Re: [Goanet] MP and Panjim

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

> From: "Rajan P. Parrikar" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Subject: Re: [Goanet] MP and Panjim (was Why Manohar is not CM today)
> 
> Vidyadhar Gadgil wrote:
>> > As usual, when you don't have anything really meaningful to say,
>> > the strategy is clear -- engage in invective, ridicule, labelling
>> > and ad hominem attacks.
> 
> Let's clarify this a bit: I rubbish the Comrade's piffle 
> and he cries foul about my manner.  When Dr. Virgincar 
> makes his case in the most courteous manner 
> possible, he declaims it as a "whitewash."  Only the 
> Marxists can attempt this - point fingers at others 
> for doing something they themselves habitually 
> practice.

Rajan Parrikar and I have been taking issue with each other on
various subjects on this forum for many months now. In all this
period, I have been at pains not to use foul, abusive language, to
avoid communal talk and stereotyping, to avoid labelling, etc.,
while continuing to make my points, about which I feel strongly.
Whether I have succeeded or not I leave to the members of this
forum to judge.

Mr. Parrikar, on the other hand, does not appear to be bound by
any such rules of elementary courtesy. He appears pathologically
incapable of making even a single post without seeking to
denigrate, humiliate, abuse, belittle, mock, or ridicule somebody
or the other. Often, rather than restrict his broadsides to any
one person, he targets entire communities, probably on the
principle of wholesale being better than retail.

You know, one can make quite scathing critiques without stooping
to such levels. One can make very strong, trenchant points without
being communal and engaging in name-calling. Make strong
social and political points by all means, but what is achieved by
the kind of invective and bile that Mr. Parrikar seems to
specialize in whenever he posts?

> Months ago, when I first talked on Goanet about the 
> corrosive ghati menace in Panjim (and Goa), Gadgil
> sauntered in peddling his obscurantist apologia.  
> In the months since, the mythology he had imagined 
> for the ghati hordes has been decisively busted.  So 
> what does he do now?  

As to the whole issue of migrants, let me state my position once
again. I have never denied that uncontrolled influxes of migrants
into any place creates problems, you can re-read my various
articles for verification of this. I grew up in Pune when it was a
fantastic place; seeing what it has become now makes me want to weep.

But the whole issue has to be approached in a rational manner. As
I (and far better people than me) have repeatedly stated, there
needs to be a just, transparent, pro-people development policy to
tackle the problem.

Irrational name-calling and branding of entire communities is not
helpful in this regard. It only excites base passions and leads to
the communalization, polarization, and fragmentation of society,
without providing any meaningful answers. There is something
within me that rebels against targeting poor, struggling people,
who are just trying to survive in extremely difficult
circumstances. If that makes me a bleeding-heart 'obscurantist',
so be it.

Let me illustrate what I mean, by introducing a personal note. I
spent a few years of my childhood in the UK. That was the heyday
of Enoch Powell and the BNP and their anti-migrant rhetoric (does
anybody here remember all that "rivers of blood" stuff?). My
father was part of the academic community, and we lived in an
all-white neighbourhood and I attended an all-white school. The
British are pretty nice people overall (like most people all over
the world), but the mood created by Powell led to a situation
where the nicest word I was called in school was 'wog', and I was
beaten up on a daily basis in the schoolyard for the sin of being
Asian.

The UK has moved on since then, and is now trying to tackle the
issue in a more rational manner. But the legacy of Enoch Powell is
still alive and kicking, as anybody who lives in the UK will
testify. And that is what I do not want to see happening in Goa,
where I now live. Powell solved no problems, only created many,
many more. He did irreparable, long-lasting damage to the social
atmosphere in the UK.

Certainly let us tackle the issue of migration. But let us do so
in a rational manner -- not engage in inflammatory, communal talk
and xenophobia. It is a slippery slope once you decide to take
that path.

> But all this is beside the point.  The provenance 
> of the latest round of whingeing is "generally known" 
> to those who know the ways of the Indian Marxists.  
> It is the realization that the days of unfettered and
> unchallenged shoveling of sludge about Hindus, 
> Hindu politics and "communalism" (by which he 
> means Hindu communalism) on Goanet are numbered.  
> That Goan Hindus like I

Re: [Goanet] MP and Panjim (was Why Manohar Parrikar is not CM today)

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

> To Goanet -
> 
> What's this, Comrade Einstein, a devastating comeback 
> or what?  Of course, the MLA of Panjim is the very first 
> fellow I took my case to.  What's more, I found out that
> he was already seized with the issues.

As usual, when you don't have anything really meaningful to say,
the strategy is clear -- engage in invective, ridicule, labelling
and ad hominem attacks.

All this does not obscure the bottom line of your response --
which is that MP has done absolutely nothing to tackle these problems.

> When one is out of power one's options are very limited, 
> even more so when the slate of CCP corporators is also 
> controlled by the other side. 

It is generally known that the BJP has a lot of power and
influence within the CCP. Even assuming that it is controlled
solely by Babush, Manohar Parrikar keeps hopping in and out of bed
with Babush every few months when his desperation for the CM's
chair becomes too intense to resist. Next time he's all cosy with
Babush, do find out if he can spare some time from his
machinations to topple the government and find a few  moments to
do something for Panjim.

> When Manohar Parrikar was 
> in power he DID show how Panjim could be managed.

This is really rich. All that Manohar Parrikar DID for Panjim when
he was in power was to indulge in his usual megalomania and
bluster. He wanted to convert Goa into Singapore (which,
incidentally, is a totalitarian police state). He dropped a
turd called INOX on Panjim -- and did it at five times the
legitimate cost (where the rest of the money was channelled is
anybody's guess). He wished IFFI on Panjim in perpetuity. During
the first year of IFFI, when he was in power, on the principle of
if-they-don't-have-bread-let-them-eat-cake he converted the whole
area into a circus, causing massive traffic jams and making life a
living hell for the residents. The garbage problem continued
during his reign. He unveiled the grandiose CCP plan which met
with vociferous opposition. So he implemented a truncated version,
which has only increased the costs without any attendant benefit
over the earlier municipal model. It was as a result of some
mysterious plan he had that the municipal garden was dug up and
destroyed. Mala and Fontainhas vandalism took place. Oh yes, not
to forget, when he was in power he anointed Babush the TCP
minister, enabling him to dream up and implement plans for the
destruction not only of Panjim but of the whole of Goa.

