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Domnic Fernandes continues (Part II) his reminiscence of
Mapusa of the 1950s
http://www.goanet.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=426
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Dear Tonybab,
First of all, my apologies for not responding to your posting earlier. Am
busy with stuff and I totally missed your post until about an hour ago.
Before I add my further two cents bit to this (I believe) intellectually
challenging debate, I'd like to place my cards (personal positions) on the
table.
1: Goa is and will always be my home.
2: The Portuguese did a lot of good and bad - in and to Goa and Goans.
3: 1961 was as good a time as any for Portugal to leave Goa.
4: Our family was definitely anti-Salazar, and I have not seen (nor read)
anything which would make me pro-Salazar.
5: Even though the eventual result would have been (in my mind) the same,
Nehru should have
offered Goans (even if it was on December 20, 1961) a chance to be
Independent or Join India. I don't think he thought much about Goans as
being anything more than "Cooks and Butlers".
6: Your terminology of 'absorption' notwithstanding, the official terms used
in the SC rulings are Invasion and Annexation. Don't understand the need to
overrule the Supreme Court of India.
7: NOT every body who opts to reclaim his(or her) Portuguese Nationality is
a supporter of Salazar or a ill-wisher of India. In fact, I wonder IF most
of the Salazarists aren't right there in Goa....having made their poixe by
sucking up to Salazar.
8: Not everybody who turns down the opportunity to gain another nationality,
or turns down an opportunity to work abroad, is a patriot. Pundalik Gaitonde
and Fanchu Loyola were patriots, were they not? And yet ....they left (for
reasons they know best) to reside their golden years (of all the places) in
Salazar's Portugal(from which even Portugal's Portuguese were fleeing).
9: Not everybody who returns to Goa is a patriot or whatever. Each one makes
his own decision for his own reasons. Some are family reasons, others
emotional, occupational, opportunity...but most are FINANCIAL. IF the Rupee
gets stronger than the Pound or Dollar; or IF it gets more expensive to live
in Goa in comparison to the UK/US, I wonder how many of the UK/US retirees
will stay on in Goa. So, without prejudice, I say "To Each His Own"
10: I personally wish the best for both Portugal and India. That is how the
Gujratis who live there and their relatives who live in Daman and Diu,
think. IMHO, That is the smart and practical way of looking at it.
Now to your responses to a few questions [wrt: Pre & Post 1961 Goa]; I have
a few closing comments at the foot of this (rather long message)
TCA = Tony Correia-Afonso JC = jose colaco
TCA: "I did expect a response from you to my post and have not been
disappointed!"
JC: My dear Tonybab, I am not in the business of disappointing others. I
know that you being an honourable man, will accept my points for what they
are worth. You don't have to necessarily agree with my view point...just One
that ....it is my privilege to be able to e-debate a person of your stature,
and one whom I admire & repect immensely.
---
Now
JC Q1: "On what reviewable (researchable) basis did you conclude that the
Vast Majority of people in Goa were economically deprived (say in 1961)?"
TCA A1: < I confess that my observations were based on personal experience
and knowledge, rather than on any published data, but would maintain that
they are no less valid for this reason. The term "economically deprived" is
a relative one and few will deny that a majority of the common people
("gente do povo"), who constituted the vast majority,were economically
deprived when compared with the minority privileged class.>
JC 1b: I submit, dear Tonybab that even you with your vast 'personal
experience and knowledge' could NOT by yourself provide validity to the
conclusion you have arrived at.
I'll say this to you - please think about what you feel about the following:
In ANY country (including so called socialist countries), at ANY given time,
the VAST MAJORITY of people will be RELATIVELY "economically deprived"
when COMPARED to the 'minority privileged class'. There are enough of
economic indicators which one can research and review to ascertain that.
BTW Tonybab, That was never the question posed to you.
You, dear Tonybab had ASSERTED that 'the Vast Majority of people in Goa were
economically deprived'.(I assume circa 1961)
I ask you again, If I may : How do you know that?
And, IF you are using the RELATIVE coefficient, are you saying that in Goa
2006, the VAST
MAJORITY of people are NOT RELATIVELY "economically deprived" when COMPARED
to the minority privileged class ?
If somebody has a Maths Calculator, please work out the Chi Square and
advise if there is any significant difference between the RELATIVELY
"economically deprived" and the 'minority
privileged classes' of 1960 and 2006 repectively.
===
JC Q2: If the vast majority of the population was exploited, WHO exploited
them?>
TCA A2: <Obviously the privileged class, under the patronage of the
Portuguese colonial regime.>
JC 2b: Would you Tonybab, please expand on the meaning of this "privileged
class", Who these folks are, How they became 'privileged', Did the
Portuguese played THE major significant role in their becoming 'privileged'
(excluding the Chowgulos), WERE the 'privileged' class 'privileged' BEFORE
the Portuguese even dreamt of Old Goa, and ARE the same 'privileged' class
no longer 'privileged' today?
===
JC Q3: How was the exploitation reversed (if at all) after 1961.
TCA A3: < By introducing popular rule under universal adult franchise,
empowering the underprivileged and enacting a slew of social and economic
reforms (not all of which were successful, one must admit)>
JC 3b: Which one is it, dear Tonybab...Has the 'exploitation' been reversed
or not? I agree 100% that education has opened up ....ALL OVER THE
WORLD....and that has helped countless people ....even in Karwar, Ratnagiri,
Savantwadi where there was NO Portuguese Govt in 1961.
===
JC Q4: Would you say that for the average Goan family (without any person
in the Merchant Navy or in the Gulf/Africa/ etc) it was/is easier to make
ends meet in 1960 or in 2006?
TCA A4: <I can best answer this question by quoting two actual examples from
my own
backyard.>
JC 4b: With due respect Tonybab, IF that is your best answer, please allow
me to accept it without reading that particular answer any further.
It's possible too, that there are 'literally hundreds of such examples
across the State' of average OLDER people in Goa (WHO paid their dues in
life) but now ...in their golden years would NOT be able to make it, IF it
were not for the Arabian Gulf. (The present cost of living compared to 1961
Goa/Maharashtra cost-differential having been taken into account)
But I am not ready make an assertion here- one way or another without
studying the 'financials' scientifically.
In closing Tonybab, we may have to ask ourselves wrt 2006 - forget the
Portuguese era in Goa. It's done with for good:
1: Are Goans informed adequately enough to make FREE choices for themselves?
If so, WHY are they electing the same old Alibaba fellas - one of whom is
a 'philantropists and social worker' from "your own backyard"?
2: Are Goans getting a fair shake from the natural wealth of Goa?
3: Are Goans (in politics) able to make crucial decisions without consulting
Delhi-based politicians?
4: Do Goans own Dabolim, or has it been sold/annexed/absorbed' whatever?
5: Do Goans not have a right to know what happened to Anjediva.
6: In a free democratic Goa), Could Goan technical voices (wrt the route of
the Konkan Railway) be over-ruled by a Delhi minister, and "railroaded" by
the signature AT HOME of Proto Barbosa - who himself was deemed 'illegally
elected' a few weeks later.
7: Are Goans in the Tourism Business (Hotel Industry) getting the best shake
they can get?
8: Are Goan waterways esp the Sal and Baga being choked by filth or not?
9: ...... are we all happy about the Communal Tension which occured? How do
we feel about our own direct/indirect support of the parties which helped
light the fuse?
10....etc etc etc
Yours very Sincerely
jc
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