*http://www.oheraldo.in/newscategory/Letters/13* *Whither Goan identity? Percival Noronha, Panjim *It is said not without reason that every adversity brings its own strength and every pain its own relief. This applies to Goans. After the so-called ‘Liberation of Goa’, we face all sorts of discrimination and injustice. Goans lived freely in an unpolluted land with a perfect continental administrative system. Censorship was imposed from 1929 onwards by Salazar. But one could write one’s grievance to the government. If genuine, it would be remedied. In any case, it was much softer than Indira Gandhi’s ‘Emergency’. Anti-social activities were rare, and dealt with firmly. Today, Goans are not safe even in their own homes! Crime and corruption are growing and, worse, people’s representatives and government officials themselves indulge in anti-social activities. Mass education has created an army of educated unemployed, while traditional arts and crafts, and artisans, have disappeared. Forced acquisition of our ancestral properties has become the order of the day, leaving Goans landless and destitute in their own land! Government jobs are no longer for Goans, as one has to pay through the nose even for clerical posts. The top echelons of the civil service are in the hands of non-Goans. All sorts of people – from millionaires to beggars, including a host of criminals – are migrating to Goa. The only great post-Liberation achievement is electrification and the completion of water works initiated by the old administration. Then, Goa had a good network of roads for its restricted population and traffic. Much-needed bridges over the Mandovi and Zuari were to be built by a Japanese company in exchange for iron ore, starting April 1962. But Liberation intervened, and we had to wait till 1971 for the Mandovi Bridge (again till 1992 after it collapsed), and till 1983 for the Zuari bridge. The Mormugao harbour and the Dabolim airport were more than enough for trade with all countries. These Goan assets are today in the hands of MPT and the Navy, who are harassing Goans. We have problems like garbage, mining and industrial pollution, destruction of our ecosystem and, above all, the loot and destruction of our age-old comunidades. The government is depriving Goans of all the prime necessities of a decent life. Even our spiritual identity has been mauled by ugly communalism, which is spreading its tentacles to all of Goa. Where are those high-sounding promises of Jawaharlal Nehru, that Goan identity would be preserved?
-- Please post your comments on my Blog: http://goanidentity.blogspot.com/ Please also see below: 1. Benaulim Village Action Committee: http://www.bvacbenaulim.blogspot.com/ 2. "Rape of Goa" : http://www.parrikar.com/blog/the-rape-of-goa/ 3. MAND - an adivasi-rights resource centre : http://mandgoa.blogspot.com/ 4. EVERY GOAN SHOULD SEE THIS VIDEO: http://infochangeindia.org/Infochange-documentary.html 5. Goa's Identity Movement group on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com//#/group.php?gid=193497031686 6. Official Government Site NRI Office (GOA): http://www.globalgoans.org.in/