You know, given all this, I think I will withdraw my request that
Parrikar actually do something for his constituency. It is better
that he continues to do nothing rather than put in a performance
like that again.

> Parrikar has been trying to resolve the garbage issue for 
> weeks and has worked the ministers and authorities 
> concerned (the issue was brought up during this Assembly 
> session) but this is a non-functioning Digambar Kamat 
> administration.  This is not merely my view - this view 
> has been expressed time and again by the Justices in 
> the High Court over the past few months IN A VARIETY 
> OF DIFFERENT CASES!  Has Comrade been in coma all 
> this time?

Yes, we have noticed. Unfortunately you don't seem to have noticed
that this is very much a continuity in Goan governance, the
Parrikar regime included. Are you seriously expecting us to
believe that Panjim/Goa has been on a steady decline all the time
except for when the great man was in power? Do you believe it
yourself? If you do, you need to examine exactly who is in a coma.

> Finally - regardless of the political cast at the helm, I would
> urge the citizens to remain actively involved.  This must be
> a novel idea to the Comrade, citizen participation and all.

While your efforts with the writ petition are laudable, it ill
behoves someone who has just returned to Goa after a long absence
to go around mocking and ridiculing others. In any case, such
pissing matches are very tedious, and I leave you to play them all
by yourself.

-- 
Question everything -- Karl Marx

Re: [Goanet] Fwd: Why Manohar Parrikar is not CM today...

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

> From: "anil desai" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Subject: [Goanet] Fwd:  Why Manohar Parrikar is not CM today...and
>   will

> You say that the pro-Parrikar campaign is getting desperate. You must be
> living in a fantasy world. Look at the current political situation in Goa.

You are missing the point. You are reeling off a litany of sins of
the Congress government. I have no issues with that, being no
defender of their activities and sins of commission and omission.

You will note that I mention that the 'whitewash Parrikar' lobby
is obsessed with showing him in good light. And that they project
their problems onto others. What I mean is that they assume that
criticism of Parrikar/BJP means defending the Congress. Just
because they are pro-Parrikar/BJP does not mean that those who are
anti-BJP are pro-Congress.

There is little to choose between the two parties on matters of
governance. Parrikar had enough time to prove his abilities, and
cut a sorry figure, not far removed from the kind of figure the
Congress governments cut. Corruption continued merrily. Political
opportunism continued. Etc. So if you are trying to say that
Parrikar/BJP are better in these respects, sorry, but the argument
does not hold water.

> So, Mr Gadgil. do your worst as you have consistently done with respect to
> Sanvordem- Curchorem troubles. Desperate situations such as the few I have
> mentioned above ( land scams excluded) do need desperate measures.

No, no, Mr Desai, it wasn't me who did my worst, it was the BJP
and other  communal forces who put in the performance at
Sanvordem-Curchorem. Even the magisterial enquiry report by the
North Goa Collector has enough stuff to show their role. The
Collector clearly indicates that it was malicious rumour-mongering
that was used to incite the violence. Every authority has
indicated that there was no presence of 'outsiders', armed or
otherwise. But the BJP and co. spread that rumour systematically
and used it to ignite violence. Ask Parrikar's blue-eyed boy,
Sharmad Pai Raiturkar, why he gave a false complaint about
presence of outsiders. Ask Ramrao Desai why he said the same
thing. Ask Parrikar himself why he said this at a press
conference. All these chaps, and sundry others, were on various
Goan newschannels spreading this canard.

Further, as the Collector points out, it was only BJP leaders who
tried to arrange the release of the miscreants who had been
arrested, clearly indicating their affiliations. There is video
footage of MP going to the police station with cheering crowds to
arrange the release of these hooligans -- all this while violence
is actually going on in the area.

I won't go on about all this, all the information has been in the
public domain for the past two years, if people want to play
ostrich-with-head-buried-in-the-sand, that's up to them.

> I agree with Anand's essay and his analysis of the current political
> scenario in Goa. However, I disagree with him on his conclusion. I have no
> doubt at all that bab Manohar Parrikar will be the chief Minister of Goa
> again and just as he did last time, he will do his utmost to clean the
> administration.

I too disagree with Dr. Anand. MP could very well become CM of Goa
again. And at that time, if it comes, let us hope that he does his
utmost to clean the administration -- only thing is, let us hope
that he does not do it 'just as he did last time', because that
was a sorry spectacle. Last time, he left it muckier than ever and
also succeeded in injecting a good dose of communalism into the
administration, as has been well documented, particularly in the
case of the police, and in his handover of government primary
schools to the RSS.

Incidentally, as Sandeep Heble has pointed out, he's still Panjim
MLA, isn't he? Why is it then that all of you absolve him of any
responsibility for the mess Panjim is in. Rajan Parrikar wants
everybody to get involved in cleaning up Panjim -- well, he could
start with his MLA.

-- 
Question everything -- Karl Marx

[Goanet] Why Manohar Parrikar is not CM today...and so on and so forth

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

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> From: "Anand Virgincar" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Subject: [Goanet] Why Manohar Parrikar is not CM today...and will
>   probablynot be ever

The 'whitewash Parrikar' campaign is clearly getting increasingly
desperate as is obvious from the note of hysteria that is creeping
in, and the increasing one-point obsession with that particular
politician. Come on guys, there's life beyond Manohar Parrikar...

> While many anti-BJP personnel on Goanet harbour a blind hatred for the
> BJP
> and Manohar Parrikar ( and are liberal in their propagations of
> falsehoods
> and use of uncivil language in their criticism )

That's hilarious. The worst offender in terms of uncivil language
is one r, who precedes his warm regards with reams of intemperate
abuse that make me fear for his blood pressure.

