From: Savio Figueiredo <rende...@yahoo.com> Dear All
Dr/Mr Joe D'souza ex Goa University wrote his "Contrarian views" in the Herald and I gave my opinion in the opiniated column ofthe Herald on 24.02.09 I reproduce my opinion first followed by Dr Joe'opinion OPINIATED HERALD 24TH FEBRUARY 209 "I write my opinion in response to the Contrarian Visions by Mr. Joe D’souza under the title CULTURE & MORAL POLICING At the outset I must in no uncertain terms condemn the attack of the hooligans and goondas under the banner Shree Ram Sene on the girls in the Mangalore pub as well the Keralite girl and her acquaintance. Nothing can justify these acts of goodaism and hooliganism. As a father of two girls I can honestly say that I will not object to my daughters , after they are adults and on their own feet, going to a pub . I may even go with them if they allow me to. Secondly I strongly object to Mr. D’souza comparing the Shree Ram Sene hooligans to Jesus Christ. This is sacrilegious and Mr. D’souza is fortunate and maybe smart enough that he did not compare the God of any other religion to goondas and hooligans. If he had done so he would have been at the receiving end from his “friends’ the moral police. Sometimes the Devil too quotes the scriptures. And maybe Mr. D’souza has a short memory and forgotten the fact that these same hooligans were involved in the burning and desecration of churches. In my opinion many people have made the error of comparing these goondas to the Taliban. I desist from attaching any religion to these goons. The real Taliban for all their misdeeds base their actions of religious teachings as they interpret them. The goons from Mangalore have no such religious ideology and are fascist hooligans with the aim for political control. They are ultimately tools in hands of their political masters. I am amused at Mr. D’souza almost misogynist views. He states “ In the name of liberty, human rights and women’s emancipation , our family values are slowly getting degraded.” And then again he states “ It may be alright for women to involve themselves in emancipatory activities, fight for women’s rights . Values and standards set up by our ancestors towards family growth and support are weakened by frequenting pubs, raves casinos and having an active night life.” He then seems to imply that “women” are the main cause of the so called degradation of our Goan culture when he writes “ I am rather surprised that many ladies , including wives, mothers and daughters are regularly leading their husbands , sons & fathers to restaurants” . Speaking for myself I can never fully appreciate the efforts of my wife who juggles with her family’s needs and her office work as she tries to be a good mother and wife and at the same time supplement the family income. Does she then not need a break from the cooking and home chores once in a while? If therefore Mr. D’souza saw me in a restaurant with my wife and two daughters would he then jump to his conclusion? . I can imagine why he has remained single and as a corollary to that does not understand the need sometimes to dine out at restaurants. I can understand one being frustrated at the degradation of family values and society as a whole . However justification and glorification of violent activities of some hooligans in not the solution to this problem. Like vigilantism , moral policing may seem to have positive benefits , but it could a Frankenstein which could turn back and bite back. For now it could be visiting the pubs , and then to our language, the way we dress , the nameplates on our gates and finally our names all to come in line with “ Indian/Goan culture” . Possibly Mr. D’souza has overlooked the fact that his “moral police” involved in the acts of hooliganism were all men. Is moral policing the prerogative of men or is this really an attempt to subjugate women? I am surprised and disappointed to note that these incidents have occurred in South India where women are generally treated with respect and consideration. It is unfair to blame only women and the youth for the degradation of our society. Each one of us by our commission or omission has an equal share of the responsibility. To keep our youth from the excesses of pub culture, casinos and rave parties we need to provide them with proper employment opportunities and leisure facilities like games and adventure sports, decent libraries in every city and village and finally treat them with love , respect and understanding . Fascism & hooliganism is not even minute part of the answer. One cannot expect better from the political class to root out and stamp down such goons & hooligans as they have a symbiotic relationship. But when intellectuals & humane society justifies their actions, it is a worrisome trend. Culture & Moral Policing by Joe D'souza Since locals have failed to protect Goan culture, maybe the Shri Ram Sena and their ilk will have to do so, feels JOE D’SOUZA Ever since the girls visiting a pub in Mangalore were attacked by activists claming to be members of Shri Ram Sena, there were many parents of teenage youth who gave a sigh of relief. “It is a blessing in disguise,” was what a mother of a young college girl in Goa felt, as her daughter aged 17 years was deterred from coming late in evenings and frequenting coffee shops and pubs in the state. Teenage pregnancies in Goa are rising in spite of modern methods of birth control. Also, rapes, domestic violence and divorces are on the rise in Goa. We cannot ignore the fact that crime against women is on the rise, mainly due to the faulty social policies of the Congress governments at the centre and in the states of our country, encouraging pubs, casinos and raves. The growth of carnival culture and projecting Goa as a destination for fun and frolic, wherein drinking, dancing and dying seems to be a matter of routine, has led to society accepting death due to drunken driving, drowning and drugs as normal. In the name of liberty, human rights and women’s emancipation, our family values are slowly getting degraded. In earlier times, we relished home food. Mum’s kitchen was a favoured place, as the food was healthy and wholesome but the youth today decide whether it should be Pizza Hut, Café Coffee Day or a Punjabi restaurant that