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This month's Goanet operations sponsored by Mrs. Daisy Faleiro If you would like to sponsor Goanet's operations contact: Herman Carneiro - [EMAIL PROTECTED] ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Both Paulo Colaco Dias' and Valmiki Faleiro's posts on General Ramalho Eanes and Dayanand Bandodkar respectively, make for interesting reading and to fertile minds, interesting speculation. What if there was no obstinate Salazar at Portugal's helm in the late 50s constantly refusing to let Goa become independent of both Portugal and India. What if Nehru had stuck to his own own judgment and wisdom and not succumbed to that of his prodigy Krishna Menon. In other words, what would be the situation today if Goa were to follow it's own path from the history of the time, independent of Lisbon and Delhi instead of being liberated (or annexed, depending on one's view) by India in 1961. Imagine a Goan Elite of both Hindus and Christians governing Goa. They would be primarily a land-owning lot. They would be strong administrators and thinkers. There would be no law and order problem. There would be good governance. There might even have been good economic practice and foresight making Goa financially independent whether by controlled exploitation of it's natural beauty through international tourism or by any other means. Education might have been promoted to an extent never seen during Portuguese rule. But could such an island of bliss have survived in a sea of Indian poverty, nationalism, confusion and a type of democracy not seen anywhere else in the world? The Goan governing elite would have been out of touch with the aspirations of the common Goan people. They would have been too bound by European thinking and way of life that would not be shared by the vast majority. They would have an army system left over by the Portuguese that would without Portuguese support, be fit only for police duties. They would have to run an economy that would be dependent on one or two resources and therefore be constantly dependent on Indian or world support. In other words a Goa that would not be economically viable. The country of Goa would have to depend on India both morally and economically. It would become literally, the whipping boy of Maharashtra whenever there was a problem in that State. That would lead it to the willing support of Pakistan with whom the Portuguese traditionally had good ties and that would have exacerbated the existing problems. The United States may have toyed with it for leverage but if it came to the crunch, would hand it over to India in a heartbeat. Can anybody paint a different scenario?