> While all the above reasons are entirely valid to some extent , I submit
> that
> the principal reasons why Manohar and the BJP are not in power today are
> related to the electoral demograhics and economic interests of Goans (
> and
> not any of the above )

Just say it straight like Vinay Natekar did -- because Manohar
Parrikar and the BJP are a bunch of angels and a collection of
no-hopers like the Goan voters don't deserve them! This complex
charade of pretending to criticize while putting people up on a
pedestal is rather tedious. How one wishes for the good ole days
of one Carmo D'Cruz with his 'Vivas' which were at least simple,
direct, and to the point.

> 2 ) Manohar Parrikar and the BJP had made significant compromises on
> the Hindutva agenda , not just in issuing an apology for errors made in
> the
> way minority issues were handled but also in going out of the way to
> reassure minority communities ( the latter was obvious throughout the
> election campaign ).

This is news to me. You probably missed attending the election
meetings of BJP candidates, where one did not notice any dilution
of the Hindutva agenda.

Even assuming that this did happen during the election campaign,
what does it mean? Spend the rest of the time hassling minorities,
and woo them during election campaigning?

> 5 ) While the so called communal incidents were a factor , none of them
> were of such serious nature that they would dictate that  Manohar and
> the
> BJP were " untouchable " for the minorities. Furthermore , in the 2
> years
> out of power , no major communal issues were fuelled by the BJP .

Sanvordem-Curchorem communal violence happened in March 2006.

> YET , the BJP were not voted back to power ( it being besides the point
> that the Congress were not voted back to power either , only forming a
> government with the help of  the Vishwajits, Dhavalikars , Churchills
> and Babushs )

This is meaningless. By the same token, in 2002 the BJP was not
voted to power either but only formed a government with the help
of Babushs, Dhavalikars, etc.

> This a a summary of why ( in my opinion ) Manohar Parrikar is not in
> the CM's chair today and will probably never be :

And now follows: "MP and the BJP are angels and angels don't get
the CM's chair." Talk about whitewash jobs. Also plenty of wild,
unsubstantiated allegations without any names/details, so it's
pointless getting into that.

> 10 ) Most importantly , only a fraction of genuinely educated and
> politically
> aware Goans are politically active. The rest are content with endless
> and
> pointless sermonising.

Mr Anand Virgincar excepted, presumably, who spends his time in
'politically active' grassroots campaigning?

> Problem is , as
> far as some Goan voters go , for MP and BJP to make any error is
> unforgiveable
> ..while the Congress is so divine that all their errors are
> easily forgiveable.

This gets weirder and weirder. Just go through goanet's archives
for the past few months, and you will see about 10 posts
whitewashing the BJP and co. to one whitewashing the Congress and
co. The way of coping with one's problems here appears to be that
of projecting them on to others.


-- 
Question everything -- Karl Marx

[Goanet] Deconstructing tourism image of Goa

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

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The Hindu, 24 March 2008

Deconstructing tourism image of Goa

Maria Aurora Couto

The recent tragedy in Goa exposes degradation of coastline and
human resource.


The immense media focus on young Scarlette Keeling’s death has
exposed the degradation that has seeped into the fabric of Goan
society, predominantly along the coastal belt in north Goa.
However, her tragic death only points to a disease that has
afflicted Goa for more than a decade. It is to be hoped that the
sequence of developments will expose a nexus of perpetrators who
have raped the pristine beaches, and lured a significant section
of the youth into drugs. It is a disease spread through the very
construction of the image of Goa as a tourist paradise, a party
place, Goa-where-anything-goes. And the pickings have been rich
for the powerful, their underlings and the middlemen spread across
the globe, within the nation and of course within Goa.

Historically there has been an image of Goa and Goans constructed
by British historians and travellers such as Richard Burton in the
19th century. They despised the failure of Portuguese colonialism
and hence despised Goan culture — of which they knew nothing. They
created the stereotype of a mixed race, of temple dancers, women
of easy virtue, hard drinkers, a people with no history and no
culture. This stereotype has been reworked in our time by Nirad C.
Chaudhuri and V.S. Naipaul, and in Bollywood films. Yet we Goans
know we are by and large a law-abiding society, with strong family
values. The temples and churches are overflowing, the festivals
are celebrated with a typically Goan combination of élan and deep
spirituality, and our village life is vibrant and active.

Writers and artists have chosen to make Goa their home. Amitav
Ghosh, who now has a home in Goa, feels it is the special quality
of the Goan people, their warmth and cosmopolitanism, that draws
people here.

Contradictory perspectives
How, then, does one make sense of these two contradictory
perspectives? What is of concern to me is that the image of Goa
constructed to sell tourism has been sedulously cultivated to
reinvent for modern times the perverted stereotype constructed
since the 19th century or earlier. The notoriety, the quiet wink
and knowing look that have been inseparable from the idea of Goa
in certain circles, appears to have been co-opted to sell tourism
with a kind of tacit understanding that much will be condoned. And
these same forces collude to keep the party going, to ignore the
crimes, and the despair of a law-abiding population that finds
itself trapped between a description of its homeland as one of the
best States in the country in terms of human resource development
yet also is host to paedophiles, drug pushers, and most recently,
gambling, to lure yet another kind of tourist, a State with a high
rate of literacy second only to Kerala yet with a 40 per cent
dropout rate, and an equal percentage of the educated unemployed.

I lived in Goa in 1962 soon after its liberation when people
flocked from our metropolitan cities to buy foreign goods and
cheap liquor. Goa itself was not taken seriously except as a place
to have a good time. The scene is no better today. There is a
sense in which the national tourist ‘others’ the Goan. We are an
open society, cosmopolitan, with fewer inhibitions in the sense
that we are informal, love music and dance, with time for leisure
built into a hardworking day. And perhaps more crucially, there is
an easy informality between the sexes, which is wildly
misunderstood by the Indian tourist, in particular, who often
arrives to let go of his own inhibitions, drawn by the media image
of “in Goa anything goes.”

Figures show that the consumption of liquor by tourists in a day
in the high season is more than is consumed by Goans in a whole
year — although drunkenness is now disrupting family life more
than ever before.

