Bal Gangadhar Tilak said, "Swaraj is my birthright and I shall have it." In the same vein, the right to registe their births in Portugal given to Goans, cannot be taken away from them and they shall have it. I was therefore surprised to read that all those who registered their birth in Portugal by virtue of their being born in Portuguese Goa, prior to the Liberation of Goa on December 19, 1961, or born of Goan parents after Liberation, are now considered foreign nationals.
How absurd and foolish is the ministry of home affairs to declareGoans as foreign nationals merely because they recorded their birth in Portugal for being born in Portuguese Goa. According to my knowledge, no person whose birth is registered in Portugal has surrendered his Indian passport and neither has he or she got his/her name deleted from the electoral rolls in Goa, which is the standard procedure. It will be prudent to allow the Supreme Court of India to decide this issue. If on the basis of being born in Goa during the colonial rule or being born of Goan parents confer on you the automatic right towards acquiring Portuguese nationality, why is it wrong? Many children are born of Indian parents all around the world in different countries. Some countries confer some privileges on persons born in their country or on their soil and some countries just record the birth of the child and the matter ends there with the parents taking the birth certificate and bringing the child back to India and recording the birth here to initiate the process of being granted Indian citizenship. By being born of particular parents one gets privileges, others suffer as a result too. In our democracy we have accepted privileges granted to the Jawaharlal Nehru clan, in politics just as we see the Ambani dynasty taking control over the Reliance group of industries. So if privileges can flow out of being born of a particular political family or if industries in India are under the control of families be it Tatas, Birlas, Godrej, etc, why should privileges arising out of being born in a particular regime not be considered fair and valid? If a royal couple, be it in England or the Netherlands, were to deliver a baby in India, would we deny registering the birth in India just because the child will be heir to the throne in Europe? Or would the child lose his/her rights to the throne being born in a third world poor country? It was amusing to read Ramakant Khalap's views (TOI November 24) wherein he has accused Goans who registered their birth in Portugal as "potential terrorists" or pawns in the hands of anti-national forces. Come on Khalap, you know that crimes in India, both economic or on the security front, are committed blatantly by those holding Indian passports. Have you forgotten all about the 2G Spectrum scam, the Coalgate scam and even about the great Mapusa Urban Cooperative Bank scam or the terror of the Indian Mujahideen? They are still the holders of Indian passports. All said and done, there are three steps to acquire Portuguese nationality fully with all its "rights and duties". To be a true Portuguese national, it would be necessary for our ministry of home affairs to find out first how many persons who have applied for registration of birth in Lisbon have served in the 'Portuguese Army' to declare their true love for Portugal. Surely and certainly nearly all Goans who have ventured to apply to register their birth in Portugal have done it purely on "economic grounds, not to be in the Portuguese army. Even if Goans had served in the Portuguese army, I would consider it righteous as Portuguese rule in Goa, unlike that of the British, was not discriminatory on the basis of caste, class or colour but it was our own people in Goa who discriminated against one another and often took the Portuguese rulers for a "ride. Gandhiji fought the British to get Indians the right towards salt usage without taxes. In the same way, we must fight the Indian government to preserve our birth right to both, Indian as well asPortuguese privileges, granted to us by virtue of being born in Portuguese Goa. Why are we Goans making mountains out of a mole hill? Why are we exhibiting our crab mentality? We know that Goans who registered their birth or even accepted Portuguese nationality are not only helping themselves economically but their contribution loudly or silently to the development of Goa and Goans is quite significant not only in the form of remittances from abroad but directly helping in the direct or indirect economic growth of Goa. Because of a rat we cannot set our house on fire. We must understand the benefits Goa and Goans get out of registration of birth in Portugal. We tom-tom about presidents of foreign countries being of Indian origin be it of Senegal or even of any small island nation and if a Goan with a foreign nationality serves in India we make a hue and cry. Why the double standards? In the world of today, boundaries are shrinking. We are trying to bring the people of goodwill all around the world together to live in peace and harmony. We know our prime minister too has received awards and recognition from foreign governments, universities and associations, be it atUnited Nations or the other nations. Does it make him lose his Indian degrees on the basis of him acquiring foreign qualifications? Our Goans have rightly earned their right towards what was legally due to them in Portugal. Let us count our blessings to build, and not destroy, the bridges created by the benefits accrued due to the goodwill of the Portuguese nation, which allows benefits to Goans even up to this day. (The writer is a former professor at the Goa university)
