goanet-digest Thursday, May 23 2002 Volume 01 : Number 4008
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In this issue:
[Goanet] NEWS: Sonia lambasts BJP's "misguided ethos" at Campal rally
Re: [Goanet] danger in Goa?
[Goanet] 10QUESTIONS: Film sought to be banned is a call for peace, harmony: Gauns
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Date: Thu, 23 May 2002 20:21:16 +0530
From: Frederick Noronha <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Goanet] NEWS: Sonia lambasts BJP's "misguided ethos" at Campal rally
SONIA LAMBASTS BJP'S "MISGUIDED ETHOS" AT CAMPAL RALLY
From Frederick Noronha
PANAJI, May 23: Buoyed by resurgent Congress showing in state polls, party
chief Sonia Gandhi lambasted the BJP, saying it lacked morality, ran
partisan governments where ever elected to power, and were busy making
"efforts to spread hatred among different communities".
She promised support to the Centre "in efforts made to deal with
cross-border terrorism" also cautioned against "unprincipled elements" who
may try to take advantage of the Indo-Pakistan border tension to bring in
more divisions among our people, as she put it.
Mrs Gandhi's frontal assault on the BJP saw her charging it with a having a
"misguided ethos". She said the party was "capable only in one area, and
that is double-speak".
Her sharp attack on the party comes as the Congress desperately tries to
outdo the BJP in Goa, a state where the latter ousted Congress from power
by encouraging defectors to cross over and called mid-term elections within
three years of the past poll.
Goa's is proving to be an uncharacteristically bitter battle, between the
main-two nationwide parties, even as the regional parties seem to be
sidelined here.
Within minutes of the ending of Mrs Gandhi's rally -- well-attended by
local standards -- the BJP vice-president Subhash Salkar lodged a complaint
with the Chief Electoral Office, alleging the Congress had got "hundreds of
buses and trucks" from neighbouring Maharashtra and Karnataka "loaded with
people from these states", leading the BJP to apprehend "large-scale bogus
voting by people from outside the State during the elections".
Eyewitnesses said police were seen scrutinising some vehicles headed for
the Opposition party's rally.
BJP, which won just 10 seats in the 40-member assembly in June 1999, is
trying desperately to stay on in power, which it last time got through
defections and floor-crossings. For its part, the Congress is trying to win
the first election nationwide after the Gujarat carnage, to make the point
that the voters are fed-up with the right-wing and "divisive" politics of
the BJP.
Sonia sought to play on voters' sentiments, reminding them that Congress
leaders had been decisive in ending Portuguese colonial rule here, offering
Goa an Opinion Poll (in 1967, to decide it's fate), and also in making
Konkani a national language in the 'eighties.
"This is a most critical moment for the people of Goa. In the forthcoming
elections, you will be voting for the continuing of the heritage of Goa.
The heritage of Goa is at stake," she argued.
She accused the BJP of running a "partisan government at the Centre", and
termed Gujarat as "an assault on basic human values". Speaking in English,
Mrs Gandhi argued: "Even in Goa, for 18 years, you never had a communal
problem (under Congress rule). Now, all other issues are secondary, the
most important is secularism".
She blasted the BJP for lacking in morality, and said: "It is better they
stop giving us in the Congress party lecturers on morality. We know where
they stand..." Mrs Gandhi stressed that the Congress currently rules 14 out
of India's 28 states, while the BJP is in power in just a few.
Sensitive to local concerns on Goa's problems under Congress rule, the
party leader promises tourism's growth "in an environmentally sustainable
manner", a massive build-up of infrastructure in terms of roads and
bridges, a boost for the IT sector, trying to build Goa into a "centre for
exports", and rainwater harvesting and drinking water projects in a state
that gets 300 cms of rain a year but still suffers shortages of water.
"There are many from Goa who live abroad, either as NRIs or as businessmen.
They are doing extremely well. They could make a tremendious contribution
to Goa. But this needs systematic planning," she said.
Mrs Gandhi also stressed the importance of steps on the HIV/AIDS front.
"I cannot tell you how much the forthcoming elections are crucial for Goa
and the Congress party," she said. "Vote for the composite identity of
Goa, one that is proud of its past. We need a clear and decisive mandate
against those who want to destroy all that is great and noble about Goa and
India," she argued.
