Which Way Goa? By Chandrakant Keni
Goa is changing and changing very fast. It is no more that land, which was once our pride and others envy. While the harsh wounds inflicted by the cruelty perpetuated by alien rulers have healed to some extent, externally, they continue to irritate on slightest provocation. Thank god, the irritation does not last for long, thanks to the inherent strength of the society, which has preserved peace, tranquillity and maintained social harmony. This attitude has influenced the Goan identity, which we zealously retained till the dawn of freedom in 1961.
What happened subsequently was a gradual degradation and decay of the Goan society. Moreover, it was the complacent attitude that was mainly responsible for the misfortune that landed on the shores of Goa. Yet the Goan society continues to be callously indifferent to the probable dangers that these changes are bound to bring about. Slowly and steadily the menace of immigrants, attracted to Goa to fill the void created by our own short-sighted policies, is bound to boomerang. Their numbers have grown out of proportion and today they pose a threat to a very fabric of Goan society, our social morality, cultural identity and political stability. There is hardly any sector that has not been 'captured' by the so-called immigrants. Goans, traditionally engaged in basic vocations, have been systematically elbowed out. Goa will head towards serious degradation if no remedial steps are taken.
The demographic changes that have taken place in the course of the last four decades have diluted the Goan identity and corrupted its ethos and moral values. One wonders how to reverse the trend, especially in view of the fact that more than one lakh non-resident Goans are legally and constitutionally citizens of India. They have gone abroad in search of gainful employment are destined to return in the course of the next five to ten years. Will Goa be able to absorb them?
We have already sold all our prime lands to non-Goans who have expanded their industrial activities. The process of land conversion has been so fast that hardly any cultivable land is left. The available land, even if put to optimum use, will not be able produce enough to satisfy local needs even for a month. Free Goa today totally depends for the supply of essential commodities on non-Goan vendors who import these commodities from other states, especially from Karnataka. When there is some agitation or strike of lorry transporters, not only do prices of essential commodities soar but the market remain deserted for days together.
Goans today appear to be contented and delighted when national and international surveys call Goa the number one state in India, without realising that such false surveys misguide them into being complacent about the dire consequences that will face them within a decade or two.
Man is ready to risk and sacrifice everything to save what he considers precious. This attitude is visible in the event of a calamity. Saints tell us that we bring nothing with us and take nothing with us. Yet, we do not give up our efforts to possess as many precious things as we can. What is the most precious thing in the world is a relative question. Undoubtedly, the land is the most precious thing for all people at all times and Goans are no exception.
The unparalleled and unplanned growth during the span of a couple of decades has upset the social balance of Goa, causing the existing fragile structure of civic amenities to collapse. It has polluted the socio-cultural environment, threatening our age-old linguistic and cultural identity. They are encroaching upon our traditional professions and vocations and expanding their control into the economic and political spheres. Goans have become helpless spectators to this new phenomenon, which they cannot stop legally.
Goans have lost jobs and have been displaced by outsiders in every sphere of life. Still they can have hopes of reversing the process through planned economic and socio-cultural steps, provided Goans are able to retain the ownership of their lands. Those who have come and settled for good need not be driven out if they are willing to identify themselves with the hopes and aspirations of the people of Goa and offer their loyalty to the soil of Goa. Lost wealth can be regained with hard work. But the lost ownership of our lands can never be restored. The Goan identity will remain deep-rooted in the soil so long as the land belongs to them. In fact, the main aim of our ancestors while evolving the institution of comunidades was to prohibit the transfer of land to individuals or associations. Land for them was god's gift, which could not be a private property.
Comunidades have succeeded in retaining their old structure even after the systematic efforts of successive outsiders and the popularly elected governments to devoid it of its authority and land. Least the Goans can do is to preserve the land and refuse to sell it to outsiders, whatever the temptation.
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