--------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2008 International Goan Convention Toronto, Canada
Early Bird Discount Registration closes March 31, 2008 http://www.2008goanconvention.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------- It is the xenophobes who pride themselves as being the real patriots. The battle here has to be between the Indian patriots and the Goan subpatriots within their own party, both of whom share similar instincts when it it comes to guarding their territories. My problem with them is not what they are or what they call themselves and others whom they dislike, but that there is no substance beneath their supercilious rhetoric. No semblance of a rational and consistent position, leading to a practical solution for Goa as a state under the Indian union and her constitution. To me, abiding by the constitutional principle that every Indian citizen has a right to settle anywhere in her country, as recently upheld again by the Supreme Court, is not airy idealism. It is a sober affirmation of the settled law of the land with profound practical implications. As I have said before, those who favor balkanization of India have never articulated any cogent rationale for it. Their case is essentially rhetorical, hysterical and political - a sputtering series of turgid rants. They have never addressed the real causes of all the problems in any meaningful way beyond dismissively outsourcing the blame or cursing their petty political opponents. The mindset on display is too vacuous to take into account the ground realities of the demographic transformation that Goa and the rest of India are undergoing in the 21st century. Unless there is a genuine change in attitude and outlook, such a mindset would always be blind to the fact that both, the causes and the transformation, lie within us. The problems facing Goa are easily recognizable for traitors and patriots alike. They are unplanned development, misuse of land and resources, environmental degradation, mutilation of landscape, overcrowding, crumbling infrastructure, and poor living and working conditions for an expanding underclass of migrant laborers. The answer to these problems is also obvious to anybody who is in physical or audiovisual contact with Goa, even to those who are fixated on the ghats in the distance, or who let their vision be distorted by a non-therapeutic artificial lens. There is nothing original about the answer. Its appreciation does not require special knowledge or skill. Stated simply, it is obeying the laws, properly enforcing them, reforming outdated ones and enacting new ones wherever necessary - laws against corruption, misuse and pillage of land, destruction of the environment and heritage, social discrimination and prejudice, and exploitation of the working class. In talking to socially conscious folk in Goa I know that they are fully aware of all the details about them. They know how they apply in each specific case and their own obligation in that regard. So what one needs is a grass roots campaign to expand this awareness among the masses, to inspire them to hold their local and state-wide representatives accountable through non-violent action. Notice that these actions do not require banning other Indians or foreigners from relocating to Goa. They do not depend on a stealthy violation of the Indian constitution nor in creating protectionist impediments to a growing modern economy. If the separatist or segregationist concern then is only about maintaining the racial, casteist or cultural purity of the Goan population then this impulse deserves nothing but condemnation. For, the notion of purity is a figment of an impure mind. No such state has ever existed in our history, nor is it desirable from a biological standpoint because endogamy has taken its toll on our stagnating gene pool. Todays ground reality of demographic transformation, therefore, is a welcome development. Perhaps, more than across state borders, we see it occurring in our families. The younger generation is forging matrimonial ties with an ever widening circle of humanity, ignoring all geographical boundaries. To keep pace with this dilution of Goanness the xenophobes would have no recourse but to quickly ban miscegenation of Goans with non-Goans, while inventing new slurs to refer to their children and preventing them from inheriting Goan land. Cheers, Santosh --- anand virgincar <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > List of xenophobic Goenkars who agree with Dr > Rajan Parrikar : > ( specially prepared so the Indian patriots on > this forum can write > to them and censure them as they did with Rajan ) >