Life is a voyage and mine continues to be a very long one. After have been very fortunate to travel extensively across Goa and to most states of India I thought it was time to see the world in person after seeing it in movies and reading about it in books. I worked in the Gulf for some time before moving to North America and had a stint in the United Kingdom too and have toured Africa extensively. But wherever I was, Goa and Ribandar my birthplace is and always will be close to my heart. I never lost touch with my village and friends.
Early last year I thought it was time to take a break from the hectic social activism and focus on the legal profession by moving to Delhi which was a very good experience professionally. My legal work being now based in Mumbai, it gives me an opportunity to pop in and out of Goa more frequently for some fish, feni and fun. As I will be turning 50 in a couple of years I will have to devote some time towards penning the memoirs of my life. So much has happened and I hope to be able to write a candid and frank commentary of all my experiences and encounters - the good, the bad and the ugly. Politics is nowhere on my short term or long-term agenda. I have never been a member of any political party though I contested as an independent over two decades ago from Santa Andre Constituency. I got a thousand votes and my symbol was a canoe. Had it not capsized I would have been a part of Goa's rotting political drama. I thank God for that. I always look at every experience in my life from a positive angle. Over the years I have been able to interact and socialise with the rich and famous and have been able to be close to the poorest of the poor. I had the privilege of being associated with various student and other agitations during the then Chief Minister Shashikala Kakodkar's regime and later during the tenure of Pratapsingh Rane's and other Chief Ministers. The 12th of January last year marked the 26th Anniversary of the historic and very successful 1979 agitation launched by the students of Goa demanding 50% bus concession. Goa has seen student agitations on various issues but the one that took Goa by storm is the 1979 campaign for 50% bus concession. The student unity was rock solid, the agitation spread like wild fire, lasted a brief 12 days and secured the desired results. It gave me an opportunity to travel from Pernem to Canacona. Students of every College, Higher Secondary and ITI were in unity. The police usually crush any student movement. But in 1979 we were a very formidable force. The police lathis and the tear-gas did not intimidate us. The police were no match for the student body. We had the unity and the strength the police could not match. We proved to be a formidable force to be able to challenge the then Government headed by Chief Minister Shashikala Kakodkar. It was the kindling of student activism in Goa. The students of today should be very conscious of their rights without abdicating their responsibilities. It is an irony that today our politicians try to project to the World that Goa and India has the best of educational facilities. But when it comes to their own kin it is a different matter. The sons of the most recent Goa Chief Ministers have gone abroad for further studies. Goa, being a small state, should have led by example. Unfortunately we have joined the national mainstream. And very soon, the quality of our MLAs will be no different to those in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. National integration in a wrong direction. It was expected that our leaders would take good governance and transparent administration to the door of the common man. However our politicians have taken corruption right into our kitchens and drawing rooms. The one major factor that prevents Non Resident Goans from returning to their land is Corruption. This malaise has become embedded in our Society over the years and to add to it secular Goans had to endure a bigger evil, the curse of saffronisation empowered by the BJP during its regime. Corruption is evil but the systematic saffronisation unleashed by the BJP in our otherwise secular State was the greatest evil, which was eroding the secular fabric of Goa. It is time the Government confronts the reality that Non Resident Goans cannot be lured by merely holding conventions. Something concrete will have to be done to satisfy their needs. The authorities are aware of their demands and concerns. All they have to do is to get their act together and prove to the Non resident Goan community that they really mean business. We have done enough of talking and it is time to start taking concrete steps to meet the aspirations of Non Resident Goans. The Goa Facilitation Centre (GFC) set to cater to the aspirations of Goans out of Goa has been a non-starter. The government is using the GFC to present to the world a false picture that the quality of life in Goa has improved. Let the government tell us what concrete benefits the non-resident Goans have been granted after years of the GFC coming into existence. Goa's infrastructure has to improve. Uninterrupted power and water supply cannot remain a mere dream. The conditions of our roads have to improve. When will our politicians be held accountable for the promises they make? Manohar Parrikar had promised a reward of Rs 1000 for every pothole on roads made during his tenure. Even the blind could see the numerous holes on even the road from Campal to Miramar, which was done in a jiffy for the first IFFI under Mr. Parrikar's personal late night supervision. It would have been nice to see our current legislators being sent on compulsory retirement with new and young blood being infused into our decaying political arena. However, with money and muscle power here to stay and being the sole determining factor on the fate of elections to come, the future of our democratic institutions is gloomy. Aires Rodrigues Mumbai ___________________________________________________________ Yahoo! Messenger - NEW crystal clear PC to PC calling worldwide with voicemail http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com