When daughters and sons of the soil, decide to move out of their comfort zone for the cause of Goa and decide to join parties and contest elections, they are not opportunists like most politicians are. They are simply fed up with the system and have decided to take matters into their own hands because somebody has to do it.
And have we forgotten the olden days when good people from Goan society like doctors, professors, teachers, writers were asked by their people to be their representatives? In those days there were no “hard-core” politicians. Simplicity and dedication are what mattered.
For 1-day people have the power of their vote; for the next 1825 days, they are slaves
Those days are truly behind us. Politics has for long been controlled by a professional group of politicians who always contest, mostly win but win or lose manage to find themselves in some position of power. The people have power on the day of voting. Then for approximately 1825 days (five years), they are at the mercy of the system and those they elect. Instead of being masters, people become slaves.
Good non-political people should come out and some are- tiatrists like Francis De Tuem for example
When footballers, writers, other sportsmen, and cultural ambassadors like tiatrists and dramatists decide to join politics, they do it for two reasons a) Their belief that their fraternity and profession needs political strength in order to make better lives for those who have used their skills to serve and entertain b) Their hope that when people are given choices that are clean and genuine, those from other walks of life will also back them and/or their causes.
Most importantly our Constitution does give rights for every Indian to contest and become a part of the political process. So-called career “politicians” do not have that right only. And when professionals get into politics, they don’t become lesser professionals, they become better servants of the people. In the theater and entertainment space Francis De Tuem, tiatrist, and Rajdeep Naik, satirist, comedian, and stage artist, have joined different political parties. They may or may not contest, but it was surprising that some people from the tiatr and entertainment fraternity who spoke to a reporter from Herald had discouraging things to say about tiatrists who join politics. We will reproduce some of them.
Tomazinho Cardozo, who not only was an MLA but also the Speaker of the Assembly, perhaps forgot his days in politics while continuing to be a tiatrist when he said, “We have noticed for the last several years that tiatrists are being used at the time of elections just to entertain or to pull the crowd at the public meetings. The point to be noted is that taking active part in the politics from the part of tiatrist will not create any impact but it will certainly affect the career of the artist in the tiatr fraternity.” He didn’t stop at that and added, “Once you join any political party, first and foremost the fans or the audience will start to create different opinions about the artist. Secondly, this audience of his will be divided, as a result, indirectly it will harm the career of the concerned tiatrist.”
When Francis De Tuem was told of this he calmly asked, “Was Tomazino Cardoso’s career harmed when he contested and won elections?”
Tiatrist Roseferns wasn’t quite sure when he said, “Nowadays we can hardly find any politician or a political party with a vision for Goa. However, we cannot blame any artist for joining or taking an active part in politics.” And then he added, “full engagement in politics and that too at the time of elections will surely create a bad impact on the tiatrist, as the future of the artist is dependent on the audiences.”
Francis De Tuem responded, “I decided to join politics because I have been singing political songs and highlighting issues for the people. Now is the time to go to the people and ask for their votes, so that we can together take up causes that politicians will not or just cannot.”
The argument that the career of professionals will suffer if they join politics is strange
Did the medical careers of Dr Jack Sequeira and Dr Willy D’Souza lose their shine when they became political leaders? It is believed that Dr Willy performed surgeries even as a minister. Yatish Naik and Antonio Clovis Costa are both mid-career lawyers who have joined politics and are likely candidates for the coming elections. And Dr Jorson Fernandes is a practicing surgeon, who divides his time between the operation theater and the theatre of politics.
Our political system gets enriched with the infusion of such professionals
When every there is injustice and lack of leadership, it is the duty of good people to come out and take the plunge. They do it with a spirit of sacrifice and bravery. To ridicule them is uncalled for.
There are serious issues concerning Goans and we need fighters. From preserving our heritage, our land rights, giving the benefits of sustainable mining to the people and to the next generation, to fighting battles against coal pollution, to giving basic rights to the people like power and water, to ensuring that our artists and culture protectors always get state support to carry out their profession, we need common people to join politics and go to the people.
Herald will always back such people. Because they do not have the luxury of being social media warriors but have pledged to be on the ground fighting shoulder to shoulder with people.
They deserve respect, not ridicule and criticism.
