and Goa Today supported the
anti-merger cause. The Konkani Bhasha Mandal, claimed that Konkani was a
language on its own and not a dialect of Marathi. The Council of Action under
the leadership of Ravindra Kelekar launched a satyagraha, for withdrawal of the
government officials on deputation in Goa from Maharashtra.
Prof Maria do Ceu Rodrigues has
researched this subject in her thesis. During the freedom struggle of Goa,
Maharashtra became the base for operations. It must be clear that the identity
of Goa, (not to be the same as that of separate Statehood) was never raised in
the Goa Freedom Movement. At one level it seemed a Konkani versus Marathi
issue, when the pro-merger forces called Goa the cradle of Marathi culture and
that Konkani was just a dialect. The anti-merger forces raised the slogan,
“Amchem Goem amkam zai”. The Christians, Muslims and many Hindus opposed the
merger and recognised Konkani as their language of identity. Besides the UGP,
there was the Congress, the Rashtramat group and the Sangh Pradesh jyot led by
Shabu Desai, the Jay Gomantak Kala Pathak led by Ulhas Buyao and the Goa
Congress Committee anti-merger group. Non-resident Goans were also permitted to
vote if they registered within a given time, many availed of this facility and
came to Goa to vote.
This Opinion Poll was conducted by the
Central Election Commission in Goa. Goans from all over the world came back to
Goa to vote. The anti-mergerists sang Konkani songs which appealed to Goans
like, “Goenchea mhajea Goenkarano” among other songs which became popular and
influenced in a large measure the anti-merger cause. Volunteers, cultural
groups, kalapathaks and Sahirs from Maharashtra of the Maharashtra Vilinikaran
Samiti of Bombay on the request of the CM Bandodkar came to Goa to work for
merger.
We have come a long way since 16th
January 1967, we attained Statehood in 30th May 1987 and Konkani was made the
official language of Goa a few months earlier on 4th February that year and was
incorporated into the Eight Schedule of the Indian Constitution on 20th August
1992. Identity is never static, it changes, it evolves and it grows within us
and with us, not just physically but in our progressive and liberal minds as
well. Caste, regionalism and the perceived superiority of dialects and classes
many still cling to us with both the sanction of religion and tradition.
Goans carry with them their culture
wherever they go, because it is a “State of mind”, not just land, language,
dress, religion or cuisine, although it has shades of all of these components,
it is not monochromatic. Debates on Goa’s culture and identity need to be
replaced with the need for Goa’s development towards a cleaner and greener Goa.
The UGP won by a slender margin of 34,021 votes, with 7,272 invalid votes.
Goans had given their verdict in favour of xitt-kodi!
(The writer is an author and researcher
in the history of Goa)
