Muddled in thinking, united in rhetoric and divided in action -Soter

 Op-ed published in oHeraldo on August 23, 2021

The time to salvage whatever is left of ‘Goa Dourada’ is fast running out for the Niz Goykars. It has reached an either now or never situation with the social and political decay advancing in leaps and bounds. The fun in enjoying both worlds, of wanting to keep the cake and eat it too, is now blowing in the face of Goans. A lazy and cowardly mentality of naming and shaming politicians and migrants to distract and avoid tackling the root causes of the problems has only enabled the mess. The ‘victim’ card played by Goans is nothing but a refusal to acknowledge the problems and take reasonable corrective measures.

Goa’s journey to disaster is definitely not a single story. The voice of a few loud Goans is not the whole and sole truth. There is also the story of silent Goans who have realised the futility of reasoning with the brash and rash Goan. It’s a far more complex and complicated reality than what meets the eye. The socio-political crisis in Goa over the years has contributed to building a dysfunctional society, which only beats around the bush instead of attempting to see reason and zero in on relevant solutions. The noise to save Goa from being destroyed has been more about locking the stable door after the horse has bolted. The tantrums are also seasonal, depending on elections and tourism. Those who take the sob stories and protests of Goans for face value only land up appearing foolish when the electoral ballot box is opened.

Goa may boast of being a cultured State but its quality of politics is hardly reflective of an 84% literate community. Since liberation, the politics has been nothing beyond fueling suspicion, hatred and division. Whether it be the Bhatkar vs Mundkar, merger vs non-merger, Konknni vs Marathi, Romi vs Devanagari and Vernacular MoI vs English MoI, it has been the same underlying thread of caste and religious polarisation. One cannot ignore the fact that for Goan bigotry draped in a cloak of cultural nationalism, the Christians in Goa continue to be perceived as ‘denationalised Goans’ whose dominance in politics has to be neutralised by opposing whatever they demand and by infiltrating migrants. The intent behind the talukas of Salcete, Mormugao, Tiswadi and Bardez being prioritised for plunder is obvious. While the world may be given the impression of Goa being a land of social harmony, its post liberation political history shows the opposite. Such a vicious ideology in governance has only resulted in craftily veiled legislations and policies with underlying intent of discrimination and divisiveness around caste, region and religion.

The natural and logical consequence of an unprincipled, corrupt and undemocratic governance can never result in a politics of positivity, honesty and progress. A State’s culture and economy revolving around vices of alcohol, drugs, gambling and sex cannot be expected to usher in constructive development and peace. A political class which absolutely has no scruples when it comes to engineering defections to grab power at any cost, cannot be expected to respect the Constitution, the institutions of democracy and the people. The tactic of keeping Goans divided and under a permanent fear and insecurity around issues of land, culture, livelihood and identity has been the only means of survival for some opportunist Goans. 

The most recent Goa Bhumiputra Adhikarnni Bill, introduced in the 60th year of Goa’s liberation, perfectly fits within this larger framework of a vicious nationalist ideology which has been slowly chipping away at the foundation of Goykarponn since 1961. The GBA Bill is more like a ‘Sangam Bhaji’ (a confluence of vegan dishes) of unethical politics and a destructive ideology, which for the last six decades has done nothing beyond polarising Goans and altering the demography of Goa. But let us also not make the mistake of assuming that all opposition to this Bill is necessarily in the interest of protecting Goan interests. Migrants are not only about vote banks, but they are also pawns in a parallel economy thriving on illegalities and encroachments in community and private lands controlled by none other than double faced and fork tongued Goans.

Goa’s politics cannot change with ignorance, half-truths and reactionary responses. A one-track and short sighted political thinking, attitude and behaviour will solve nothing. The manipulation of the youth for selfish political ends as elections approach, in the guise of saving Goa, will not arrest the political downslide. Making Goans to perennially revolve around PILs and public hearings is like a road to nowhere. Probably, the emergence of political change actors who are in the business of fishing in NRI pockets by selling stories about saving Goa and Goans is going unnoticed. The approach to solving Goa’s problems cannot be about imitating, copying and pasting what is trending globally and nationally without seeing its relevance to the local situation. The struggle to save Goa cannot be about disjointed, competitive and unruly actions on single issues depending upon the interests of a politician-bureaucrat-business-activist nexus. Political change will not come about by merely electing new faces. 

Goa’s problem is the political system and a fundamentalist ideology, not the politicians alone. Saving Goa will require Goans to recognise the national onslaught and attack on federalism related to natural resources and the imposition of a single culture which politicians, religions and social activism are cleverly dodging. Change can only come about with an informed, rational, holistic, collective and proactive response from Goans. If the current model of politics continues to have its way, the future of Goa hangs precariously between retaining its separate and unique identity or getting dissolved into a Konkan State. 

(The author is a social activist.)

https://www.heraldgoa.in/Edit/Opinions/Muddled-in-thinking-united-in-rhetoric-and-divided-in-action/179088