Mahatma Gandhi stands as the tallest man of India. Every year on the 2nd of October, we celebrate his birthday.
Mostly the celebration becomes an empty ritual, with garlanding his statues, reading from the scriptures of main religions and stereo-typed speeches, rather than imbibing his ideas and principles and translating into reality his vision for India.
He loudly proclaimed: “India lives in its Villages.” India has suffered terribly, precisely because his vision for India has been obliterated and relegated to the dustbin of history by successive Governments.
The Independence of India was meant to make India a free country, where every citizen of India would enjoy justice, liberty, equality and fraternity.
These principles of Democracy were enshrined in the Preamble of our Constitution of India by the Constituent Assembly, wherein every citizen of India would have access to the above and to the benefits of development.
But this lofty aim of our stalwarts of Independence of India, have not been realized even after 71 years of the Proclamation of the Republic of India.
On the contrary, the rich have become richer, enjoying all the benefits; the middle class has been overburdened with taxes; and the poor have become poorer day by day, despite enjoying a lot of the subsidies given for vote bank politics and totally dependent on political powers.
This was spelt clearly by none other than our late eminent jurist, Ram Jethmalani in his article in the Guardian about 6-7 years ago: “The Tale of the three Indias and a failed State.”
One could write pages and pages on this subject but is there anyone to listen? If we want to really honour our late Mahatma Gandhi on his ‘birthday’, we have to first know what his vision for India’s Villages was.
It is found in his book: “India of my Dreams”, where he wishes that every village should be an authentic ‘Village Republic’, with its own administration, water supply, roads, electricity, irrigation, agriculture, jobs etc, all manned by villagers without the interference of the Government.
Such ‘Village Republics’ have been in existence in Goa from time immemorial until the year 1961. They have provided us with everything called Goan: our land, paddy fields, abundant fish, horticulture, coconut, ‘caju’ nuts and areca nut groves, etc and good administration.
From 1962, the successive Governments, who held power in Goa, tried to break their legs, their bones, their hands and presently they remain only as maimed bodies with bruised heads, though legally they are still in force. One could ask a question here: Why?
After 1961, the trend was to finish with everything considered to be colonial. That’s why they introduced in Goa, village panchayats in 1962. Our politicians wrongly thought that these village republics of Goa belonged to the erstwhile regime.
Only people ignorant of Goa’s history could have done it and most of the politicians, more than ignorance, wanted to grab Goa’s land and enrich themselves combined with the sarpanchas and panchas of the village panchayats, which brought only corruption into Goa.
That’s the sad history of rob and loot of our Goan village communities or Comunidades of Goa. The village community system concerning land (ganvkari), agriculture (xetkamot) and village administration/governance (ganvponn) is the most ancient institution in Goa hailing from times immemorial (over two and a half millennia or over 25 centuries). There is nothing in Goa as old as the Ganvkari system or Comunidades and they have shown by proven record of centuries, how they can run Goa’s economy with profit and have provided for the food needs of Goans etc, how the villages can be administered as authentic ‘Village Republics’ within the vision of Mahatma Gandhi, although they were in existence in Goa centuries before he was born.
They stand as the most ancient heritage institutions of Goa, which are in possession of more than 5 lakh books of its own and books written by other authors on the subject, thousands of articles published in the newspapers and periodicals and innumerable references and Government decrees with regard to the same.
No other institution will possess so many books in Goa, and I presume, not even any institution in India. From this rich heritage of village communities of our motherland Goa, has emerged the Konkani language and culture, of which we are proud of and we proclaim to the world that we are Goans.
But sadly, some of her ungrateful sons, have forgotten their own Mother and have heaped only opprobrium on her after 1961.
I was compelled to write these few lines in response to the news published in the media about a programme, which was started in Goa on the 2nd of October, Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday, adopting 20 villages for self-development through the Village Panchayats.
Is the Government ignorant as to whom the villages in Goa belong? Can anyone dictate to me what I should do within my house?
Why has the Government from 1962 onwards, consistently ignored the village communities in Goa? Had not our own ancestors formed them centuries ago? Why are we destroying the work of their hands? Are we having any consideration to the hard work, toil and moil, joys and tears of our ancestors to give us this land on which we live and have our being?
I need not over-emphasize the greatness of this Institution, which has ruled Goa over more than two and a half millennia.
The truth is there for all to see; that our land, agriculture and governance in Goa was unique in the whole of our country; that we Goans have inherited our Konkani language, ethos and culture from this Institution; we have lived in a true community spirit of loving, caring and sharing in these village communities; and we have learnt to live as the most peaceful people, without exaggeration, in the whole world, that we are a “civilisation” in the midst of India – a unique and distinct identity called: Goa, even recognized as such by our Late Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru.
All the credit goes to the ‘Village Community Institution’. We are a diversity in the unity of India, which India can point out to the world.
The coronavirus has provided us with an opportunity to recognize the mistakes we have committed to improve our present and plan a better future, thus rectify our course of action.
It will indeed be the most fitting present for Mahatma Gandhi on his birthday, if we avail this opportunity to re-execute his dreams regarding our ‘Goan Village Communities’.
