“Ajeeb hain yeh Goa ke log”, is his remark, or reported remark, or translated remark or simply a lost in translation remark. But this is Nehru’s strongest Goa link or connect, which literally means “Strange indeed are the people of Goa”.
While there have been attempted searches for sub-texts and nuances – and we will touch upon a couple – the people of Goa have been recognised, identified, toasted and maybe even loathed for their strangeness. And if this strangeness has been the fulcrum of our identity, it is no albatross around our neck. Nor is it a millstone. It’s a badge we wear with honour. And on the 69th anniversary of Revolution Day – let us say this and believe this – Yes we are strange because we love our land of Goa like no other Indians do anywhere across this country of ours. We have different reasons to love it but if ever there has been one State (our land) which has seen a sustained, consistent, passionate struggle for our land, resources, people, communities and traditional occupations, it has been Goa. And while we have a lot to moan, complain, regret and lament, the fountain of energy which fuels public protest, anger against the wrongs inflicted on Goa followed by the pledge to fight these wrongs, flows relentless. Which is why on this Revolution Day, let us simply refresh and renew the fight to get what is intrinsic to us, what is natural to us, what is given to us and above all what belongs to us. THIS IS OUR REVOLUTION. This is our kranti. This is our break through movement. And Yes, this is our strangeness or ajeebness if you please.
Let us still for a moment hunt for context in Pandit Nehru’s purported remark. This speech in Goa in May 1963, Nehru said that “Goa has a certain distinctive personality”. It is quite possible that strange and distinctive could have been juxtaposed. It could have been an off the cuff remark by a tad irritated Nehru when he could figure out why two groups with the same passion of nationalism, Tristao de Braganca Cunha’s Goa Action Committee to coordinate the efforts of Goans in Mumbai and elsewhere who offered Satyagraha and the United Front of Goans under Francis Mascarenhas couldn’t work as one.
While the context of Nehru’s remark may never be known, there is no need for any context to these defining moments of Goa’s history. T B Cunha was arrested in 1946 and A G Tendulkar took over the Goa Congress. As the movement grew Ram Manohar Lohia, inspite of being threatened at gun point held a massive demonstration in Margao on June 18 and his arrest spurred a huge protest movement leading to large scale arrests. This was not the birth of Goa’s nationalism. But nationalism in Goa even as its leaders Puroshottam Kakodkar and Laxmikant Bhembre, were deported to Portugal for their role in the independence movement.
The good fight “strange” Goans fight, is being fought by Goans for a Goa, but this fight is completely in the Indian context. There is no ambiguity (except residual feelings and pangs) that the revolution that is sought is by Goans who are nationalists, but who proudly state that their land has a distinctiveness that has to recognised within the Indian union.
In a sense successive governments, including the Congress governments have failed Nehru who said Goa has had a distinct identity and this needs to be preserved. And the course of history has shown that while true lovers of Goa have fought for this identity to be recognised and fought for, successive governments, especially in this century have done all they could to water this identity down and sacrifice this at the altar of a bastardised version of development which is in clear terms nothing but rape, plunder and loot of our land. And we are strange because we the people of Goa, still love this land more than the people who run it. We are strange because we are still in that fight. We are strange because we will not be defeated. We are strange because we will come back to our village squares and the tintos or in our towns to realise our voices.
Politicians like Manohar Parrikar can call our panchayats corrupt, but there are still more honest people whose hearts for Goa in every gram sabha meeting than those who occupy government positions in departments or in the secretariat.
This is a revolution we can achieve if we are together. A revolution which will see Goa without garbage or greed, where Goans have meaningful jobs, where the land of the comunidades are not sold or usurped, where hills and forests are not plundered through doctored or manipulated permissions for massive hotel and golf course projects, where our water table is not shrunk and where corruption levels are not on the rise, where our beaches are protected and where our mothers, wife and sisters are not molested, where medicines and health care is available and “drugs” are not, where our policemen lend a hand to the poor and handcuffs to the criminally rich. And above all where religion and what we eat and what we wear is matter of personal faith and choice and not an agenda of a bullish ruling party.
That will be our revolution, brothers and sisters. A revolution that will leave a better Goa for our children. A revolution that Herald will fight with you as a footsoldier. As it did during the fight for statehood, for Konkani as our official language and for a just Regional Plan. But this will be the mother of all fights because this will be the biggest fight for Goa.
Yes we are strange. And we love it.
