* Dated: 16.04.2016* *To,*
*The Editors, Bureau Chiefs, Staff reporters, Admins and others, State of Goa.* Sir/s, *SUB: 'Commemoration of the ‘GAUNKAR’S DAY' ….. A press release for kind favour of publication for the benefit, knowledge & information of your esteemed readerships. * Kindly release the hereunder reproduced resolution passed by Gaunkars representing Village Communities /Comunidades of Goa, assembled for the annual gathering held at the Institute Piedade Hall, Panjim, on 15th April, to commemorated their Gaunkar’s Day. Thanking you for your kind co-operation. Yours Truly, Sd/- [Adv. Andre A Pereira] Convenor, Gaunkar’s Day. The Press Release: " *The Gaunkars of respective Comunidades of Goa have reason to enjoy today the benefits of their regained ‘Sovereignty’ ages before the concept of any State vesting with such Sovereignty ever came to be conceived.* *That as of 15.04.1961, the Gaunkars and the Comunidades of Goa remain free from the concept of ‘State Landlordism’ through the promulgation of the ‘Diploma Legislative No.2070’ dated 15.04.1961 as stands notified and published in the Government Official Gazette dated 15.04.1961, solemnly declaring that the respective Comunidades of Goa are absolute ‘private owners’ of their inalienable Community lands covering the respective villages not held by State grants at any point of time. * *That in terms of Article 5 of the Code of Comunidades in force, the Government has admitted of being under the testamentary obligation to provide the all time assured and guaranteed State Administrative Tutelage, both preventive and curative in nature, to the Village Communities or Comunidades of Goa, against any kind of prejudice being caused or caused at the instance of any source. * *That the above said Code of Comunidades is the general ‘personal law’ of Comunidades of Goa, not enacted by any legislature. It contains mainly the time tested compilation of usages and customs that have been practiced and followed by gaunkars from generation to generation when dealing with the management of affairs pertaining to the common welfare of their respective villages through the inalienable Community lands. * * The said inalienable Community lands consists of water bodies and natural resources, and, in terms of above said declaration, never belonged to any State Ruler who came into existence after the said Gaunkaries were established, to be inherited by any succeeding Governments. * *That the existence of Village Communities or Comunidades of Goa, covering over 80% of area under the land mass of the Territory of Goa with absolute or with allodial inalienable community land and the Gaunkars or population hailing from above said absolute private villages of Goa are not the ‘electorate’ in terms of the provisions of the ‘Representation of Peoples Act, 1951’, as foreseen by Constitution of India.* *That the provisions of both Central and State Laws, which are in conformity with the Constitution of India, cannot apply in the areas where proprietorship in given land originally does not vests with the State. There cannot be any duly constituted Revenue Districts in Goa of any Government in Goa headed by any designated Collector/s, in the absence of State land Tenure holdings. That no Sovereignty of the State can ever vest with any Government where no such Revenue District can come to exist.* *Gaunkars stand informed, for above reasons, that a petition dated 28.03.2016 has been filed before H.E. the President of India, in terms of ‘Article 365’ of the Constitution of India, demanding that appropriate action be taken for redress since the Gaunkars and their respective Village Communities or Comunidades are subjected to atrocities and fraudulent acts and deeds carried out by every successive unconstitutional, undemocratic and non-authentic State Governments in Goa.”* End.