It was the Diocesan Society which mooted the idea of government grants to English MoI. Their motivation came from the fact that the catholic community was preferring private English schools in preference to church run Konkani schools, a genuine reason. The PTAs of the church run schools toed in their line and formed a FORCE to fight the cause. The government on the basis of 50,000 odd signatures upheld the freedom of choice of the parents to choose MoI for their wards and approved the proposal.
But the decision making process was not as clean as that. The haste with which the decision was made, lack of consultation with education experts, ignoring the global concensus of preferring mother tongue at primary level and the lack of gestation period for effective delivery of the policy were the grey areas for the smooth sailing of the policy implementation. Yet, if this had happened two or three years earlier, it would have got a lukewarm resistance, which would have died down in due course. But unfortunately it happened just a year before the scheduled legislative assembly elections. It also coincided with the talks of an early election and stalwarts preparing for elections by starting to distribute goodies, pilgrimage tours and announcing their family members & supporters as Congress candidates. In the first meeting of FORCE eight catholic MLAs were spectators. But ultimately, Churchill Alemao was allowed to don No. 10 jersey and score solo goals. Barely a month before the cabinet decision, the Education Minister had assured the house that the government will maintain a status quo. Many ministers and MLAs on the treasury benches have opposed English MoI, but they all (except Shyam Satardekar & Deepak Dhavlikar) give an impression that they are toothless as the decision is of the High Command. This gradual takeover of FORCE by Congress politicians belonging to one community, going back on the assurance in the Legislative Assembly to maintain status quo and forcing the decision on the Congress MLAs belonging to Hindu community by making it look like a High Command diktat, were the right political ammunition for any opposition. That the demand for English MoI came from a small section of coastal people dominated by catholics and Church run schools was a god sent opportunity for the vanquished BJP to resurrect itself. The sentimental issues like perceived cultural neglect & relegation of Konkani made many a secular Hindus and Congress supporters to denounce the policy and side with the BBSM. The overwhelming majority in the vast expanses of the seven talukas, erstwhile known as the new conquests and the city dwelling Hindus in the old conquests want this policy withdrawn. With the insensitivity shown by the government, the aggression is increasing and the methods becoming more crude. The arguments forwarded is: if a policy in existence for 20 years can be changed within one month (of assurance in the Legislative Assembly) at the instance of minority, why is government clinging on so long to a one month policy (not approved by the apex body in the state) after majority has raised a voice? Why does Congress take decisions hastily in a bid to stop minority community becoming violent? On the other hands it waits long enough to force majority community to become violent. Why? To be able to point fingers at some, and brand them communal? It is not that these people who oppose Enlish primary MoI, do not like English. They quite well know the importance of English and the career benefits thereof. They want their children to be the masters of English and not slaves. For many, English MoI by ditching our heart throb Konkani was pride insulting. The mining Rape of Goa that the Digamber Kamat government presided over, has had affected the people of new conquests, who are the people in the forefront of pro-Konkani-Marathi camp. These people had wholeheartedly supported and played their part to support anti-Regional Plan agitations that affected the people in the old conquests. But, neither the people of old conquests nor the church supported the agitations against mining, the biggest ever evil in Goa. Whenever mining affected people agitated in Panjim or Margao, the apathy shown by the locals there is resented amongst the affected. It is only because they are less educated, less important and less outspoken, and the media is with the miners, these feelings have not reached the elite west. Of late there have been a few new trends being instigated to polarize votes: denouncing of freedom fighters as pension fighters, smear campaigns when some freedom fighters do their insane act of opposing anything that is Portuguese, referring to the liberation of Goa as annexation by India, special autonomy to Goa on lines with East Timor as a step toward cession etc. The liberal and patriotic Goans are patiently watching these trends. But depending on their patience bearing limit, individuals are forced to desert their secular stance and present themselves as a countervailing force against the greater evil of cession. An impression is created that every election, the church takes a political stance and influences catholic voters by announcing at the mass in a veiled manner. Church involvement in English MoI is being perceived by liberal Hindus and even Muslims as an attempt to emphasize its authority over the congress High Command and a veiled direction to vote for the congress, despite being extremely corrupt. The involvement of the church and the catholic MLAs also brought about an unprecedented new equation: Konkani & Marathi protagonists joining hands. Despite many attempts to break this seemingly fragile “foes turned friends” union, the bonds have proved covalent. It also proves that politicians cannot fool people without soro-chicken-cash-mobile-mobike! This union could be the deciding factor in the ensuing election by polarizing votes on religious lines. MoI issue seems to have achieved what a religious issue like Babri Masjid could not do in Goa. Economic and Social policies of BJP are no different from Congress. The difference is the perceived threats of communalism v/s corruption & mal-administration. The polarization of votes is desired by all BJP candidates alike. The polarization is detrimental to Congress in Hindu dominated areas. In Catholic dominated constituencies, where there are two or more strong candidates, a congress candidate benefits from polarization, because catholic votes do not split. The miners tend to finance new candidates to defeat the incumbent MLAs, who might have blackmailed the miners during his term. The way Alemaos have usurped mining & transport contracts and are now vying to control barges, mining money could flow against them. In the erstwhile perceived electoral regime of corruption v/s communalism, Hindus have overwhelmingly sided with secularism. But an encouragement to issues perceived by the majority as less patriotic, has a potential for instilling fears amongst the majority that such overtones can grow some day into violent anti-national outbursts. If the new dimension of cession gets added to corruption, a large section of Hindus might consider communalism as lesser evil and opt for BJP. Finally, masses vote more based on the air created than the doles when it pains in the heart. This was amply proven in 1999, when Vajapayee air enabled BJP’s Ramakant Angle to become MP garnering more votes (106,000) than combined votes of Joaquim Alemao of Congress (91,600) and Dr Wilfred Dsouza of NCP (10,500) in the Congress bastion of South Goa. It is believed that youth are less likely to be carried away by conservative, cultural and linguistic overtones and therefore are less likely to oppose English as primary MoI. But these beliefs have been belied. The trend in supporting Konkani on the basis of securing Indian-ness is more predominant amongst youth and could be the harbinger of a paradigm shift in the way Goan politics could evolve in the years to come, unless sane politicians, religious leaders and intellectuals intervene to take corrective actions.