Goa has suffered many shocks which have rocked the stability of
its society, which is essentially feudal, and its ancient system
of land-holding known as communidade. Both received a mortal blow
from insensitive land reforms. As a result, rich agricultural
lands are lying fallow — and a great deal of it has been converted
by unscrupulous politicians into settlement zones. Hence there has
been a huge diversion of agricultural land to satisfy the greed of
national and international players for real estate. One reads of a
sale in Delhi earlier this month at an “Extensive Goa Property
Show.” Goans know nothing about this, nor do they know to whom the
land belongs. Simultaneously, a signature campaign is on

[Goanet] Goa: Tourism fuels trafficking of humans

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

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merinews.com

Goa: Tourism fuels trafficking of humans
Armstrong Vaz, 18 March 2008, Tuesday

Children trafficked into the state are for either domestic work or
other forms of labour (including begging) or commercial sexual
exploitation and become victims of abuse and often turn to alcohol
to escape and endure the problems they encounter.


GOA, A former Portuguese colony on the western coast of India is
one of the popular tourist destinations for foreigners during the
tourist season. The small state ranks high as far as human
development and per capital income in comparison to the rest of
the country. The high level of per capital income is fuelled by
its overseas Indians contributions, tourism industry and mining
economy.

But there is darker side to the human growth and a fall out of the
tourism trade- Child labour, exploitation of migrant children and
trafficking of human’s.

Goa since the start of the 70s has attracted a large number of
unskilled and semi-skilled workers from other states. The
migration fuelled due to the non-availability of manual labor
within the state. Further the developmental activity initiated in
the State and the booming tourism business, continues to fuel
demand for more labour from across the state borders.

And that was not enough there is seasonal migration. With the
onset of the every tourism season hordes of migrant labour force
move into Goa from across the state borders from Karnataka and
Maharashtra to do business on the beaches or work at the temporary
seasonal shacks. One of the migrating tribal groups is the Lamani
community, whose numbers have increased significantly ever since
they first entered the state in the late 70’s.

The children of the Lamanis’ are the high-risk group who are
vulnerable to fall into the trap set by the different vice dens of
the tourism trade. These children are sometimes not accompanied by
their parents but come to Goa with relatives or with some close
neighbors in search of employment in order to escape poverty and
hunger. But there are agents or an organized racket, which
exploits the children for commercial gains. Agents, who bring
children and women into the state to make them work as domestic
labourer.

These underprivileged children are one of the identified groups
who are vulnerable children in the context of child labour, child
abuse and the commercial sexual exploitation.

Who are trafficked into Goa for labour or sexual exploitation?

Children trafficked into the state are for either domestic work or
other forms of labour (including begging) or commercial sexual
exploitation and become victims of abuse.

Children likely to fall for the bait for a better life and
exploitation by unscrupulous agents are from children abandoned by
their families, children of prisoners, children whose parents are
either alcoholics or substance abusers. The vulnerable group
extends to children from broken homes, children who belong to
single parent families or are born to unwed mothers, children
living in areas affected by communal riots. And there are some
child laborers who run away from home and have come here in search
of work.

Where they work

The children are mainly employed in an unorganized sector, selling
plastic bags, fish, vegetables or fruit in the markets,
rag-picking, off-loading fish and vegetables from trucks that come
to the main markets. Some find way to work as domestic workers, at
construction sites, in garages, in shops as sales persons or
helpers, in small hotels and restaurants, and shoeshine boys.

On the beachside they can be seen selling peanuts, beer or
handicrafts to tourists or as masseurs on the beach. In the
construction activity they work as sand-sifters along the coast
where sand is loaded for the construction business. They can also
be found working on fishing trawlers. And they also entertain you
as gymnasts performing different tricks to entertain passer and
tourists in different cities and on the beaches to earn their
lively hood.

Some take to begging on the beaches either forced by their agents
or their families to sustain themselves and their families. For
majority of them school is a distant mirage, while some drop out
of school as they think it is not a feasible option, others find
it very difficult to cope with the formal system of education.

The children are also vulnerable for exploitation by the
pedophiles. Goa, which is one the hot destination for pedophile
and where the first case of pedophile broke out in and the state
thereafter, has brought in tough legislation to curb the menace.
Foreigners manage to earn the trust and confiden

Re: [Goanet] Hinduism and Henotheism

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

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> Subject: Re: [Goanet] Hinduism and Henotheism To: "Goa's
> The exchange
> between Fr. Ivo and Dr. Barad shows that just as there is an
> unresolvable conflict between science and religion, there is an
> equally serious conflict between one religion and another -
> specifically, Christianity and Hinduism, in this case. Cheers,
> Santosh

>From the tone of the whole thing, it seems to be more a conflict
between Fr. Ivo and Dr. Barad, with each one being ultra-sensitive
about his professed religion. Most Hindus and Christians could not
care less about the issues, and would be happy to leave these two
to fight it out :-)

-- 
Question everything -- Karl Marx

Re: [Goanet] Parrikar v/s Parrikar

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

> From: "Bosco - Goanet Volunteer" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Subject: Re: [Goanet] Parrikar v/s Parrikar

These are some very good ideas from Bosco. Some suggestions.

> Having said that, I think we should all understand, rather, try to 
> understand that Goanet was not setup 14 years ago as a platform for 
> politicians to exploit for propaganda purposes. On the flipside Goanetters 
> and citizens have indulged in propaganda, since the earliest days of Goanet. 
> We've heard it all - pro-Salazarist, anti-Portuguese, pro/anti-Congress, 
> pro/anti-BJP, pro/anti-Goa Suraj, pro/anti-Catholic, pro/anti-Hindu, etc, 
> etc.

Amen!

So if somebody wants to conduct an interview with Manohar
Parrikar, do so. But do it under the aegis of Parrikarnet or
BJPnet or DrAnandnet or whatever, not goanet. Then after
conducting this interview the link to the audio/video can be
posted on Goanet. Just as all the propaganda Bosco alludes to
above is posted. NOT as a goanet initiative, but under the name of
the person making the post.

Also, if you want to select the questions and questioners from
goanet, that's fine, select them from wherever you want. The way
this whole thing has been pitched makes it sound as if it'll end
up being projected as an 'official' goanet initiative. Therefore,
Goanet would be well advised to start posting a disclaimer: "This
interview has nothing to do with Goanet. Those organising the
interview selected their questions and questioners from Goanet,
but this should not be construed that Goanet has anything to do
with all this."

