Dr Joe D’Souza
In Goa, the story to the liberation or the conquest of this beautiful homeland of mine is very different. Goans by and large are short visioned and blind to the realities of Goa’s governance, and joyously and gaily celebrate the 16th of January each year as a day of ‘victory’. And why not?
All of us are fooling and cheating Goans in the belief that we finally won on the eventful Opinion Poll. Up to December 19, 1961, Goa was under the domain of Portugal. The Indian army liberated Goa and it was integrated into the Indian union without giving Goans the opportunity of self determination. Before and after Goa’s accession to India, through military intervention, there were many states which were carved out. There were Gujaratis and Maharashtrians who did not have an Opinion Poll to carve out Gujarat or Maharashtra and thereafter, after January 1967, Assam segregated into its seven sisters. Uttarakhand was carved out of UP, Jharkand out of Bihar, Chattisgarh separated itself out of Madhya Pradesh and recently, we saw even Telangana carved out of Andhra Pradesh. Was there any ‘Opinion Poll’ for all these historical political events? These new states were carved out as a matter of right.
Needless to mention, even Jammu and Kashmir is enjoying better status and protection of identity to its people, than Goa. Needless to brood and rant over the issue that Goa should have been given special status and protection. None amongst the tall leaders of Goa ever felt or worked towards the special protection needed for Goa; in view of the fact that Goa had totally lost the rightful benefits of the first two five year plans; in which dams, irrigation, agriculture and the supporting industries growth were in “focus”. Today, it is the utter neglect of Goa that forces Vijai Sardesai to plan to import coconut from Sri Lanka, as we face shortages in supply of this ‘nut’, which is basic to our food and culture. This I say, not to ridicule or question Sardesai on his administrative decision but to ridicule and ponder over the purpose of our victory celebrations, when due to our crab mentality, we have over the last 60 years done precious little to protect the interests of our agriculture. Do we Goans ever understand that the generation before us failed Goa by not demanding adequate protection from the Indian Union; or their unique cultural identity and their control over their limited natural resources as well precious land which constitutes Goa?
Successive governments have thoughtlessly gifted precious Goan earth to various private as well as central public sector units “for a song”. Do we ever realise, over the last 50 years, if we dispassionately assess that ‘Goan politicians’ have let the people down? We, as careless and lazy Goans are responsible for the terrible mess Goa is now in, on every front of disastrous development. This clearly calls us to accept the Asmitai Divas or Opinion Poll victory celebrations are a cruel joke on us the average Goans, who today stand totally isolated in ‘despair of helplessness’.
There are several people in Goa who blame the helpless Goans and the indigenous population of Goa, who have had to part with precious properties or even homes, because rich outstation real estate sharks, have not only engulfed and surrounded their homes or properties but also harassed and arm twisted them into reluctantly parting with their homes.
The modus operandi is simple and straight, arm twist the poor farmer, or even simple villagers directly or through political chicanery. These Goans, who blame the poor for doing away with their properties are political stooges and glorified parasites, qualified only to condemn environmentalists and dedicated organisation and individuals who tirelessly fight the cause of Goa and Goenkarponn. Like Goa Foundation, there are others, which we can count on our fingertips, working for Goa even today, what little is left of Goa. Goans must identify and honor all of them.
Without merger of Goa with Maharashtra, Goan politicians, over the years, from across political classes, and amidst variety of hues and colours, have destroyed and continue to destroy Goa that what we would see of Goa had it merged with Maharashtra.
It is extremely nice to see Goa as a separate State, but as a scientist, environmentalist and a social activist, I am confident that Goa would not have seen such unsustainable mining loot, plunder of our forests, the death of Goan identity through Mopa fiasco, the takeover of Goa by sharks from Delhi, had Goa been a district with a District Collector in charge. The strangulation and manipulation of our marine and riverine wealth is atrocious.
I request Goans to reflect on what Goa has lost through the Opinion Poll. We lost the right of self determination, our rights over our rivers, our mining rights, we have haphazard development of our tourism, which is today ridden with the degradation of Goan identity and environment, with menace of gambling, boozing, drug peddling and damning of Goa with garbage, industrial and mining wastes polluting our soils, water bodies is a dubious bonanza for Goans for accepting Opinion Poll instead of sternly fighting for self determination.
See and learn lessons from Macau, Timor and even Jammu Kashmir which over the last 50 years have endeavoured to give dignity to their people and are also working tirelessly for the protection of their people and exclusive rights over their land with cultural identity, heritage and social ethos.
I have seen Goa closely over the last 72 years and I am ashamed that Goa did not produce ‘a real leader’, who could have given Goa and Goans its due which it richly deserved.
I am tempted to believe and assert that Bandodkar had the foresight that by 2020 poor Goans, like those at Tiracol, Mopa and those displaced by industrial estate and the real estate lobby would stand marginalised and displaced, as we see it today.
My heart sings for the victory of Opinion Poll but I, by head or mind, am cautious by realising as to why Bandodkar, as well as over three lakh Goans from North Goa voted for merger. Goa was and will remain as the only State in the world, where nearly half the population preferred to merge its identity with another State and felt it would be comfortable there than to remain separate and merge their identity with those from South Goa. We must address this communal divide to free ourselves of our crab mentality.