Speaking earlier, two prominent leaders who had jumped to the BJP and did a
return to the Congress just before the polls -- ex-BJP deputy CM Ravi Naik
and ex-BJP IT minister Ramakant Khalap -- blasted the party which they
shared power with for 16 months. Naik urged the 'bahujan samaj' (so-called
lower caste groups) to fight its 'ghulamgiri' (slavery), while Khalap
asked: "Why should Goans be divided into two camps (of Konkani and Marathi)
on the basis of language?"
Naik, incidentally, has been built up by various parties as a leader of the
populous 'bhandari samaj', a subaltern caste group. Khalap, a former Indian
union junior law minister, has been a crucial proponent of the Marathi side
of the Konkani-versus-Marathi language battles in the past, with the
Congress trying to cash in on various appeals that would work with diverse
segments of the electorate. (ENDS)
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 23 May 2002 16:03:28 +0100
From: "Jorge/Livia de Abreu Noronha" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: [Goanet] danger in Goa?
No, Mr. Gilbert Menezes, it is not right to "let Amritsar and Delhi sweat",
while "we can continue walking the beaches". Let me reproduce here "A Simple
Story" from a recent post by Joe Vaz on "The Goan Forum":
>A rat looked through a crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife
>opening a package. What food might it contain? He was aghast to discover
>that it was a rat-trap.
>
>Retreating to the farmyard the rat proclaimed the warning; "There is a rat
>trap in the house, a rat trap in the house!"
>
>The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said, "Excuse me,
Mr.
>Rat, I can tell this is a grave concern to you, but it is of no consequence
>to me. I cannot be bothered by it."
>
>The rat turned to the pig and told him, "There is a rat trap in the house,
a
>rat trap in the house!"
<
>"I am so very sorry Mr. Rat," sympathized the pig, "but there is nothing I
>can do about it but pray. Be assured that you are in my prayers."
>
>The rat turned to the cow. She said, "Like wow, Mr. Rat. A rat trap. I am
in
>grave danger. Duh?"
>
>So the rat returned to the house, head down and dejected, to face the
>farmer's rat trap alone.
>
>That very night a sound was heard throughout the house, like the sound of a
>rat trap catching its prey. The farmer's wife rushed to see what was
caught.
>
>In the darkness, she did not see that it was a venomous snake whose tail
the
>trap had caught. The snake bit the farmer's wife.
>
>The farmer rushed her to the hospital. She returned home with a fever.
>
>Now everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer
>took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup's main ingredient.
>
>His wife's sickness continued so that friends and neighbors came to sit
with
>her around the clock. To feed them the farmer butchered the pig.
>
>The farmer's wife did not get well. She died, and so many people came for
>her funeral that the farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide meat for all
>of them to eat.
>
>So the next time you hear that someone is facing a problem and think that
it
>does not concern you, remember that when there is a rat-trap in the house,
>the whole farmyard is at risk.
>
In the face of this, would it be correct for people in Goa to walk carefree
on the beaches while Amritsar and Delhi sweat?
Livia de Abreu Noronha
- ----- Original Message -----
From: "gilbert menezes" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Wednesday, May 22, 2002 5:47 PM
Subject: [Goanet] danger in Goa?
> Folks,
> Took my usual evening walk on Benaulim beach. The sea has roughed up a
lot,
> which is understandable, considering that the monsoon is just 2 weeks
away.
> While watching all those children having a good time, there were signs
that
> all is not so well. At sunset, 2 Tu-142 maritime patrol aircraft of the
Navy
> flew in from westward heading for Dabolim. This has been going on for
some
> days. We are in the frontline for maritime recconaissance, and I can
imagine
> that aircraft flying out of Goa have been tracking Pakistani ships and
> littoral spaces. With tension and rhetoric building up on the
subcontinent,
> one may well ask whether it is risky living in Goa in case of an all out
war
> with Pakistan. The good news is that Goa is out of range of any PAF
fighter
> or bomber, unless they have air to air refuelling capability, which I
doubt.
> The other good news is that Goa does not present a viable nuclear
> target --no worthwhile population or industrial density.
