http://www.goa-world.com
http://www.live365.com/stations/61664 Live Konkani Music
http://www.mahableshwar.com/
Addresses:
Post message: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
List owner: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
URL to this page:
http://www.yahoogroups.com/group/gulf-goans
|
||
| My Groups | gulf-goans Main Page | ||
Changes Taking Place in Goa
By Chandrakant Keni
Goa is changing, so they say! In what respect? Superficially some changes are visible, especially in the capital of Goa. The elevation of Panaji Municipal Council to the status of a corporation has made all the difference. The staff is the same, the citizens are not different, the government too has not been changed. Moreover the chief minister who has been elected to Goa Legislative Assembly from Panaji constituency continues to represent the same constituency. Only change that has taken place is the upgradation of the status of municipal council. But is this the cause of changes that are taking place in the capital city?
There are two types of changes that are taking place. Some are natural which take place as time changes, while others are planned or inadvertent. Changes have been made in the past in the master plan to accommodate the construction of a building in the area that was reserved for a park or left as open space. Even areas reserved for widening the roads have been allowed to be used for constructing multistoried buildings, without taking into consideration the need for parking space for the vehicles. Such developments have handicapped future progress in the towns leading to congestion and decay.
Apart from physical appearance there is also a feeling that Goa is changing internally. The attitude of the people also appears to be changing. Most of the people attribute this change to the dynamic chief minister Manohar Parrikar. So much so that even his adversaries who opposed to his ideologies and programmes of the BJP and are allergic to saffron colour, inclined to say that �he has been able to separate party apparatus from the government machinery and has well planned policy to keep the party away from administrative decisions.�
How far this is true? Can Parrikar function as the chief minister without being associated, guided or influenced by the party policies? No doubt, he is the product of the BJP culture. Some believe he has his roots in �RSS ideology,� which promotes a wedge between the Hindus and the minorities who and are perfectly satisfied with the treatment they get at the hands of the government.
The recent initiative by the government of India to normalise relations with Pakistan and the goodwill that India has earned among the Muslim countries of the world has strengthened faith of the minority in the BJP. Minority communities expects the government to respect their sensibilities and they in turn will ignore age old prejudices against the political party and its leaders. This realisation among the people is making us believe that Goa is changing.
The chief minister is concerned for the citizens of Goa and for those Goans living beyond the borders of Goa, within the country and abroad, has revived the process of restoring the Goan identity among the Goan diaspora the world over. The horizons of their vision are worldwide. All of them without exception are strongly attached to the soil of Goa. In fact, the only thing that binds them together is the land called Goa. It is therefore in the fitness of things that as a true Goan committed for the progress of Goa and Goans, the chief minister should take the initiative in reviving and strengthening the cultural roots of Goan diaspora, not so much to induce them to invest their money in Goa, but mainly to strengthen the cultural unity among worldwide Goans. That would eventually pave the way for a stronger Goa and make the voice of Goan diaspora loud and clear.
http://www.navhindtimes.com/stories.php?part=mag&Story_ID=011741
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Photos: High-quality 4x6 digital prints for 25�
Yahoo! Groups Links
- To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/gulf-goans/
- To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
- Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