is the place they have their afternoon meal. Visiting homes, meeting parents, and having a family meal is now slowly becoming a myth. Even when it comes to a dinner table, husband, wife and the children have separate preferences and choices. The waywardness in the garb of modernity is sharply increasing as the years roll on. Being single, I find it economical, easy and necessary to occasionally eat in restaurants due to the constraints of time and energy conservation. Not that I enjoy eating out, but fixing a meal for a single person, as I must do to enjoy the satisfaction of a wholesome home meal, considerably eats into my time devoted to undertake other activities, directed towards public causes such as writing and field research activities. Having acknowledged that I dine often in restaurants, I am rather surprised that many ladies, including wives, mothers and daughters, are regularly leading their husbands, sons and fathers to restaurants. Dining out in Goa is becoming a fashion, so much so that Goans today are losing the culinary arts for which Goans were known the world over. Men and women today, as well as girls and boys, prefer to spend long hours in pubs, restaurants and coffee shops, much against the will of their parents, partners or families. Earlier, the core competence in the art of cooking was predominantly amongst females, but today, almost all restaurants and many kitchens at home have the flavour of men cooking. Cooks from Orissa, Nepal, Punjab and the North-East dominate kitchens in Goan restaurants. It may be alright for women to involve themselves in emancipatory activities, fight for women’s rights and dine at will in restaurants. Values and standards set up by our ancestors towards family growth and support are weakened by frequenting pubs, raves, casinos and having an active nightlife. This spells danger for the whole society, leave alone the family. It is in this context that the hyper moral policing by the Shri Ram Sene needs to be addressed. In the past we learned that what could not be cured must be endured, but sometimes it makes sense to believe what cannot be cured must be severed. Just as a gangrenous foot is severed through amputation, we must curb the pseudo values of liberalism and a free society. Casinos, raves, endless dancing and drinking and addiction to hotel culture and pub are slowly eating into our traditions and sublime culture. In the garb of freedom, we are destroying our youth and society. What happened in Mangalore to the youth found in pubs must be a lesson for Goans who have done precious nothing to stall the vicious casino culture and the growth of drugs and raves in the state. Parushuram bhoomi or the land of St Francis Xavier is sought to be destroyed and Goans are fiddling, if not dancing, as Goan culture continues to burn. Jesus Christ used the whip to beat and drive gamblers from the temple. It appears that the Shri Ram Sene would be compelled to act to drive out the degrading drink, dance, dice and die culture in Goa, as locals have failed miserably to protect Goa. Renuka Chowdhary foolishly remarked that on Valentine’s Day all youth must protest by packing all pubs in the country to celebrate love. Is it necessary or right to demonstrate love only by drinking, dancing and drugging? The symbol of Valentine’s Day is exhibiting love through sacrifice. The corrupt Congress culture has misled our youth into seeking pleasure through cheap fun and frolic. Love for the poor, needy, depressed and oppressed now seems totally out of place during Valentine’s Day celebrations. Blindly borrowing western tradition without appreciating its significance, value, and richness is essentially the cause of the malaise in our country. The prominence given by the media to drinking, dancing and frolicking by celebrities is misleading our youth and thereby forcing us to introduce the element of moral policing. Valentine’s Day is meant to appreciate and acknowledge the services of our senior citizens, workers, farmers, parents and teachers for upgradation of our quality of life, which would also include wives, mothers and other near and dear ones. The government should involve itself actively in Valentine’s Day programmes in the right spirit by acknowledging the sacrifices of all who worked to make Goa a land of inspiration and dreams instead of allowing misguided youth to go haywire. As a university professor, I have witnessed parents demonstrating anguish over their offspring going astray due to peer demands towards pub culture, nightlife and stretched coffee house time. Parents appealing to alert their children to make sure that birth control tablets are not forgotten so as to avoid unwanted pregnancies, professors implored to keep eye on there wards are indicators of a culture of unhealthy lifestyles. The growth of casinos, pubs, raves, carnivals and drugs will induce rapes, suicides, unwanted pregnancies, lowering of moral standards and anger in the society. The Western world has already succumbed, as it did not take appropriate steps to stall the degradation and deterioration in family values. Senior citizens, parents and social norms receive no respect and individuals score over society. Selfishness is supreme in India. We must also acknowledge the positive benefits of moral policing, while rightly condemning excessive violence, fundamentalism and imposition of tradition. We must acknowledge that the girls assaulted at Mangalore were not afraid to make a police complaint, but it is their own hindsight and their parents’ desire to admit the negative impacts of mindless pub, casino and rave culture that made them refuse to forward to make a police complaint. A pessimist sees the glass half empty, while an optimist sees it as half full. Instead of unilaterally condemning the Shri Ram Sene and Pramod Muthalik, we must take a few lessons from the Mangalore pub episode. While condemning violence we must reflect upon how we in Goa can avoid moral policing by controlling the pub, casino and rave culture which is spreading like wildfire in the garb of a free Goan society of available women and drunken men. Jesus Christ used the whip to douse crime during his time. Do Goans only believe in turning the other cheek in response to the degadation of our society?