> So let Amritsar and Delhi sweat, we can continue walking the beaches
>
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 23 May 2002 21:15:14 +0530
From: Frederick Noronha <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Goanet] 10QUESTIONS: Film sought to be banned is a call for peace, harmony:
Gauns
Film sought to be banned is a call for peace, harmony: Gauns
BICHOLIM-BASED social activist Ramesh Gauns (51) is a popular figure among
campaigners in the state. "For the last 24 years we have been trying at all
levels to inculcate secular values , and this is our main agenda," says he.
So, Gauns was outraged when the BJP caretaker government threatened to slap
"communalism" charges against those exhibiting a video-film narrating the
reality behind the carnage in Gujarat. This came in the run-up to the May
30 elections in the state. In an interview with Frederick Noronha, the
Forum for Communal Harmony convenor explains what's at stake:
********************************************************
FN: Bans (or threatened bans) of films or books could make it more popular,
would you agree?
********************************************************
Certainly. People will be very much curious to know what exactly the film
contains...
********************************************************
FN: Okay then, *what* does it contain?
********************************************************
Actually there's nothing (objectionable) in the film. It's a cry for
justice, and an explanation of the injustice done (to the Gujarat carnage
victims) by well-organised mobs under the protection of state forces. This
is exposed outright by the common victims of what has been
called 'genocide'. It also shows burnt places -- houses, shops -- left
after the organised violence, and the actual conditions in the relief camps.
More importantly, it gives a message for peace. In the real sense, it is
only a call for peace and communal harmony.
********************************************************
FN: What's your case? Is the action technically legal? Is it politically
biased?
********************************************************
(Technically legal or otherwise) it is clearly politically biased. That
film was shown in T.B.Cunha Hall on May 16/17, where a sizeable crowd saw
it, after being made known to all, including the government agencies,
through the press. If the film contains any objectionable aspects, why
wasn't objection taken to at the T.B.Cunha Hall too? Objections should be
objective, not subjective.
********************************************************
FN: Have you consulted a legal viewpoint on this?
********************************************************
There is a green signal from (all lawyers we spoke to). There is nothing
objectionable. Secondly, these films ('Hey Ram' by Gopal Menon and 'Fear
Stalks The Land' by Gauhar Raza) are being show across the country by
campaigners for secularism.
********************************************************
FN: One argument was that permission is needed to screen a video film.
********************************************************
Permission for what? For a public screening with more than 40 people
gathering, technically yes. But what is the real objection to this film?
That no permission was taken? Or that the film puts out "objectionable
content"? This is nothing but harassment.
********************************************************
FN: How do you see this action?
********************************************************
Gopal Menon is a well-known activist on people's issues. Issues come up in
a very different (and convoluted) manner in Goa. The BJP caretaker
government doesn't want to get themselves exposed over their party's deeds
in Gujarat. That's why even the smallest attempt to express agony of the
people of Gujarat (is being blocked).
********************************************************
FN: Has a ban actually been imposed?
********************************************************
So far, nothing has been banned. We are anyway going on with the
screenings... in private groups. I would in fact like to suggest all people
concered about humanity and human rights to make it a point to at least
screen this film in their locality. This would expose the brutality of
supremacist thinking.
********************************************************
FN: Your suggest that this issue goes beyond just minority concerns?
********************************************************
Definitely. It's an issue for everyone. People from the majority community
have a concern for liberal thought. Had it not been the case, we would have
long since been a 'Hindu Rashtra'. The Sangh Parivar has tried this for 75
years. But then, why was the BJP then pushed to garnering just 21% of the
votes in Gujarat?
After September 11, terrorism and Islam have been well sought to be
connected by ideologues of a certain political tradition in places like the
US. Now, other political forces here are trying to cash-in on that here too.
********************************************************
FN: There is a debate over whether Gujarat would have an impact on the Goa
polls....
********************************************************
I don't think so, because the regional language papers which have maximum
readership, did not come out that impressively and effectively on this issue.
********************************************************
FN: What's your long term vision of the chances for secularism to grow in Goa?
********************************************************
We're trying our level best to, at the very least, have a very good forum
of like-minded people to take up the challenge of communalism, which was in
fact started in Goa quite a long time back.
------------------------------
End of goanet-digest V1 #4008
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