There are some controversies which will never end
and considering the fact that we are still debating the
pros and cons of Goa's liberation/invasion/annexation on
Goanet 45 years after the event, makes it one such controversy.
Since we cannot agree on a political description of the event
to begin with, why not compromise and agree on a scientific
description and call it "absorption"?
The question whether things were better in Goa under
the Portuguese prior to 1961 than they are now, entirely depends
on one's personal point of view. We all know the story of the
blind men and the elephant and as Shakespeare has said, "beauty is
in the eye of the beholder"!
If you happened to belong to the privileged class
(and I confess that I myself did so - by accident of birth
and not by choice, I might add!) you certainly enjoyed the good
life and were duly rewarded for loyalty to the Portuguese
colonial regime. The vast majority of the population, however,
was illiterate, economically deprived and largely exploited.
The territory was administered by a Portuguese Governor and
ruled directly by decree from Lisbon under the "Acto Colonial",
even though it was euphemistically described as a "Provincia
Utramarina" or Overseas Province.
Today, it is a full-fledged State of the Indian Union,
with a freely elected Goverment under universal adult franchise.
It enjoys a high status under social development norms
including literacy and health set by the United Nations.
Yes, there is corruption - precisely because economic
development has given scope for it. If things are in a bit
of a mess, we have only ourselves to be blamed for it and
it is no use blaming others. It is up to us to set matters right!
The attitude of those who still hanker for "the
good old times" under Portuguese rule will be well understood
by psychiatrists and psychologists as displaying a "slave mentality".
It is an established fact that many freed slaves would choose to
return to their masters because they preferred the security of
captivity to the risks of freedom. Wild animals who have been
domesticated can never be returned to the wild because they
would have lost their ability to survive under free conditions.
Satyameva Jayate!
---Tony Correia-Afonso.
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