View From The Outer Harbour by : Thalmann Pradeep Pereira
OF MAJORITY AND MATURITY ! 30th May is the Goa Statehood Day. The 25th State in the Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, Democratic Republic of India is now 18 “full” years old! In the early 1980’s, as we, in the Students’ Federation, campaigned for the right to vote at the age of 18, some well-meaning elderly persons posed us the question: “Do you think that an 18-year old is wise enough to choose his legislator for five years?” It was our lady-members who shot back with the reply: “If a young 18-year old girl can be considered socially and legally to be of marriageable age and wise enough to choose (or be saddled with) a partner for a whole life-time, then why should she not have the right to choose her legislator for a mere 5 years?” 18 is the age of majority. The State of Goa is today a major. But does majority imply maturity? When a child is born, it starts learning. No doubt, parents, elders, teachers, community leaders, all constantly teach the child. There are books and schools, preachers and sermons, films and actors who constantly “teach” the child. And yet, it is one’s own experiences which are the best teachers. Theory can only serve to guide Action. But theory is no substitute for action. It is each child’s 18 long years of daily, nay hourly, experiences which endow him or her with a certain degree of maturity on attainment of majority. Has Goa, as a constituent part of the polity, economy and society of India, achieved any considerable degree of maturity? Most definitely, YES! Our defector-dominated polity, our largely mining-tourism-and-emigration- dependent economy, and our caste-and-faction-ridden society are veritable proofs of our rich experience of learning that fire burns by actually putting our finger into the flame. Rich and varied experiences indeed in almost every walk of life! No one can accuse Goa and its residents of being inexperienced or immature. And yet, the nagging question will always remain: “Could we have done better if we had a proper theory to guide us; better preceptors to lead us by the finger?” Goa, it is said, is a land of people who would not dare to cross a bridge unless it was first used for a dinner party by a politician. Or, as a wag once put it, a land of people who would not dare to use a public toilet, even in an extreme emergency, unless the marble plaque outside proclaimed for all eternity that it had been “inaugurated” by a politician. We shudder to think what conclusions a 24th century archaeologist would draw about the maturity of 18-year old Goa, upon digging out those toilet- inauguration activities of our legislators. Perhaps our BJP-wallahs who are experts in Ayodhya-style archaeology can furnish us the answers. May be that is why the BJP’s top state leaders are now emulating their illustrious Congress predecessors by “inaugurating” toilets; just as their top national leaders keep claiming that during their six-year tenure they were only emulating the economic policies of Narasimha Rao’s Congress government. A sad commentary, indeed, on the originality of the “good governance”-wallahs and their 25 “fool” years! Till the next Monday, then, Happy Thinking! [EMAIL PROTECTED] “Harbour Times” (30-5-2005)