Carving a Goan identity in the postcolonial period
Ervell E. Menezes
GOA INDICA : A CRITICAL PORTRAIT OF POSTCOLONIAL GOA
by Arun Sinha. Bibliophile South Asia in association with
Promilla & Co. Rs 495
BOOKS on Goa are being churned out at regular intervals these days with
varying degrees of success, depending on their approach. Some just scratch
the surface of the subject while others dwell on the writer's fetishes.
Still others try to cover all aspects. Arun Sinha's Goa Indica : A Critical
Portrait of Postcolonial Goa, belongs to the last category and for that
reason it is likely to invite censure but being a non-Goan he is more
objective. His extensive research shows in his findings and though his
comments are at times categorical he also leaves something to the readers'
imagination and perception. It is an honest search for the truth though
some may aver that there are indeed different versions of it.
Goa itself is not an easy subject to handle, for the Goan himself is
complex creature, an amalgam of multiple forces and strains. The Portuguese
conquest and rule for over 400 years cannot be wished away. Pandit
Jawaharlal Nehru may have said, "There can be unity in diversity and Goans
will be as much Indian as Marathas and Bengalis, despite the impact of the
Portuguese on their culture". What Nehru did not specify was the time frame
needed for Goans to turn truly Indian. Sinha goes into the genesis of the
great Christian - Hindu divide that has been the single most significant
factor in retarding Goa's progress.
The impact of Christianity is there for all to see. "For almost four
hundred years since he conquered Goa the Portuguese king acted like
half-emperor, half-Pope. Not just the privilege of clerical appointments,
the king even appropriated to himself the right to examine all the Papal
Bulls, allowing their enforcement in his conquered lands only if he found
nothing detrimental to Portugual's interest in them," says Sinha quite
forcefully. And it merits such vehemence.
Speaking about Goan identity he brings out the dichotomy. "Christians clung
to their Indo-Portuguese identity. Hindus talked of pan-Indian identity.
There was no group or organisation championing the native ethnic Goan
identity," he points out. If the Portuguese Inquisition targeted the Hindus
in no uncertain and near-inhuman terms, the Bandodkar Government's backlash
in land reforms demolishing the existing feudal structure was
understandable but not the utter neglect of Communidade lands which
adversely affected agriculture. "Bandodkar ought to have brought in his
government to fill the institutional vacuum caused by the removal of
Communidades and landowners for the responsibility of maintaining
irrigation works. Or provided them with sufficient finance to carry out the
traditional responsibility," says Sinha and quite rightly so.
He also traces the events that took place between the two communities,
Hindu and Christian, be it the opinion poll, the Konkani language stir or
the Konkan railway route realignment agitation and he doesn't mince words
in hitting out at the Church which has invariably politicised issues. He
also brings out the irony of the Konkani agitation which had to eventually
surrender to the practicality of English. Or was their bluff called? Then
there was the Church's role in the Carnival floats. But what Sinha could
have done was update the role of religion and balance it with Hindutva and
the BJP agenda of setting up little temples everywhere like the Portuguese
set up crosses. After all, aren't all religions the same - possessive and
even expansionist?
Sinha goes in detail into the common Civil Code and highlights its
uniqueness and also compares it with the Hindu and Muslim codes but it
doesn't provide very readable material though one must admit it is
academically sound. The ethnic fencing is candidly brought out, as is the
Goan hostility to the outsider or baile. It is like the Germans not wanting
to do menial work in Germany and still objecting to increasing Turkish
presence. He has a hilarious anecdote to relate about this attitude to the
outsider: How at a BJP meeting, at which Manohar Parrikar, now the chief
minister, was present, and UP businessman D. P. Tiwari was snubbed by a BJP
man saying: "You came here to do business, now you want to rule us?"
The decline in agriculture coincided with the advent of world tourism
(thanks to the hippies), which completely transformed the face of Goa. But
it also had its negative aspects. The dropout rate in schools was as high
as 70 per cent. This is a factor that must be immediately addressed. The
Goans are very choosy about accepting jobs. Corruption also figures in his
book.
All this is candidly tackled as are a plethora of issues that graphically
bring out the plight of Goans and also provoke thought. Why has Goa not
really progressed after its liberation? Is the Goan psyche to blame? Why is
there rampant corruption or unscrupulous politicians? How do we overcome
these handicaps?
One thing is inevitable: The Goan must accept the outsider because he needs
him. So he must learn to live with him, or else do the work that he does.
Second, his work ethic has to change, he must compete with the outsider.
Thirdly, he must learn to live in harmony with the other communities. It is
high time he tried to bury his age-old differences with members of other
communities. The Goans' strength lies in unity that will thwart the
vote-bank-conscious politicians. There must be no differences between
Hindus and Christians. It may sound too ideological but in this respect
grey areas are better than black and white. May be Sinha should have mooted
some such formula in his summing up. Otherwise, all said and done, it's a
good eye-opener.
Source;
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2003/20030112/spectrum/book8.htm
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