GOANS ARE ENSLAVED

HERALD, 4th December 2012 by Soter D’Souza The Goan of the 21st century has been rendered toothless, visionless and voiceless by the greed for money and power that is being marketed as “economic development.” The sporadic moans, groans and curses that are occasionally witnessed in the name of saving Goa are no more than what in modern days could possibly be explained as signs of a “process addiction.” Ultimately, money and power drives and controls public opinion and people’s responses in Goa. People resent and detest the system and yet cannot do without it. They collaborate with it, they play into it. However ridiculous this claim may sound, it is my impression after watching from the sidelines much of what is being marketed to the Goan over the last couple of years as movements to “Save Goa”. We the non-thinking and emotional Goan has repeatedly lent ourselves, consciously or unconsciously, as pawns to be moved across this chess board of power and money depending on who needed to be checkmated or compromised in this economic obsession. The Goan has been driven into a state of confusion to the extent that it has become difficult to even define what constitutes Goan identity. So far, there seems to be no consensus on the language of Goa even though there exists a common tongue used by the Goan. The politics of economic addiction has ensured that Goa remains the “Tower of Babel” where everyone speaks in strange tongues not understood by the other. That is how, just a year ago, it became possible to engineer, what I had called, “mob hysteria” against corruption. The “bewildered herd” of Walter Lippman was aroused and instigated by overzealous and hired propaganda machinery including a bunch of angelic looking NRIs and spiritual leaders who preached parivartan. The farce of an Amar-Akbar-Anthony joining hands to save Goa was well scripted and enacted. During those days, anyone who resisted falling in line with that irrational and illogical public opinion could only expect to become the object of ridicule and even be labeled as an enemy of Goa or a stooge of the corrupt Congress. Reason never appeals to a mob and that was the problem. Has anything been achieved since then? Nothing really, except that those NRIs, fly-by-night activists and hired scribes have vanished. The Goan is now confronted with a saffron pollution in the heart of Goa which always prided itself with playing a stellar role in protecting the interests of Goa. It was this Xaxtti that played host to Ram Manohar Lohia and heralded the beginning of a liberation struggle, resisted the merger into Maharashtra, forced the official recognition to Konkani as the language of Goa, stalled the SEZs and got the Regional Plan 2011 scrapped. But since then, the Salcete pride has either fallen prey to its own emotions aroused by tactfully engineered propaganda or, it has simply failed to recognise the long-term implications of a politician-corporate nexus at work. After all that propaganda and hype about having decimated the Congress to save Goa, it is only fair to ask, has anything really changed for the better on the ground? The same players continue to hold the key to power and money in Goa irrespective of which political party has come to power. The common thread of money and power controls the thought (scholars), action (activists) and politics (politicians) and thereby manipulates Goan public opinion and action in its favour. The Goan who had mindlessly trumpeted the cause for parivartan some months back, as I see, now has no option but to pretend that all is well. But we all know that mining activity in Goa was never expected to come to a grinding halt had it not been for the intervention of the Court. Desperate efforts are being made to poke holes in the findings of the Shah Commission Report. Even funnier is the declaration by a politician that persons affected by the mining ban will be employed in the film city. Will the film city be set up in the abandoned mines? Similarly, the Regional Plan 2021 which is under revision also provides no hope that the wishes of the Goan people will be respected, as those with a conflict of interest continue to dictate the planning and construction laws in Goa. The house tax in village panchayats is being abolished thereby weakening their financial base and making these local institutions further vulnerable to arm-twisting by the government. The local shack owner and taxi operator continues jostling for their rightful share in the tourism pie. And even though Goa prides itself with having the highest per capita income in the country, Goans still cannot figure out any justification for the increasing number of government freebies. The migrant is celebrating while the Goan is moaning after being eliminated from the race. The public treasury continues to be bled with doles and subsidies to appease migrants vote banks. The Goan is being driven into a state of insanity where moderation, modesty and mercy are societal values of the past. If one is to sum up Goa’s present economic progress, it all adds up to no more than revenue from crime and vice. It is about mindless destruction of the environment, addictions, exploitation and violation of basic human rights. In the present Goa, lawlessness abounds and the mafia celebrates. There seems to be no difference between the thinking and behaviour of an alcoholic and those afflicted by an obsession for money and power. The victims of this economic addiction are emotionally numbed and mentally distanced from reality. This explains why a minister in government can lobby so forcefully and shamelessly for the exemption of tourism projects from CRZ regulations. This demonstrates why politicians in government advocate mining in wild life sanctuaries by reducing the limits of buffer zones. Would any sober and responsible politician ever expect such a dilution and exemption from laws meant to protect the rich biodiversity of Goa? Or, is it that laws are only meant to make it difficult for the common man and more lucrative for the bureaucrats and politicians? The Goan needs to realize that principles have no place in current Goan politics. Promises about a better tomorrow by the present set of politicians needs to be taken with a pinch of salt. Until the Goan voter changes his/her approach in political thinking and decision-making, nothing can be expected to change for the better. The present politics seems nothing more than marketing dubious and devious motives as popular opinion and popular wishes. The constitutional and democratic space in governance provided for the citizens by the Constitution of India is being systematically snatched away to satiate this thirst and hunger for more money and more power for a few. Goan culture, heritage and unity is being eroded by injecting gated housing projects in the villages with construction regulations influenced by none other than a couple of “Save Goa” activists themselves. The Goan continues to be kept in the dark about important policy decisions in governance that will adversely impact his/her future existence in Goa. This scramble for money and power at any cost has resulted in a paralysis of the Goan mind and heart thereby preventing any sustained collective people’s action for a better Goa. The faster the Goan realises this syndrome, the better will it be to salvage what remains of that Goa built with the blood and sweat of his/her forefathers. (the writer is Director, Centre for Panchayati Raj –Peaceful Society, Madkai) http://www.heraldgoa.in/newscategory/Opinions/14