> #2) In all fairness, Manohar Parrikar must answer ALL questions that are put 
> up by Goanetters not just the ones that will embellish his propaganda. He is 
> a politician and we understand that. A transcript of all questions received 
> must be posted on Goanet ahead of the interview.

Bosco, however sincerely this is organised, there are going to be
allegations of propaganda and bias. Which is why it appears best
that Goanet distance itself from the initiative.

> #4) Goanet Admin would like a say in the constitution of the moderators 
> panel and the attendees at the interview. As the one who came up with the 
> thought of conducting this interview, you cannot abrogate this right to 
> yourself and use Goanet at the same time. There are several vocal/silent 
> Goanetters that Goanet can select from - people with diverse views to be a 
> part of this panel.

This is not advisable, IMHO. It again makes this an 'official'
goanet initiative.

In fact we need to ask ourselves what the purpose of goanet is.
The endless political squabbling that goes on here now is getting
terribly tedious, so much so that this mailgroup is now becoming
unreadable. Goanet used to be a fun place where all kinds of
entertaining stuff used to appear, and there used to be many kinds
of debate; now no longer, it's degenerating into a
Parrikar-good/Parrikar-bad, Digu-good/Digu-bad  etc. forum.

Not suggesting in any way that political discussion should not
take place on goanet, I love political discussion myself, and the
political discussions on goa can be entertaining! But the problem
is that now it appears that people are not prepared to say their
piece and then hold their peace, instead they go on and on and on
and on...ad nauseum. Just look at the archives for the past month.

-- 
Question everything -- Karl Marx

[Goanet] 2 yrs on, communal riots bring govt apathy to fore

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

Herald, March 4 2008

2 yrs on, communal riots bring govt apathy to fore
BY HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, MARCH 3 — It’s exactly two years that Goa got a blot on
its secular image when the State witnessed communal riots at
Guddemol in Sanvordem-Curchorem but the State government hardly
seems to have acted on the Magisterial inquiry report as far as
taking measure to prevent such ugly incidents in the future.
“I don’t know of any recommendation that has been acted upon”,
said Adv Albertina Almeida of Citizens’ Initiative for Communal
Harmony – an organization which strongly pressed not only for any
inquiry but also for the report to be made public.
“Leave alone acting on the recommendations, the government is yet
to understand the seriousness of the issue. It has not changed its
superficial approach”, said Ramesh Gauns another coordinator of CICH.
Fundamentalist forces are very active in Goa and they are
implementing their Action Plan – short term and long term – in a
systematic manner, Gauns said adding that on the face of it, their
agenda is difficult to be understood by the common man.
There is continuous effort to poison the minds of the people
particularly the school children with hate propaganda in the form
of exhibitions, said Adv Almeida.
Gauns is of the view that the divisive forces are taking advantage
of the people’s prejudice against non-Goan migrants coming into
Goa. And he alleged, they have a major political party to back them.
Politically speaking, Gauns said Congress leaders have no policy
at all while BJP has it in place. There is no Congress, he said
adding that their leaders only use the party’s label and do
nothing to propagate secularism.
Adv Almeida said the people need to be cautious of the fanatical
elements in Goa itself who are out to disturb the social harmony
in the State. She demanded that the government must act
immediately on the Inquiry report submitted by then North Goa
District Magistrate Nikhil Kumar.

-- 
Question everything -- Karl Marx

Re: [Goanet] Questioning everything

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

> anand virgincar <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Subject: Re: [Goanet] Questioning everything
> 
> 2 ) Thanks for the precise explanation. I wish such direct answers
> were availaible more often to reasonable queries raised. ( You have
> also done the same with respect to the Broken peace thread , where
> we both patiently await responses from Mr V Gadgil )

Oh! I thought I answered the immediate question, and in response
to the more general issues directed your attention to the
archives. There have been detailed discussions on this subject in
the past. My views have not changed. So there is little point in
me writing the same things over and over again, and getting drawn
into a re-run of the same debate all over again.

-- 
Question everything -- Karl Marx

[Goanet] Special Seminar issue on SEZs

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

The special issue of seminar on SEZs has gone on
line.
http://www.india-seminar.com/semframe.html

-- 
Question everything -- Karl Marx

Re: [Goanet] Facts v/s Hearsay

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

> From: "J. Colaco < jc>" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Subject: Re: [Goanet] Facts v/s Hearsay

The Broken Peace Report has been discussed threadbare and ad
nauseum on this forum. See archives for May-June 2006 and later as
well. There seems little point in retracing all that ground.

Since some questions were addressed to me personally, some brief
clarifications:

* The documentation I provided to this fact-finding committee is
all in the public domain. It consists of newspaper clippings on
the Sanvordem-Curchorem violence (English -- Navhind Times,
Gomantak Times, Herald and Goan Observer; Marathi -- Gomantak,
Tarun Bharat, Pudhari, and Goa Doot; and Konkani -- Sunaparant).
Some of this is easily available online, the rest can be obtained
from the relevant newspaper files, try Central Library. I am happy
to supply the online documentation to anybody interested, as I did
to this committee. That relates to what is available on the net,
for the rest it involves considerable photocopying from the
appropriate places, it's just a matter of time and effort. Also
supplied were reports from Goan newschannels like Goa 365, Goan
Eye, etc. Some of these are also available online. There are also
the legal documents of the case concerning the madrassa in
Guddemol, which are again in the public domain.
* I was not 'part of the team' that did the report. As the
acknowledgements clearly state, I supplied what documentation I had.

Well, that's about that report. There was also a strong public
demand to constitute an official government enquiry on the
Sanvordem-Curchorem communal violence. The government finally
constituted a one-man magisterial enquiry headed by the North Goa
Collector. This submitted its report in early 2007, which was
released in March 2007 to the press and public. Once again, this
report has been discussed in detail on this forum, so I won't get
into that all over again either. See archives for March-April
2007. [Much documentation from the public domain was supplied to
this enquiry commission, in response to a public notice issued by
the commission.]

