The Decade Goa Died
The final day of the decade is upon us, a decade that witnessed the end of Goa as we have known it. After the period of the initial Portuguese takeover and savagery, it was the most transformative decade in Goa’s history for the sweeping assault on its land and its culture. And in the past two decades the most consequential man in Goa was Manohar Parrikar. Goa’s uniqueness was that it was “NOT-India.” Visually and culturally we were different from the rest of the country. Under Manohar-bab, Goa merged into the Indian sewer. He fashioned it into a concrete swamp - a dirty, noisy urban hovel with garbage and trash the defining visual constants. No builder went away unrewarded under Manohar-bab. Under Manohar-bab’s watch, migrants from India, rich and poor, flooded into Goa in record numbers and overpowered us Goans demographically and culturally. The gentle Goan way of life gave way to the Punjabified, Bhaiyya-fied crudeness of Delhi and surrounds. Slums expanded their footprint far and wide as did Drugs and Prostitution. Our rivers were soiled and polluted, our air quality was degraded. A tiny section of Goan cronies reaped enormous benefits while the quality of life worsened for the rest even as their incomes marginally increased. Mine owners, Casino owners, and Builders made off like bandits. Corruption scaled new frontiers and heights. Law and order went to the dogs; concerns about personal safety and safety on roads are today a fact of life. These are INCONTROVERTIBLE facts, not opinions. You don’t have to take my word for it. Trust your eyes and your nose (which you have to hold as you walk around Goan cities and towns these days). This is the corrupt LEGACY of Manohar Parrikar which we are told we should celebrate at a cost of 13 crores of rupees. It would require mass delusion and suspension of reality to pull this off but I have no doubt that Goans are capable of it. Just listen to the bamons extolling the Great Leader even as they privately complain about the state of affairs. In my opinion, Manohar Parrikar will be seen by history as the man who dealt the decisive, fatal blow to Goa. In 2012, through what seemed like a divine intervention, he was swept back into power. He had the force of virtually every Goan behind his back and the political capital to reverse course and do good for Goa and Goans. Instead he pissed it all away. Let me end on a personal note. In 2013 when Manohar-bab got word that my 92 year old father was at the GMC, he immediately called the hospital administration. I didn’t seek or ask special favours. Moments before my father was to be wheeled into the operation theatre, Manohar-bab called me asking to speak to my father. I handed the phone to my father. After their brief conversation ended, my father and I smiled, unable to express anything verbally, as I saw him disappear behind the door of the OT. He never came out of the operation alive. Manohar-bab was the last person he spoke to. That despite a public falling out Manohar-bab set aside our mutual animus showed his warm and caring side. He was a wonderful man in many respects. I mourn Manohar-bab’s passing for I know too well the chasm between what was possible for Goa and the current state of reality. My friend Dr. Anil Desai and I were truer friends to him than all the chamchas and yes-men he surrounded himself with. For we held him to HIS OWN professed beliefs and standards of public service. Goodbye Manohar-bab. And goodbye Goa. Rajan Parrikar Dec 31, 2019 Panjim, Goa