The problem
FOUR decades after Liberation, Goa stands acclaimed as being among the best developed states in the country. It has been described as one of Indias ten most global non-corporate brands, second only to the Indian film industry and Bangalores Silicon Valley. It is also the only state in the country to have a Uniform Civil Code, applicable to all persons of all religions and castes with minor variations. Laws enacted in mid-19th century, inspired by the Code Napoleon and the idealism of the European Enlightenment, are in many ways responsible for Goas reputation as a peaceful, well-integrated society free of communal tensions, with an ambience that
envelops newcomers within its warm embrace. Yet public perception across the European world and in the imagination of many others has linked Goa in the last three decades with Kathmandu, Bali and Ibiza. Goans battle environmental pollution, drug traffic and paedophilia.
Those who venture beyond the beach would find a community created by the ancient gaunkari or comunidade system, village communes that have cemented a sense of extended family within each village. Despite the cruel repressions of colonization and conversion, these traditional institutions preserved unity. The Goan sense of self survived divisive policies and expressed itself through a synthesis of old culture and new faith, a distinctive architecture, music, and folk culture. Christianity in Goa has accommodated itself within the Hindu calendar so that festivals and feasts overlap. Local customs have found a place within new rituals, traditional sweets have begun to vary and yet retain
their original provenance, and religion continues to remain a deep spiritual experience embedded in a tradition of bhakti worship in the mother tongue.
The roots of Goan identity, largely created by tradition and geography, lie in the Konkani language, mother tongue of Goans, and in the soil. Konkani, officially banned in 1684, was declared the official language in 1987. Yet its place continues to be contested by a small but deeply entrenched group demanding equal status for Marathi. Despite the creation of a Konkani Akademi, no government and Goa has seen more changes of government than any other state in the country in as many years has shown a sense of serious purpose in enforcing the official language. However, there is a great revival of Konkani literature and cultural expressions through youth mahotsavs, the Konkani tiatr and natak. It is as if the soul has been set free and the tongue loosened to give unrestrained
_expression_ in poetry, narrative, drama and song.
The Goan experience of colonialism and decolonization sets it apart, making problematic its harmonious integration into national life. Since so little is known about Portuguese colonial policies and the process of liberation, visitors to Goa tend to be exasperated by what is seen as the Goans sense of being special. He holds himself aloof and yet is warmly hospitable, seeing himself as slightly different. Four hundred and fifty years of being part of Portugal seemed to have cut the Goan off from the Indian mainstream and, after 1934, from the national freedom struggle when the Goa Congress Committee founded by Tristão de Bragança Cunha was disaffiliated from the National Congress Party since Goans were citizens of another country. (Unlike British India, the Goans had been granted limited franchise and Portugal had two Goan members of parliament after constitutional monarchy was established in 1822.) Further,
the decades of Salazars dictatorship and an absence of civil rights left little room for the functioning of civil society. Finally, unlike the case with British India, the transfer of power in Portuguese Goa was not an orderly constitutional affair; it was ugly and without any semblance of civility.
Some of the socio-cultural and intellectual dimensions of European Enlightenment and bourgeois freedom shaped the minds of a very small Goan elite. For a few brief decades members of this elite debated in a vibrant press and argued the case for autonomy, until Salazar muzzled the press and all interaction between government and Goan leadership stopped or became a confrontation. In the end it was Ram Manohar Lohia who, when in Goa on holiday, and outraged at the absence of civil liberties, broke the impasse at an impromptu public meeting on 18 June 1946 in Margão, and inspired Goans within Goa and in Mumbai to organize themselves.
The
transition from colonial to civilian government after a brief period of military rule was rapid and unnerving with vast and immediate changes, not least in the language of power with English replacing Portuguese overnight. Whereas the elite in British India stepped into freedom with enhanced confidence and power, the Goan elite, whether Christian or Hindu, felt threatened. The first election revolutionized Goan society and the social transformation was far more rapid than in the rest of India. Land reforms and education transformed a largely agrarian society which had already been disrupted by migration in search of employment. In subsequent decades, tourism has also contributed to mobility in ways that have not been matched in other parts of the country.
To what extent has Goa come to terms with its legacy of these 450 years? For the last three decades a promotion of tourism with an undue emphasis on the Portuguese influence has led to a much needed search
for definitions of identity. However, attempts to define identity to suit current ideologies could pose a threat to the harmony that has so far prevailed. Goans debate the present and future dynamics of their state as a part of the Union of India in which it has an identity of an autonomous state within the federal structure. However, the political process has social, economic and cultural implications which challenge Goas ability to enter the mainstream while preserving the plural heritage which is a dominant feature of the harmony of Goan character.
The resultant challenge calls for a Goan response, in particular to divisive tendencies that have so become a feature of the electoral process. It has led to instability in the past and is a source of corruption and inefficiency. With Goa emerging without frontiers, as it were, there has been a significant influx of non-Goans in a state, which unlike other smaller states of the Indian Union, does not have
laws protecting Goan identity. For example, there is no restriction on sale of land to non-Goans. How is such an identity to be preserved without falling into the dangers of narrow-minded chauvinism? The argument cuts both ways since Goa, which is among the most developed states of the Indian Union with a highly educated and literate population and a zero population growth, also faces a serious problem of unemployment.
These are issues which confront the country as a whole. They equally arise from the development process which has achieved considerable progress specially on the economic front. However, this progress simultaneously highlights areas of darkness and problems on the socio-cultural and political fronts. In a sense, therefore, Goa presents one face of Indias future.
To retain the vitality of the Goan character and experience without being fossilized into a caricature represents the challenge of the times. This issue of
Seminar hopes to contribute to the ongoing debate on identity, culture and politics.
MARIA AURORA COUTO
November 2004
AMCHEM GOEM
a symposium on the many
facets of Goan society
a symposium on the many
facets of Goan society
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