Grabbing a larger slice... This is a tendency that pervades many fields in Goa and, only recently, it didn't spare the Konkani melody king Alfred Rose. Both while alive, and after his death, Rose and his fans have been told that he is not eligible for a state cultural award, since he is not a resident of Goa. The way in which Goa keeps disowning its own people, is it any surprise that we end up with only a very few trying to repeatedly grab a larger slice of the cake?
This is not an argument for an award to Alfred Rose, an issue which needs to be decided on merit. In any case, artistes like him -- who have popularised local culture by their own initiatives -- have already etched out a place in the heart of tens of thousands. That is reward enough. But what is galling indeed, and a rather unkind cut, is the attitude reflected in the position outlined above. You could call this a reflection of a 'small state mentality'. Instead of trying to increase the size of the cake, we keep fighting over it. Much of our energies are spent in ensuring that we ourselves get a larger slice, while excluding an increasing number of people from a fair share. Let's face it. Ours is a state which has seen its sons and daughter migrating out in droves since the turn of the early 1900s, and even before that. But in a region which has probably the highest per capita ratio of expats and out-migrants in the country, we adopt a stance that disinherits one large chunk of the population by saying they are not 'living in Goa'. But that's not all. Goa seems to have perfected the art of exclusion in different fields. Even if you live in Goa, or spent almost your entire life here, there's no guarantee that you'll be accepted in the inner sanctum. Language, instead of becoming a tool to include the weak, seems to be fast becoming another tool for exclusion. Language politics have divided two sections of Goans into warring Konkani and Marathi camps, while the main beneficiaries of this seems to be politicians and a handful of others. Romi Konkani speakers themselves feel a sense of alienation and exclusion, on being kept out of receiving prizes or other official support on the grounds that generations of work has been done in the 'non-official' script. But even if you're fluent in the Devanagari script, there's no assurance that you'll make the grade. Some get excluded because their Pernem or Canacona variants of the language may simply not be acceptable to those who define what is 'standard', 'acceptable' and 'correct'. In places like the state-sponsored Kala Academy, this policy towards exclusion is stark. Some elements of 'culture' are more acceptable than others; so is it any wonder that culture with any Western influence gets step-motherly treatment in post-colonial Goa? Radio announcers too have been, wittingly or otherwise, playing into such negative trends by perennially reminding listeners that the most popular form of Konkani music is, you guessed it, just "Western style" Konkani music. We exclude another segment of our population by simply labelling them 'non-Goans'. Never mind that some of them have lived in Goa for many times longer than it would take to get a Green Card in the US. Never mind that many do have a long-term stake in Goa, and aren't just carpet-baggers out to squeeze the most of this region and her people. Never mind that this section of the population, together with the returned expat Goan, has lent a vibrancy to Goa in a way few residents have managed. Then, of course, there's this patriarchal attitude which seeks to exclude women from Goan social and political life. Reservations in political posts have become, in many cases, just another tool for proxy-control of institutions like panchayats. There are cases where women have been told to stop speaking in traditional institutions like comunidades, since rules framed in less liberal times don't see them as having a role. In religious institutions, including the Church, women are finding their voice and asking for greater responsibility, considering their already-high level of participation and the notable performance of Goan women in many fields, particularly education. In the past, to be a non-Portuguese speaker was something that excluded you from an elite club. Today, the boot seems to be on the other foot; anything to do with the Portuguese language and culture is, most unfortunately, judged as being politically incorrect! Sociologists have also studied how colonial Goa had institutionalised discrimination in recruitment policies till the Republican Revolution of 1910. Today, a feeling is again growing that to get into a government job -- never mind that this often is a dead-end for any creatively minded person -- you have to belong to the 'right' community or caste-group. Talking about caste, this form of discrimination has undeniably also long been another exclusion-barrier in Goa. Domicile and knowledge-of-language clauses, if not carefully worked out, could badly hit the very same sections of sons-and-daughters of Goa whom they are ostensibly meant to protect! At the end of the day we need to ask ourselves: whom are we bluffing? Are rules being made just to exclude others? If so, let's shed the pretense that the goal is simply grabbing a larger slice of the cake? ########################################################################## # Send submissions for Goanet to [EMAIL PROTECTED] # # PLEASE remember to stay on-topic (related to Goa), and avoid top-posts # # More details on Goanet at http://joingoanet.shorturl.com/ # # Please keep your discussion/tone polite, to reflect respect to others # ##########################################################################
