Santosh,
What SOTER has failed to mention about the 1961 annexation of Goa
by the Indian army is that it came about as the then PM
Jawaharlal Nehru embarrased by his inability to persuade vast
sections of Goans in Goa ( notably the Catholics who aquiesced to
the idea of Portuguese citizenship as equal citizens who were
represented in Lisbon by goan representatives in a federal parliament
as being from an overseas province rather than a subjugated colony )
to engage in bloody revolution. Goans resident in India , loyal to
India were urging the " freeing " of goa from what they saw as
domination by an European Portugal with goan middle class of beauracrats
acting in consort with them.I remember the editor of the Goan Tribune in
Bombay then , ( was he a Soares ?? ) even exhorting the brave ones
in Bombay to join the satyagrahis in their forceful forays into Goa .
Santosh , you cannot deny that after India , ignoring the U.N. "
liberated " Goa and used a Military governor to rule by Presidential
decree for over a year. That is the style of a military occupier
keeping down a conquered people. The fact most senior positions in
goa were advertised first in Delhi and other states so that
competent goans in Goa then could be bypassed for for out-of- state
Indians has been swept under the carpet in the media. Follwing that
our hindu goans including that ******** Shri Bandodkar agitated for
Goa to be merged into Maharashtra............ so as to share the
spoils of conquest with his marathi kith and kin with scant
regard for the different identity that Goa had by virtue of its
450 -year history. Remember the " Zalas Pahije ! " cries that wer
raised in the then Bombay regarding Goa being swallowed by them ?
----- Original Message -----
From: "Santosh Helekar" <[email protected]>
To: " estb. 1994!Goa's premiere mailing list" <[email protected]>
Sent: Saturday, June 18, 2011 12:01 PM
Subject: Re: [Goanet] There cannot be another Goan Revolution
It appears that in the following various Indian communities such as Rajputs,
Lingayats, other Hindus and Muslims are being portrayed negatively. Ramani,
a Goan name is also dragged into the mix. Among the communities that are
quite predictably left out are non-Indians such as Russians.
Cheers,
Santosh
--- On Sat, 6/18/11, SOTER <[email protected]> wrote:
It was in 1946 that Ram Manohar
Lohia raised the banner of revolt at Margao against the
Portuguese Government. All that the revolution could acheive
fifteen years later was a forced intrusion by the Indian
Army into Goa which in international fora was considered as
an annexation. The reason was obvious. The band of marathi
socialists deputed from across the borders could not win the
hearts and minds of the Goan people. As this fact became
clear, the possibility of the Portuguese Government granting
autonomy to Goa became a cause for nervousness for an
ambitious and greedy Maharashtra. Panic set into its ranks
leading to an armed take over of Goa. It is for this reason
that the so called freedom fighters still do not feel
liberated from the Portuguese and find every excuse to
disturb the peace of this State.
Sixty five years later there cannot be another political
revolution with a Gupta as the Goan Opinion maker, a Pandit
as the Goan historian, a Vagela as Goa's activist, a Sharma
as the Goan educationist, a Ramani as the embassador of Goan
culture, a Gauda as the Sarpanch, some Khan as the
Goan industrialist, a Bajpai as the custodian of Goan
properties, Gundurao as your Goan banker, a Sonak as the
Goan legal advisor and the rest on the migrant wagon
refusing to accept Konkani as their mother tongue. This is
the irony. The fruits of a revolution started 65 years ago
can be seen in a Baba and a Togadia dictating the medium of
instruction for Goans and a Montek Singh Ahluwalia charting
the course of Goan economy. A Malia heightens the spirits
and an Advani defines Tourism. The chain does not end here.
Every damn decision on the life and livelihood of Goa has to
be activated by a Sonia or a Gadkari sitting in Delhi. It is
an era where in the lion sits with the lamb, the socialists
and communists embrace the communalists at Azad maidan. All
thatis possible are micro revolutions to wipe out the traces
of the true Goan people.
The connotation of the word revolution in liberated Goa has
also been redefined in the context of globalisation and
liberalisation. To be a modern day revolutionary for Goa one
needs to qualify as a boot licker, pimp, broker, fraudster,
yesman, conman for the ruling class/castes and their
supporting class of industrialists. These results and titles
conferred upon Goans gets published in Goa's news journals
manned by agents from beyond the borders. The only other
title that comes cheap if one does not qualify for the above
is the title of 'Naxalite' from a joint venture by a migrant
PR manager of a mining firm and the Leader of Opposition.
Refusing to bow before the neo-goan forces could also run
the risk of you being tried for sedition and being dubbed an
anti-national, an agent of the Portuguese. For a Goan will
ultimately prefer the 'lies' of a migrant than the 'truth'
from a fellow Goan. All that finally gets left for a Goan is
to dream about a passport to Europe. All we can be content
with is the Cyber Revolution of Goa.
Yeh hi hai Goy (not Goa) Kranti din, Baby!
-Soter D.
