Liberation and governance

Liberation and governance Soter D’Souza “Woe is me, shame and scandal in the family” goes the lyrics of a popular oldie. Goa completes 51 years of its political, academic and economic shame and scandal following its liberation from foreign rule. It was only liberation from foreign rule in 1961; no one really knows who has been really governing Goa all these years. True liberation should have meant that healthy traditional systems for management of local affairs existing at that time, should have continued to find a place in the governance of this State. Goans should have had their say on issues related to their land and economy which was the case when the Portuguese were forced to flee Goa. For, only if the land, thought and economy continues to stay in the hands of the Goan people, can this centuries-old social and cultural entity called ‘Goa’ continue to have meaning. Today Goa is reduced to a brand name to be exploited for profits. Traces of its rich traditions, culture and heritage are being systematically wiped out or reconstructed to suit certain divisive agendas. For 51 years Goa has belonged to anyone who possesses the ability to buy their way into or with governments. The State is being transformed into a congested metro where like in the rest of the country, criminals lurk and migrants flock. While Goa’s sons and daughters continue to shine in several fields in other parts of the country and abroad, particularly those related with education and health, back home some of the local institutions are like dead wood. In no other State do we possibly see such mediocre quality of local expertise in local institutions than in Goa. The intellectual bankruptcy in some of Goa’s academic institutions of learning is blatantly manifested when its academicians are capable of anything, from cheering hazardous chemical industries, communalism, mineral mining and real estate, to buttering up politicians to secure an appointment on government committees or, be nominated for a State award. The tragedy is that Goa’s education systems no more possess that vital ingredient of spirituality, and therefore these institutions cannot move beyond serving politicians and industry. This is exactly why critical thinking among Goan students is not encouraged. The institutions of learning in the State are not known to teach their students to critique the policies of the government. Similarly, the law schools rarely venture into analyzing laws that are in force or in the process of being enacted. Can anyone believe that the Code of Communidades is not part of the law syllabus in Goa? Should critiquing of government policy and laws and the rest not have been a part of the educational system? Do these institutions not have a responsibility to improve the polity and empower society? But Goa’s misery is that several educational institutions in the State are controlled by industrialists and politicians, whereby knowledge and opinion of the younger generation and society gets monitored and manipulated to suit vested interests. Academicians nowadays, just like politicians, seem more engaged in furthering and protecting their own economic interests rather than building young, independent and disciplined leadership for the future of this State. They promote a mindset which believes that Goa cannot do without mass-scale industrialisation and that more industries are required to provide employment to Goans within the State. But we rarely hear unceasing demands for the improvement of the quality of education in disciplines offered by institutions within the State so that students do not have to go outside the State. We almost never hear students demanding that the government improve the quality of life. But we definitely have a huge constituency who cheer the setting up of IT Parks and other industries in ecologically fragile zones. We even have a section of students who have begun to believe that the destruction of the environment is an inevitable component of development. Is this rational thinking and is it realistic in the case of Goa? The only alternative to reversing the course of this depressing state of politics, academics and economic affairs in the State is by employing the non-violent weapon of non- co-operation preached by Mahatma Gandhi. Goans should develop the ability not to co-operate with institutions and initiatives managed by the exploitative political and economic forces that are ruining Goa. They need to condition their minds to think out of the box and beyond the information, reports or news that are fed to the public. Politicians and industrialists have even started NGOs that are let loose to distract people from the real issues, and all this gets executed under a very innocent banner of ‘Corporate Social Responsibility’. Goans must be prudent and discerning in their political and economic choices and not get carried away by manufactured propaganda. Citizens can only counter Goa’s enemy by cultivating mental discipline, and the spirit of selflessness and sacrifice. An occasional appearance and disappearance of citizens at Azad Maidan or Lohia Maidan in buses hired by organisers is not going to bring about the desired transformation. Citizens temporarily uniting on social issues will not deter the exploitative forces in the least. People’s movements should be less about noise on the streets and more about strategy and foresightedness in programmmes. The real liberation of Goa can only be achieved if citizens stop responding emotionally on issues and employ some reasoning in their responses. For the moment Goans can only feel ashamed of the unceasing scandals that unfold every day. http://oheraldo.in/newscategory/Middle/274