On 21 August 2010 01:17, Vasant Baliga <[email protected]> wrote thus to Bernado Colaco:
[1] If Nehru were alive,he would certainly regret the current state of India and his beloved Kashmir,but if you think that he would regret 1961 and the continuation of the Salazar dictatorship,you are sadly mistaken. [2] As another Goanetter said-Goa was integrated into the Indian Union in 1961-live with it and try and better Goa. [3] Why not bring Salazar into the debate?He was the Lord and Master of Goans until 1961 and ruled with a iron fist till 1961 and is very relevant to feelings of Goans on the subject. [4] Just fulminating on Goanet against"Bharat and Bharathis" may satisfy your ego and a few loonies,but does not help Goa. === RESPONSE: I, for one, do not now why the semper-bitter Bernado Colaco goes on ad nauseam about 'Bharatis', as if the term is a derogatory one. He reminds me of the RW chaps in Poona who would call Catholic Goans names like "Krischen", "Salazar" and "Goa", as though we Goans were pro-Salazar or that we were ashamed of our native land i.e. Goa or our faith. Those RV chaps were ignorant about us Goans, and I believe that Bernado Colaco is just as ignorant about "Bharatis'. Vasant Baliga is surely on the button when he suggests that BC may be mere stroking his ego. That having been said I am not so sure that Baliga's assessment of Nehru is accurate, unless Nehru was really daft. I'd only say this about Nehru and ALL other politicians: They take decisions mainly for political expediency. I also believe that there is NO such thing as democracy. There is a facade being presented, and that is all there is to that. The thing we call Democracy is a mechanism used by some to make flowery speeches and extravagant promises to con the naive to elect a set of thieving dictators every 5 years. If you do not believe me ..... Try get an honest and scrupulous + principled man without money an "election ticket" ....and elected in 2010. If you are in doubt, call up Tony Correia-Afonso in Benaulim. Yes, He is an honest, upright and capable Goan and also a 'Bharati'. On the matter of Salazar, I would invite Vasant Baliga to expand on the effect of Salazar on the vast majority of Goans antes 1961; I will accept feelings as relevant IF they are based mainly and reasonably on known facts and not on propaganda, hearsay and revisionism. Just as one judges the state of health care in a country by the Infant Mortality Rate (and not what health care is only available to he wealthy), I suggest that the affect and effect of Salazar on Goa could reasonably be assessed on the basis of HOW the poor, indigent and elderly were managing during his stint. Additionally, here are some questions which may be reasonably asked: a: Do the vast majority of Goans feel safer in their homes and on the roads in 2010 v 1961? b: Is the environment better in 2010 v 1961? c: Is Goa cleaner in 2010 v 1961? d: In 1961: Was the standard of living for the average Goan living in Goa better or worse than the average resident of Savantwadi, Ratnagiri, Kawar and surrounding areas? e: Are the folks who ripped Goa's natural sources antes 1961 any different from the ones who are ripping it in 2010? I will skip the topic of the satyagrahis who crossed into Goa .... for now. I doubt 'satyagrahi' can cross any border in 2010 without meeting similar or even worse consequences. I conclude with this point: It is nice to know that Salazar (according to Vasant Baliga) is very relevant to feelings of Goans (in 2010). I hope the Goans, Baliga refers to, realise that they were recently (in 2010) considered quite irrelevant by Digambar Kamat. Sincerely, jc * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ISSUES BEING DEBATED: In East Africa, despite colonialism, the British afforded the Goan a sliver of a socio-political voice. Read *Into The Diaspora Wilderness* by Selma Carvalho. Soon to be available in Toronto. Pp 290. Via mail-order from [email protected] http://selmacarvalho.squarespace.com/
