OPinionateD
Herald, 1 December, 2010
Goa, the Portuguese and India
By Adv. Antonio Lobo
The debate over the visit of NRP Sagres to Goa and the simultaneous protest
of some 30 or less BJP/RSS/FF protesters is to be viewed also in the context
of the send off given to the very same ship by a flotilla of fisherman from
Vasco, people who decided to discard the vacuous and false propaganda of the
so-called Freedom Fighters such as Karmali et al as well as what is taught
today in the schools in Goa under the garb of history with regard to the
period from 1510-1961.
Let me put before you the following facts, as food for thought, which may
help all of us refrain from mindless repetition of untruths which only help
in perpetuating them:
It is an irrefutable truth that less than 13 years after the annexation of
Goa by India all the colonies of Portugal attained their true freedom by
becoming independent countries.
That Goa, Daman and Diu would have attained the same freedom as all the
other colonies of Portugal were it not for "Operation Vijay" conducted by
the armed forces of India.
That the so-called freedom fighters did not ask India or Jawarharlal Nehru
to conduct a plebiscite in Goa, Daman and Diu to decide the question of
independence or merger with the Indian Union. Since such choice was not
given, the claims by the so-called "freedom fighters" and by India that
19.12.1961 signaled the "liberation" of Goa is false and meaningless as it
was nothing but an exchange of one colonial master for another.
That Goa, Daman and Diu had to be kept under martial law for over a year
after 19.12.1961, contradicts the claims by propagandists that Goa, Daman
and Diu were "liberated". A liberated population would not have been under
martial law.
That instead of a plebiscite, the Indian Government foisted upon Goa, Daman
and Diu the Opinion Poll in 1967, which was a choice between becoming an
Union Territory or disappearing politically altogether, forgetting the
solemn promises made, pre-annexation, in the Indian Parliament by Nehru et
al that Goa, Daman and Diu's identity would be preserved at all costs.
That, in this poll, even Goans resident outside Goa but within India were
not given the right to vote in the Opinion Poll with a clear intention to
tilt the balance in favour of the merger lobby led by Dayanand Bandodkar and
the Maharashtrawaddi Gomantak Party.
That Portugal signed a treaty with India recognising India's sovereignty
over Goa, Daman and Diu without any consultations with its populations,
acting thereby exactly as the dictatorial regime under Dr. Salazar would
have acted and not as a newly democratic nation led by alleged "democrats"
such as Dr. Mario Soares, who signed the treaty as the foreign Minister of
Portugal, giving away our land as if it was their chattel.
The fact that India required a treaty with Portugal in order for the
International Community of Nations to legalise the annexation puts paid to
the argument that Goa was an integral part of India.
That erstwhile colonies of any country have a right to independence is a
fact recognized by the United Nations. For that reason East Timor, though
annexed by Indonesia, was not recognized as part of Indonesia by the world
community mainly due to the refusal of Portugal to sign a treaty with
Indonesia recognizing it's sovereignty over Timor. That Portugal therefore
betrayed the population of Goa, Daman and Diu is an undeniable fact.
That the entity pre-annexation known as "Estado da India" and
post-annexation as the Union Territories of Goa, Daman and Diu with its
geographical borders and its way of life had come about in part 450 years
ago and the entire geographical unit as it exists today, about 250 years ago
(upto 1961), with it's own distinct culture, way of life and ethos. It came
into existence even prior to the existence of the political entity known
today as the Union of India whose existence is, in great measure, owed to
the British. It's existence is not as old as that of Goa, Daman and Diu.
Where is the question therefore that Goa, Daman and Diu were always a part
of India? India is not akin to the Indian Subcontinent which includes
Pakistan, Bangladesh and others.
That true Goans have been at the forefront of seeking to preserve the unique
identity of Goa and fighting for its survival. This has been a thorn in the
side of those who would wish that Goa could be dissolved and merged as was
sought to be done earlier. Concerted efforts were made from 1962 onwards to
ensure that the true Goan would be deprived of government jobs and left
without means of sustenance. This is one of the reasons for the mass
migration of Goans to foreign lands.
