We have celebrated Goa statehood day on 30th May 2017. What we need to seriously think about is, are Goans living in peace and harmony? Are we responsible for being the catalyst towards eradicating the Goan identity? This article focuses on two major issues. Out of the total population in Goa today, how many are actually Goans? Today our land has been flooded with migrant construction labourers, sweet mart owners, real state dealers, businessman from all over the country. These outsiders are not only growing in number, but they are a serious threat to Goans and Goan culture. Some have even got voting rights in Goa. Today they are deciding who will be the Sarpanch, the MLA and the CM. While the sons of the soil have migrated to cater to their financial needs. Nothing is wrong in that, because here the wage rate is low. But what needs to be in place are our Government policies. They should be such that Goans should not be deprived, suppressed, and cheated. First of all migrants should not have voting rights in Goa. Only those who are Goans by birth should have voting rights here. This is the main cause of all the evil prevailing in Goa. Since they have voting rights, they can bargain for whatever they need with the politicians for their votes. They then become THE vote bank. They stand united against Goans. We have even sold our land to them at a low price. Now they are doing business here, and the price of the same land has increased at a compound rate. If this continues in the same way, I cannot imagine what will be the situation in Goa in the near future.
The second issue is about democracy. Today it may be true that, in our nation some people are trying to impose their ideology on the rest of the Indians. They may be trying to control what others are going to eat. Why do they forget that we are living in a democratic nation. Here people are free to choose and practice the religion which they wish to. Here people are free to decide which language they will learn and speak, people are free to decide what they are going to wear and what they are going to eat. We are not living in a dictatorship where our basic rights can be taken away. We should not forget that the Government is by the people, of the people and for the people. It may be true that some antisocial elements are trying to disturb the peace and harmony of the nation, which have been in existence since independence. They may be sowing the seeds of enemity and grudge in the minds of the people. If it is true, than these elements are enemies of humanity and the nation too, because they are trying to break the bond of brotherhood which is existing among the citizens. We need to be more careful about such people. Today we should be more concerned about the development of our nation. We should be more concerned about the growing threat to our nation from Pakistan and from China. Instead of doctoring unfruitful and self satisfying conspiracies against our own brothers and sisters, we should unitedly try to solve issues like poverty, unemployment, and illiteracy which are a hindrance to our nation’s progress.
