For over a month, the nation is being rocked with news of catastrophic events either leading to much suffering or even deaths.
17 Apr, 2016, 07:13AM IST
By Soter D’Souza
For over a month, the nation is being rocked with news of catastrophic events either leading to much suffering or even deaths. The drought conditions in Maharashtra, the fireworks display gone horribly wrong at a Temple at Kollam, the terror strikes by Maoists and Pakistani militants and the collapse of a fly-over in Kolkata are just some of the recent tragedies which sparked reactions and debates. It is natural human instinct to feel shocked, angry and grief at the loss of precious lives or sufferings of ordinary citizens and army personnel. Along with the emotions comes the quest to ascertain the probable cause and fixing of responsibility on those assigned with the duty of preventing or minimising the occurrence of such tragedies. More than often, particular vested political interests in this country drive the debate into a filmy plot by propping up heroes, villains and victims according to the political mileage desired. While some of the tragedies may be genuinely beyond anyone’s control, there are those in which the victims from such tragedies are indirectly also the villains at the same time. Pain and suffering among ordinary citizens arising from terror strikes, floods, droughts, fires, among other unfortunate incidents are not always accidental or natural, but more than often they are logical consequences of human omissions or commissions.
The opposition to damming and linking of rivers, deforestation, industrialization, urbanization and communalism in independent India were all brushed aside by the use of State power and force coupled with mindless cheering of such devastating progress by the masses. Social activists are often ridiculed, mocked at and accused of being anti-development and anti-national. The consequences of haphazard development such as floods, droughts or landslides sometimes take several years to manifest. When it does, the culprits camouflage their criminality with another lie such as natural disaster or climate change. Scientists and experts sometimes play God and defy the laws of nature for which the ordinary citizen ultimately pays a heavy price. The untold misery the country faces today is because so called experts refuse to respect the intrinsic bond that exists between water, vegetation and climate. The ignorant public intoxicated with the opium of development administered by dubious politicians are in no state of mind to comprehend the dangers as they suffer from hallucinations about employment, money and happiness. The height of such shamelessness is demonstrated when the water train sent to Latur is hailed by the educated illiterate as an achievement. If really so, then what has happened to the crores of rupees spent on damming of rivers and constructing canals for the last 60 years with the promise of making India water sufficient? After depending on tankers for water in cities, now will rural India have to wait for water trains to get a sip of water?
Goan society is not free from such hypocrisy and stupidity. While the Goan complains bitterly about the loss of culture due to in-migration and loss of livelihood due to environmental destruction, the same Goan connives with unscrupulous politicians to extract a monetary share from the development or to settle scores with a fellow Goan. No sooner, the rape and loot of Goa gets questioned, the cold war of communalism gets played out with a ‘Amche lok’ (Hindu) v/s ‘Te lok’ (Christians) battle erupting with no rational basis. Like the fate of the official language, anti-Meta strips and Konkan Railway re-alignment movements, the anti-DefExpo struggle of the people of Betul and Canaguinim was subtly polarised on religious lines by taking cover of nationalism and development. Some may ask: Why can’t Goans see how politicians are dividing and destroying Goa? The answer to this could be got with a counter question: can an alcoholic or drug addict see what the chemical is doing to him or her? The intoxication of Goans with money, power and religion only blinds them from recognizing their miserable social and political condition. Just as the alcoholic will insist that all is fine with boozing, the intoxicated Goan will also swear that all is OK with development.
Ultimately it is the ordinary citizen who suffers the disastrous consequences of the unscrupulous politician’s adventures and picnics. Goans are not far from the drought and flood situations experienced in neighboring Maharashtra and Karnataka. When such disaster strikes, will Goans who have been fence-sitters and boot-lickers of unscrupulous politicians have the moral right to claim innocence and victimhood? Are they also not villains in this destruction of Goa by their very silence and tolerance of the destructive political forces? The political cartel who now boasts about Goykarponn will do a U-turn and disappear to safer havens. As for those who stand up against the destructive forces, they will have fulfilled their spiritual duty towards their community and future generations.
http://www.heraldgoa.in/Review/Voice-Of-Opinion/When-the-victim-is-villain-in-Goa%E2%80%99s-destruction/101029.html
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