There is no doubt that Portugal is on the whole a much better place than Goa ..except for the fact that they speak portuguese over there - a very big problem for us english speakers.
The other issue of course is whether Goa would have been better off economically under Portugal than under India. Again, I am pretty sure Goa would have made a lot more progress if it were to have remained under Portugal than come under India. Portugal of course has a rich source of funds from the EEC as compared to India. The argument of compensation by Portugal for colonialization that some people put forth is pretty weak in my opinion. The local population needs to take responsibility and ownership for most of the ills that afflict them rather than blame the foreigners. We cant keep blaming others for events that took place half a century ago. This argument, of course, works both ways. There are individuals on Goanet like Bernado Colaco (Xacuti) who blame the "outsiders" (code for non-christians?) for all the alleged problems being suffered by Goans today. This is absolutely ridiculous and borders on being xenophobic if not bigoted. Moving back to the debate of Portugal vs India, it is pretty clear to me that from a tactical point of view Goa would have been better off economically being under Portugal. However from a long term strategic point of view, I think Goa will be better off being under India. Most of the forward looking indicators - population growth/demographics, current and projected economic growth etc all seem to suggest greater economic potential in China and India as opposed to Europe. Marlon --- Rui Collaco <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I know those social indicators, Gilbert, and they > are very good. But one > must bear in mind that they were achieved over a > period of 42 years. What > else could one expect after 42 years? The rest of > the world achieved the > same and in many cases far more. What you don't > mention is that Goa's > indicators in 1961 were among the best in the third > world and considerably > better than those of India. In fact, it is because > Goa already had a > headstart that it was able to progress faster. Small > wonder that today it is > the state with the best indicators in India (on the > whole). Irrespective of > who is in power, some social indicators have been > improving continuously all > over the world (except for half a dozen war-torn > countries). It isn't a case > of Goa being able to be singled out for that. The > infant mortality rate was > quite high in Portugal itself in 1961. Today it is > lower than that of the > UK! ########################################################################## # Send submissions for Goanet to [EMAIL PROTECTED] # # PLEASE remember to stay on-topic (related to Goa), and avoid top-posts # # More details on Goanet at http://joingoanet.shorturl.com/ # # Please keep your discussion/tone polite, to reflect respect to others # ##########################################################################