The entire magisterial enquiry report can be obtained by making an
application through government channels. One problem here is that
no digitised version seems available. It is a long report with
numerous annexures, if somebody can get hold of a digitised copy
and upload for people to facilitate people accessing it, this
would be very helpful. Short of that, of course, one can get the
hard copy from the govt. (or from presswallahs) and read it.


-- 
Question everything -- Karl Marx

Re: [Goanet] Central Library in Panjim - a photo gallery

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

> From: "Rajan P. Parrikar" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Subject: [Goanet] Central Library in Panjim - a photo gallery
> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]

> My photo gallery of the Central Library -
> 
> http://www.parrikar.org/images/CentralLibrary/index.html

Thanks for these photographs of one of my favourite haunts
in Panjim. A lovely library, it has everything -- a cosy building,
great ambience, courteous and helpful staff, and
finally, an excellent selection of books, catering to a wide
variety of tastes from the heavy-duty highbrow to detective
stories to pulp fiction to even the stray Mills & Boon.

It has been particularly nice for me, because when one is Panjim,
and has time to kill between appointments, it is a great place to
hang around. For those who don't have office space in Panjim, but
need to hang be there at least some time a week, it is a haven.
One can spend anywhere from half an hour to the whole
day pleasantly occupied. And they have more than enough books and
new material coming in that it has taken care of most of our
family reading needs for many years now.

Had been hearing rumours that it would be shifting, and it seemed
a disastrous thing. Still does. What are the reasons they are
shifting, have they done a study justifying the move in terms of
space requirements or anything else?

If they have to go, the suggestion that this section of the
building be continued in its present function as an annexe is
one possibility. But let us explore whether we can stop them
shifting at all, if there is no satisfactory reason for doing so.

Great success with the petition on Panjim!

-- 
Question everything -- Karl Marx

Re: [Goanet] Religious conversions in Goa

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

> From: anand virgincar <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 
> Subject: [Goanet] Religious conversions in Goa 

> I am aware Vidyadhar-bab Gadgil has been
> particularly involved in such issues ( and may I please make
> a personal request to him to take this task on ? ) luv and
> regards,  anand   ( Dr Anand Virgincar )

I really do not have access to Dr. Manoj Solanki to ask him this
question :-) If he has any evidence of forcible conversion or
conversion using allurements (these are illegal, conversion of
free will is perfectly legal and ethically acceptable, so is not
relevant here) in Goa, he will hopefully provide it one day.

Apart from Solanki's letter that you have given the link to, in
the Navhind Times (Panorama) he also wrote a rejoinder to an
article of mine about the FACT exhibition which the HJS has been
organising in Goa. Unfortunately, NT is
very erratic about putting Panorama on-line, so it is not
available, and I cannot post a link to his rejoinder. If somebody
has a physical copy of that Sunday's Navhind, maybe they could do
so? My article is at:
http://communalism.blogspot.com/2007/10/politics-of-hate.html

If anybody has any other printed stuff from Solanki, it would be
interesting to see it. The kind of general polemic he spouts in
his speeches, etc., is already available at the Hindu Janajagruti
Sabha site at www.hindujagruti.org.

I will be out of town till the 17th without internet access, but I
look forward to rejoining this discussion when I return.

-- 
Question everything -- Karl Marx

Re: [Goanet] Goanet.....and " To kill a Mocking-bird "

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

> B) Vidyadhar-bab says :  1) Many people who have serious
> problems with the BJP do not belong to the categories I
> mentioned. 2) My question as to why mild / moderate persons
> support BJP in spite of knowing their "  Hindutva " agenda
> and their links with pro-Hindu organisations is irrelevent.

> change that to all staunch  anti-BJP persons.  

> 2) I feel my question above is still extremely relevant . It is one
> which I seriously doubt many , if not most, staunch anti-BJP
> persons on this forum have been presented with before . 


Don't know if I would describe myself as 'staunch anti-BJP', would
prefer some more positive label like 'pro-social justice' or "For
Liberty, Equality and Fraternity" :-) But jokes apart, yes, till
the BJP dumps its communal politics I would be unequivocally
opposed to it.

The question you raise above does come up in people's minds all
too often. You think it's very nice to find oneself actually
finding the Congress a better choice, given the Congress's long
history of acts of commission and omission?

Note that finding the Congress tolerable is a strictly relative
activity. The Sangh Parivar's virulent brand of hate politics has
ended up polarising Indian society and politics in such a way that
 anything looks better than that. Yes, EVEN the Congress.

Apart from corruption, the Congress also has a bad record in the
area of communalism. It has often indulged in or connived at
communalism, most horrifically in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. The
Congress does little or nothing to promote secularism. But
communalism is not part of its ideology, only of its convenience.
After the 1984 anti-Sikh violence, one did not see Congress
leaders asking for votes on the basis of their communal track
record, as one sees BJP luminaries do, most starkly in Gujarat.

The BJP could become perfectly acceptable to many people if it
were to shed its communalism.
1. Break all links with the RSS and publicly repudiate the
ideology of Hindutva.
2. Apologise to the nation for the vandalism of the Babri Masjid
and make efforts to rebuild the original mosque.
3. Apologise for the Gujarat communal cleansing of 2002, and bring
those responsible to justice.

But for the BJP, Hindutva is a core ideology, a raison d'etre. And
its links with the Sangh Parivar are too deep-rooted. As Vajpayee
once famously said, "The Sangh is my soul." So somehow the BJP
doing this seems unlikely...

Don't know if this answers your questions, I just followed a train
of thought set off by them.

In this depressing scenario, how one wishes for a progressive,
secular third force in Indian politics, one which has a realistic
chance of winning elections. But this also seems unlikely, so one
is left with the depressing choice you mention, in which even the
Congress appears better.

