2008/11/28 Bernado Colaco <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Any terror attack should be condemened. Bombaim saw the deaths of > many innocents. It is believed that it is still under seige. > Similarly Goa faced terror attacks 46 years ago. The Azad > Gomantak Dal is believed to have been propped by the Bharat > government to cause disturbance in Goa. The scale clearly > pales the attack of Bomabaim but still they were bombs > planted. One wonder if history is repeating itself.
Dear BC, Sad to see you bringing in your Bombaim-1961 was invasion-agenda into this serious issue that concerns all of us who care about the future of South Asia, including a country of 1+ billion. Yes, the Azad Gomantak Dal, by its own definition, was a group which did not believe in non-violence alone. It spoke out in favour of using violence, as did quite a few other movements fighting colonialism. (Is it a coincidence that almost all the anti-Portuguese colonialism movements were violent erruptions? Except, perhaps, your Macau!) One man's terrorist will be another man's freedom-fighter. And vice versa. People like Bhagat Singh also subscribed to the ideology of violence, but in no way would I consider him a "terrorist". Of course, the issue of "violence" is just a beating stick for you to use against those whom you dislike. I doubt you would appreciate Gandhi, despite all his pacifism! It is interesting to see how a tiny section of Goans will do all they can to twist the debate in favour of Portuguese colonialism, just because they had a priviledged position in those days. Which they subsequently lost. I agree there are problems in current-day India, and the religious hatred being spread even by mainstream parties is fuelling the bitterness which prepares the grounds for a tiny segment of other fanatics to hold a country to ransome. But the agenda you raise is only taking us backwards! Those who talk of autonomy after 1961 are just using this ruse to justify colonialism (and their position under it) pre-1961. FN