That Goa's demographic makeup was actively sought to be diluted by
encouraging non-Goans to settle in Goa, beginning with the 20 point
programme whereunder all non-Goans were given land and houses, coupled with
the parallel programme whereunder all government servants not having land in
Goa could obtain plots of the Comunidades without any competition, clearly
having in mind the hordes of non-Goan government servants brought in by
Bandodkar and his daughter Sashikala Kakodkar and later by successor
Governments in Goa.
The programme of Marathisation of Goa and glorification of Shivaji(who
incidentally invaded Bardez and Salcete on several occasions and destroyed
not only churches but also took away thousands of heads of cattle on the way
out) was started by Bandodkar with the full blessings of the Center solely
with the purpose of starting the process of building up a new cultural
identity. This programme went hand in hand with the mass import of Marathi
teachers, Mamlatdars, Collector and Deputy Collectors, Surveyors and police
and the humiliation of the then existing government cadre which was, not
only efficient and capable, but also had a superior calibre. This was also
necessary in order to implement draconian legislation such as the Tenancy
Act and the Mundcar Act that had been ushered in by Bandodkar.
That the majority of the so-called "Bahujan Samaj", with notable exceptions,
does not care whether other "Goans" are protected or not by the Goa
Government. This "special class" of people was favoured during Bandodkar and
his daughter's time in the government to the detriment of all other Goans
(this same community was the backbone of the pro-merger lobby) and this is
evidenced by many instances, one of which is the gifting by Ravi Naik, the
then Chief Minister of Goa, of the Anjediva Island to the Indian Navy
despite the fact that this island has a special place in the hearts of the
Catholic community for religious reasons.
That the democracy ushered-in with such grandiloquent rhetoric post 1961 is
nothing but a sham where votes of non-Goans are purchased thereby
marginalizing the "modlacho Goencar" only serving to legitimise the
"election" of goons and Mafiosi elements and collaborators to form
governments.
Goans - THINK, PONDER and ACT!
COMMENTS:
We Goans have to face the truths sometime in our lives. It is better done
sooner than later.
We Goans are no 'Ostriches' that we have to bury our heads in the sand
and/or be the 'Yes Men' of those who are destroying us.
It is the fact that what our so called freedom fighters failed to demand for
Goa, while enjoying the pensions, we Goans will have to be resilient in
getting those DEMANDS before we are diluted and made non-entities.
The above is the indigestible truth which will survive if Goans want to
survive.
DEAR GOANS, THIS IS THE TIME FOR US TO ARISE IN UNITY TO SAVE OUR GOAN FOR
OUR POSTERITY. THE AUTHOR'S MESSAGE ABOVE "THINK, PONDER and ACT " COULDN'T
HAVE BEEN BETTER.
Cheers
floriano
goasuraj
9890470896
www.goasu-raj.org
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It is not ENOUGH that GOOD, HONEST citizens contest elections.
It is not ENOUGH that GOOD, HONEST citizen voters elect good, honest
representatives.
GOA urgently needs 'GOOD, HONEST, DISCIPLINED SYSTEM of GOVERNANCE'.
Wherein, even a dishonest person is forced to be good, honest n disciplined,
or to QUIT.
Only through PPS can such 'good, honest n disciplined system of governance'
be identified and accepted.
PPS GOA =PEOPLE for POLITICAL SANITY = PEOPLE'S POWER SYSTEM
for a date in 2012
Display the 'PPS' sticker on your vehicle today, to reject political madness
tomorrow.
http://www.goasu-raj.org/gen/articles/70.asp
http://xa.yimg.com/kq/groups/254068/1043608998/name/roadmap_goa-su-raj_party.pdf
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/gulf-goans/attachments/folder/132590897/item/64224316/view
