As usual Soter writes from his heart without giving due consideration to the realities of history. It is indeed "sad and mischievous" of him to portray the great Indian socialist as someone responsible for the ills Goa is facing today. In the passionate zeal to achieve independence for Goa from Portuguese rule Lohia came to Goa at the bequest of Dr. Juliao Menezes to galvanize the Goan masses. However, the quest for Goa's freedom began much before Lohia's sojourn into Goa and the fateful day, June 18, when the call for revolt was given in Margoa. Lohia was big voice in India then and very close to Nehru. His presence was needed to give Goan freedom fights the much-needed support and boost to the fight against Portuguese colonialism. Maria de Lourdes Brava da Costa has touched upon the salient aspects of the freedom movement in today's Navhind Times. Lohia's voice is still ringing in the ears of freedom-loving Goans unlike the rapid barking of like-minded persons as Soter. Soter seems to be laying the blame for Goa's current state at Lohia's feet. Goans living in Goa are themselves to be blamed for the mess that Goa is in today. As Herald comments in its editorial today that an "outsider" such as Lohia had to come to the help of Goans in setting them free of Portuguese. However, I also see a "mischievous" side to the editorial, possibly penned by an "outsider", Sujay Gupta, the paper's editor. As I see it, the editorial is a penprick by Gupta to deflect the current rage in Goa against "outsiders". So, one should read between the lines in the heading "When an outsider is an insider." Gupta is one of the few who are looked upon as people of influence. The editorial is shoddy journalism. It lacks depth and weight. I find it hard to understand his analogical writing. He also writes in a pedagogical vein as he Goans needs education on Goa's freedom history from Gupta. Check this out, "If freedom was peak to climb and conquer, it has been misused to an extent that it has become an ugly albatross. The real Goa has been brutalised, traumatised and marginalised for this sixty-five-year old." Is freedom responsible for the brutalization, traumatisation and marginalisation of Goans? The problems Goa is facing are social-economic and political ones, just as the problems India is facing in general. Goa does need a revolution, but who among the current crop of Goan leaders can sound the call? Soter does not think there can be one with "outsiders" he has mentioned, but he refrains from giving names of those "insiders" who can do so. Will Soter take this onerous task? He says that to be a "modern-day revolutionary" one has to be qualified as "bootlicker, pimp, etc". That means he rules himself out of being the "revolutionary." Call these "outsiders" or label them "neo-Goans", the reality is that the "real" Goans such as Soter cannot shun them out, except by force. The "new-Goan forces" are there to stay, and Goans will have to grin and bear it. If a Gupta occupies the editor's now, it is because of his "real" Goan owner. If Gupta has cunningly or otherwise replaced a "real" Goan, Ashwin Tombat, the fault lies with the owner or his financial backers, allegedly the mine owners. Whatever it is, "revolution" or "evolution", Goa must chart its own course. Herald profiles some of these "new" revolutionaries. I didn't find Soter's name there. The million-rupee question is if these revolutionaries can put their resources to bring about a change. He wants these revolutionaries to fight for "equal opportunities, justice, real liberties." But Gupta himself has shown that he is an "agent of change" for the mining lobby. He praises the people's movement against the "building lobby" but maintains a discreet silence against the miniing lobby. His call for "firing squads" of people against wrong-doers is happening as recent incidents have shown where the locals, be they OBCs or tribals, fighting to save their land and dignity. It is persons such as Gupta who have sold their souls to those who pay them to carry on their master's task. Soter is part of the "firing squad" that firing from the wrong end of the gun's barrel. He could restrain himself to shooting at those whose hard work paved the way for what he calls "annexation". The road to freedom from past mistakes, if indeed they are, lies in thinking ahead, and thinking in the right direction. Revolution can happen just as the Arab Spring happened. Firing from all cylinders and at all the wrong targets is surely not one of the ways to go about it. I repeat that it is a "sad and mischievous" exercise to bring people such as Lohia and those who brought about Goa's freedom in his range of fire.
Eugene Correia
