To Goanet - You will have surely read of the savage assault on Aires and Prajal by hired goons of a politician-thug. Goa is at the crossroads. There is unrest in the villages and the prospect of a united resistance, while still remote, is at least within the bounds of the probable. This has tipped the toxic brew of politicians, builders and miners into a stage beyond boiling point. It is now a zero-sum game: if Goa 'survives' they perish, and vice-versa. Nothing and nobody are sacred anymore. Stand in their way and you will be mowed down.
I saw this coming in a very direct way during the course of my time on the ground. That I was placing myself in the line of possible physical harm as a consequence of my activities became evident to me early on. And despite my wide network of familial and fraternal contacts all around Goa, never for a minute did I delude myself into believing that I was somehow exempt from the fury of the criminal mafias - mining, building & political - that have now come to lord over Goa. My last name, congruent that it is with a prominent Goan politician, offered a token bulwark, but it was not something I was ever going to count on for my personal safety. I recall at least three occasions during visits to construction sites with my camera where I got into heated confrontations with henchmen of the builders. This despite the fact that I was outside the site perimeter and on public property while taking photographs. Every builder in Goa worth his salt had put me on his (s)hit-list. The senior officers at TCP Dept (all outsiders) knew I was sniffing around their files and that I had figured out the extent of the irregularities. I later found out (through sympathetic underlings in the dept) that they had transmitted information of my visits to their higher-ups as well as directly to some builders whose projects I was poring over. Rogue sarpanchas of different villages often traded notes on me and alerted the builders. Elements of the state bureaucracy right up to the level of Chief Secretary knew me as the pest interrupting their leisure time in Goa. When I became aware of the possible ramifications of all the background radiation, I began having my driver Babu - who is tough as hell - accompany me at all the construction sites. I was never explicitly threatened by any builder. But subtle messages were communicated to me via family friends, even via friends of my father's, on the pretext of being well-meaning mediators, that I should stay out of all this. Translation: we, the builders don't like what you are up to, so cease and desist. Needless to say, I did not take too kindly to this meddling. But what underscored the nature of how Goa had fundamentally decayed were my experiences during the PIL on Panjim. The message of the wretched CCP was unambiguous: we don't care what happens to Panjim, all we care about is lining up our pockets, we don't want you coming in the way of our haftas and our vote banks. I became an object of hate to many corporators, and often got menacing looks from them. During my numerous photographic forays in Panjim capturing the utter rot that has set in the once-beautiful city, there were numerous instances of ghatis (bhelpuriwallas, paanwallahs, hawkers etc) giving me the sort of looks that said, "You watch out, fella. We'll get you." I had become their bete-noire and all of them knew of "Mr Rajan." I realized that if things were allowed to run their course, in a couple of years I could not be out in Panjim even in broad daylight taking photos without placing my bones in serious jeopardy. Although these ghatis currently enjoy political patronage and have coagulated into small gangs, they do not have the critical mass to terrorize. But that will change very quickly, of that I am positive given the inaction and apathy of a comatose citizenry. The corporators, the ghatis - they all knew that I was pretty much a lone ranger, with no support of any kind from the rest of the citizenry, and that all they had to do was run out the clock. Inexorably Goa's descent into the larger Indian gutter continues. India is a lawless country and I weep at the fate that damned our little corner of paradise to be conjoined with this sewer of a country. A motley crew of Goan fighters on the ground continue with their struggle at risk to their livelihood - and now, to their lives: But alas, the vast majority of Goans remain on the sidelines, much like the vain bloviators here on Goanet, with their empty talk about repairing democracy from behind the comfort of their gated communities in London and Houston. Note: I do not read Goanet, so do not expect a response. I intend to occasionally chime in with a post or two. Warm regards, r
