HERALD: Is singling out your community affecting the identity of your people?
Lamani: Targeting a particular community for misdeeds of few people is certainly maligning the entire community. Entire community is not engaged in hawking at tourism belt. People from our community are there in respectable profession, business and trade where our people have excelled and are contributing to Goan economy. Singling out a particular community has created an inferiority complex among the people due to which few people are scared to claim that they belong to particular community.
HERALD: The minister has only pointed out illegalities from your community? Do you feel you all are being targeted?
Lamani: We appreciate the minister’s decision to curb miscreants along the beach belt and we have nothing against it. Unfortunately, all hawkers and miscreants along the beach belt have been labelled with a particular community. Often, we have been a target. People from other communities are also engaged in the trade but ultimately the blame comes on us.
HERALD: How do you look at Goa’s Banjara community as a part of Goan identity?
Lamani: Goa Banjara does not have any linguistic, regional, caste and state biases. Perhaps, that could be the reason why we are considered to be homogenous. In a wider perspective, we are spread out in the entire country and wherever we have settled, we have adopted the area’s linguistic ethos. Similar is the case with Goa. We have adopted its language and culture. We don’t even think of leaving Goa. We celebrate Shigmoutsav, Carnival and other festivals like any other Goan. Our children are studying in Konkani and Marathi medium schools. Mine is the third generation in Goa. Our people are there in all respective fields – government services, teaching, business, service, sports, fishing, cleaning, contract, transport etc. How could we even thing of leaving this beautiful state. We are proud to say that FC Goa football team Captain and Goalkeeper Laxmikant Kattimani is from Goa Banjara community.
HERALD: Does your community still expect an apology from Babu?
Lamani: We have nothing against the minister. We have been a soft target for long and often our community name is defamed in the media. When the minister was quoted saying that he would drive away Lamani from Goa it has created insecurity among us. A delegate of our senior people had met him and he has clarified that he never intended to hurt sentiments of the tribal community. He claims that section of media had repeatedly used the word ‘Lamani’ and he was responding to it without any biase. Even Dy. Speaker, Michael Lob has clarified on behalf of him. We are indebted for their sympathy towards hardworking community that is contributing to Goa’s economy for last four decades.
HERALD: What is future course of action? As in what will your community do to stop illegalities which some people from your community do? One group called Revolutionary Goans had said that don’t give threats to Goans that you will come on the roads?
Lamani:: We already had two awareness meeting with people engaged in trade along beach belt. We have formed a committee to create an awareness among people on ethical means of business practice. We have even assured minister that we would proactively give name of people indulged in illegalities. As part of our 2020 vision document, many social upliftment activities are lined up for the community including IAS and IPS training programme. We respect the sentiment of group called Revolutionary Goans. We have never intended to threaten anyone. We felt that our community is victimized thus we thought of restoring to peaceful and democratic means of protest without hurting sentiment larger community.