> Like Karl Marx , we need to question everything

Indeed! :-)

-- 
I wept because I had no answers, until I met a man who had no
questions -- John David Stone

[Goanet] P Sainath: Visible Work, Invisible Women flyer

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

The Sainath exhibition described below will be taking place from 4th-7th 
February in KALA ACADEMY, GOA, as part of the D.D. Kosambi celebrations. 
Sainath himself will be speaking on the 6th February.



www.sais-jhu.edu/programs/asia/southasia/sa_events/sa_event_flyers/p_sainath_flyer_photo_exhibit.pdf

Visible Work, Invisible Women

When thousands of women, mostly landless labourers, queued up in Vizag city 
in India to see a photo exhibition less than 40 months ago, it was an 
unusual one on their own lives. Consisting of about 70 black and white 
photographs with text, the exhibition is on "Women & Work in Rural India." 
It is titled "Visible Work, Invisible Women"...


The pictures, shot in ten states across the country by journalist P. 
Sainath, show the astonishing labour that poor women put in every day of 
their lives and the gigantic -- yet unacknowledged -- contribution they make 
to the national economy. A contribution worth, literally, tens of billions 
of dollars. Each of ten panels deals with different kinds of work that women 
do. The text details the scope, significance and centrality of that labour 
to the Indian economy, particularly to agriculture.


The exhibition has so far been seen by over half a million people in several 
venues in the east, west, north and south of India. One set has also toured 
over 20 venues in the United States and Canada. It was shown at the Asia 
Society, New York in November 2002.


In this time, it has collected 29 notebooks full of comments in nine 
languages from all over India. Hundreds of pages with literally thousands of 
comments.


It was inaugurated in Vizag city in late November 2001 by four of the 
landless women agricultural labourers who figure in the photographs. They 
sang a song of working women from the fields and declared it open.


...
--
Question everything -- Karl Marx

[Goanet] Pamphlet Circulated for Hindu Dharmajagruti Sabha

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

[A pamphlet was used for mobilisation of people for the recent
Hindu Dharmajagruti Sabha (organised by the Hindu Janajagruti
Samiti) which was held at Marcaim on 1st
February 2008. The meeting was proposed to be held in at Farmagudi
Government Engineering College Grounds, but permission was refused.

Below is a translated version of the pamphlet (which is originally
in Marathi). It is an attempt at a literal translation.

---

Hindu Brethren,
The Hindu religion was wrecked by the assaults of Muslims and
Christians. After Independence, due to the so-called secular
ideology and the English education system, those Hindus who have
no pride in their religion and who do not follow religion became
ever worse offenders against ethics. Jihadi terrorism, conversion,
mockeries of Hindu deities, blind adoption of Western culture,
bomb attacks on temples, murders of Hindu leaders, threat to kill
religious teachers, and many other such threats have surrounded
the Hindu religion today. On one hand, the government gives crores
of rupees as subsidies to the Haj pilgrimage, for madrasas and for
churches, and on the other it draws up plans to destroy the
‘Ramsetu’ [Adam’s Bridge]. The government is trying to finish off
the Hindu religion by bringing in laws like ‘Nationalisation of
Temples Act’ and the ‘(Blind) Faith Eradication Act’. In such
adverse circumstances, the only alternative to preserve the Hindu
religion is by following the path of ‘religion and unity of
Hindus’. Therefore, grasping the seriousness of the calamities
faced by the religion – that is, by each one of us – come and
participate in the Hindu Religion Awakening Meeting.



BOX ITEM

Various Programmes of Hindu Janajagruti Samiti

* Creating awareness through religious notice boards in about 400
places
* Agitation against perverted painter M.F. Husain, who paints
obscene pictures of Hindu deities
* Opposition to provisions inimical to the Hindu religion in the
‘Blind’ Faith Eradication Act of the Maharashtra Government
* Campaign against nationalisation of temples
* Campaign to stop misuse of the national flag
* Organise shows of exhibition produced by FACT to create
awareness about Jihadi terrorism
* Drives and public rallies to organise Hindus



BOX ITEM

If we protect religion, then religion (God) will protect us!
O Hindus, participate in the religious awakening rally and become
active in protection of religion!



BOX

For more information www.hindujagruti.org
Tel: 9890722314, 9325573772

[Incidentally, as of today, this website had the Ponda
meeting prominently featured.]

---

Among the people listed as “Honourable Guests” are:
Sudin Dhavlikar, MLA Marcaim (MGP)
Damodar Naik, MLA Fatorda (BJP)
Sharmad Pai Raiturkar, President Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJP)
Dipak Dhavlikar, MLA Priol (MGP)
Rajendra Arlekar, Erstwhile BJP Regional President

Among those extending the invitation are:
Kedar Vete, Chief, South Goa Bajrang Dal
Shrikant Dhargalkar, President, Hindu Vishwa Parishad, Mormugao
Narayan Parsekar, Office Bearer, RSS, Mormugao

Various Sants, Dharmabhimanis (those who take pride in their
religion), and members of Sangh Parivar organisations are listed
as associated with this programme in various capacities.



There is one page of background material on the Hindu Janajagruti
Samiti, not bothering to post that since much of it is there (in
English) on the HJS website.

-- 
Question everything -- Karl Marx

Re: [Goanet] Goanet.....and " To kill a Mocking-bird "

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

> Subject: [Goanet] Goanet.and  " To kill a Mocking-bird "
> From: anand virgincar <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>

>   Vice versa , the staunch Congress / Catholic supporters on this forum
>   would do well to climb into my skin and try to fathom why mild /moderate
>   persons like me are so strongly in favour of a BJP government in Goa
>   in spite ( and NOT because ) of their obvious Hindutva agenda and / or
>   their well known links with hardcore pro-Hindu organisations.

You raise some very interesting points. But do note that there are
many people who have serious problems with the BJP who are not in
the categories you have mentioned above, viz. 'staunch
Congress/Catholic supporters' (presumably you mean staunch
Congress supporters and Catholics). It is a very common problem on
this forum to draw simplistic equations like anti-BJP =
pro-Congress and vice versa.

Regarding the second point above, your point, 'their obvious
Hindutva agenda and / or their well known links with hardcore
pro-Hindu organisations', is in itself a scathing indictment of
the BJP. What further needs to be said about why so many people
are opposed to the BJP? In the face of such a reality, most 'in
spite ofs' become redundant.

