Antonio's post brings up a good point - lack of effective 'top-down' management in Goa (and possibly India, too). In societies where the citizens have seen through the empty promises and smoke-screens put up by politicians, grass-root 'bottom-up'?) NGO's start taking matters into their own hands as is evident in my beloved village of Saligao. These organizations can effectively operate outside the sphere of political and religious influences for the betterment of all members. The astute Indians are realizing this and working their way out from under the 'dharmic rules and regulations'. ( http://www.secularhumanism.org/Intl/india/ ) It will take a while yet for mainstream Goans to realise the benefits of this move.
The unfortunate part of the current optimism over India's impending affluence is the unsustainability of first world lifestyles for third world countries. In fact, we in the so called developed countries, have buried our collective heads in the sand when it comes to questioning the unsustainability of current first world lifestyles at the expense of poorer nations. When the average north american (me included) uses 32 times the resources that the average human inhabitant of this planet uses, something's got to give. China, already ahead of India in population and standard of living, has next to no controls on environment degradation that are only now being instituted in the west. Deforestation, soil erosion, water management, etc are becoming more difficult to manage as the rate of family dwelling occupancy drops with the concurrent increase in overall consumption. What does this have to do with Goa? Compared to the rest of India (with the exception of Kerala and possibly Punjab) there are many more families with relatives living abroad who wish them to attain a similar standard of living. So as standards rise, the original 5% upper class is now ballooning, the effects of which can be seen in property values and fish prices, to name a couple. Is that growth sustainable from the mining and now the tourism industries? There is such a lack of infrastructure on the Calangute belt that soon tourists too will be turned off. And who exactly is profiting from the 'exclusive' resorts on secluded beaches? How come so little of that revenue is being used to develop the much needed infrastructure for future development? That original 5% were the upper castes who depended on the lower 75% for supporting them in exchange for spiritual guidance and instruction that was supposed to make their lives better or at least keep them emotionally satisfied with their lot in life. However now that many of them are seeing through the smoke and mirrors, they too will be hankering for a higher standard at the expense of ignorant immigrants who are happy to step into their spots. How effective are the social services in Goa for residents without having to worry about immigrants? The problem is not unique to Goa - California wrestles with a burgeoning Mexican immigration. More questions than answers but at least let us ask ourselves the right questions. Kevin Saldanha Mississauga, Canada. [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > Date: Thu, 19 May 2005 10:24:04 +0530 > From: Antonio Menezes <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: goanet@goanet.org > Subject: [Goanet]INDIA : CASTE AND THE FUTURE > Reply-To: goanet@goanet.org > > Our media is full of news that India, in future, is going to be the > third largest industrial power after the U.S. and China and that, in > addition, we shall enjoy the advantage of having the largest pool of > working age population as compared to the other two, which is indeed a > very good feel factor. > > Let us consult our history. India is not going to be rich for the > first time in her lifetime, period.Her past prosperous times had > attracted the Aryans, the Turks, the Mughals from the north west and > the British came from the south west.. > > There is , however, one societal factor that has not changed in all > these past 30 centuries or so.The same upper class forms 5% of our > population, about 25% is the same middle class and the rest 70% are > our poor masses whose lives were and still are so miserable that they > could not have cared less whether they were ruled by the Aryans, > Turks, Mughals,or the British. > > So how do we go about changing the hereditary proportion and bring the > majority of our masses , at least, to the level of the lower middle > classes ? Provide them with reasonable income and better health and > eductional facilities ? These elementary measures can and do work > wonders in the sub-Saharan Africa; but in India we require an > additional requisite of providing relief to the much battered psyche=20 > of our masses, which today stand totally deformed as a result of > having been subjected from generations to countless generations to > slander and calumny, the psychological weapons that were so strictly > and insensately implemented by the dharmic rules and regulations. > > Can our so called 'elites' provide leadership for the task of psychic > regeneration of our masses? I doubt very much, since I am of the > opinion that our 'elites' whether they are RSS wallahs, Congressmen, > Communists ( i.e. the top echelon) are in a way self afflicted=20 > victims of the HOG syndrome. HOG stands for hallucination of > grandeur and hallucination means perception of 'superiority'=20 > that has no reality whatsoever outside one's mind. > > The difficult task of restoring the psyche of our masses to a healthy > level thus improving the quality of our people has to be undertaken > of war footing, otherwise we shall have to look with apprehension, > this time, towards the north east and the south east. > > antonio