> And I say
>   persons rather than Hindu's because there are increasingly more
>   Goan Catholics who are switching loyalties to the BJP (  for instance,
>   in the June assembly elections , it was pretty evident from ward wise 
>   voting patterns that the Catholics saved Manohar Parrikar's bacon in 
>   Panaji )

Yes, this is a very interesting issue, and responses from informed
people would be useful. It is probably only elite Catholics who
currently have pro-BJP leanings.

Dr. Virgincar, may I say that it is a pleasure to have you posting
on this forum. In the short time you have been here, you have done
much to improve the tone of the discourse and debate, which had
sunk abysmally during the past few months.


-- 
Question everything -- Karl Marx

[Goanet] More on D.D. Kosambi

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

In the run-up to the upcoming talks as part of the D.D. Kosambi
centenary celebrations

There is a Wikipedia entry on D.D. Kosambi at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D._D._Kosambi

Do help to strengthen this page.

Many of Damodar Kosambi’s books are  available as e-books (PDF
files) at http://www.arvindguptatoys.com/. Click on Books >
English and scroll down to reach books by D D Kosambi (Birth
centenary 2007).

Central Library, Panjim, has some of his books. The upcoming event
inspired me to dig out some of his books which I now plan to
re-read. I remember his definition of history as contained in
"Introduction to the Study of India History" (paraphrased):
History is a chronological account of changes in the modes and
relations of production.

His father, Dharmananda Kosambi, was a well-known Buddhist
scholar. The Wikipedia entry on him is at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dharmananda_Damodar_Kosambi
This also needs additional information.

D.D.'s birth centenary is evoking a lot of interest. There is a
lecture series in Mumbai as well. I paste an abridged announcement
below:

D.D.KOSAMBI MEMORIAL LECTURE SERIES
Organized By Lokavangmaya Gruha & Ramnarain Ruia College

Schedule

Day 111th February

1st session

11.30 - 13.30 D.D.Kosambi's Contribution to
Indian Historiography   By- Prof.Romila Thapar

Chair- Prof.Ram Bapat

2nd session   'Inventing India' Screening
of 3 Documentaries. by Late  Prof A.N.Das

Day 212th February

1st session

11.00-1.00  Hindu Identity Stereotypes
versus History   By Prof. Dwijendra Narayan Jha

2nd Session

2.00-4.00 19th Century Religious Reformers and
Renaissance in Maharastra By Prof.Umesh Bagade

Chair- Prof. Ashok Chausalkar

Participants,registering at least a week before
the event would be provided with lunch.
Registration Fees-50 Rs.( For 2 days)

(Please Note that Registration is for lunch and
not a precondition for the participants.)

o o o

[ Contact addresses of Organisers  of the above event:

LOKVANGMAYA GRIHA
Bhupesh Gupta Bhavan,
85,Sayani Road,
Prabhadevi ,Mumbai 400 025.

Ramnarain Ruia College
L. Nappo Road, Matunga, Mumbai 400 019, India
http://www.ruiacollege.edu/ ]

-- 
Question everything -- Karl Marx

[Goanet] Dissociate from Hindu Janjagruti Sabha, CPI-M tells MGP

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

Navhind Times, 30 Jan 2008

Dissociate from Hindu Janjagruti Sabha, CPI-M tells MGP

NT Staff Reporter

Panaji, Jan 29 The Goa state committee of the Communist Party of
India (Marxist) has called upon the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak party
(MGP) to completely disassociate itself from the RSS-VHP-Bajrang
Dal supported Hindu Janajagruti Sabha to be held at Goa
Engineering College, Farmagudi, on February 1, 2008.

An official press release by the CPI(M) secretary Mr Thalmann
Pereira said that as the proposed meeting is to be addressed and
attended by prominent leaders of BJP, RSS, VHP and Bajrang Dal, it
is surprising that both the MGP MLAs as also some other prominent
MGP leaders are scheduled to attend the proposed meeting.

The stated objectives of the proposed meeting are to counter the
Muslim and Christian religions, which are portrayed as aggressors
against the Hindu religion. It is amazing as to how the MGP MLAs
can meet with top Congress and NCP leaders in New Delhi, even
while sharing the same platform with BJP-RSS-VHP-Bajrang Dal
stalwarts for such rabid propaganda in Goa.

The CPI(M) has also questioned the wisdom of the Congress-NCP
alliance government in Goa in allowing the public property of the
people to be used for communal purposes.

Further, while the Congress-NCP government of Maharashtra has
brought forth a law to suppress superstitious practices, the
proposed Hindu Janajagruti meeting at Farmagudi has declared its
objective to oppose the law. The CPI(M) wonders as to whether the
local Congress-NCP leaders are aware that they are abetting the
crime of supporting superstitious practices which are banned by
their counterparts in Maharashtra. It is also surprising that the
premises of the premier scientific establishment like Goa
Engineering College are being utilised for propagating obscurantism.

The CPI(M) has called upon all the progressive sections of Goan
society to ponder over these questions and raise their voice in
protest, the press release said.
-- 
Question everything -- Karl Marx

[Goanet] A celebration of nationalist myths

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

Gomantak Times, 30 January 2008

A celebration of nationalist myths
by Jason Keith Fernandes

This column is being written from Delhi where I have just
completed a tour of North India with a bunch of Americans. It was
while on this trip that I realised, with a fair amount of horror,
the extent to which the Indian national identity is built on the
idea of the image of an all-encompassing gentle Hinduism and an
evil and barbaric Muslim. Despite the overwhelming Persian
influence on this region, brought by the Islamic Turko-Afghans, at
almost every site the tour guides stressed a ‘Hindu’ linkage where
the Muslim emerged only as a destroyer of the wonder that was
India. More often than not these stories twisted facts around to
emerge with the Muslim as the villain of the piece.

Visibly agitated, I was asked the question if whether having a
Muslim guide would have given us a different perspective. Thinking
through this question I realized with sinking heart that this
would not be a solution, since the nationalist narrative has
effectively worked out the space for the Muslim.  There is the
good Muslim as represented by Akbar who is supposed to have
Hinduised himself and the bad Muslim represented by Aurangzeb who
apparently violently asserted an Islamic identity over a syncretic
option open to him. Whether they actually were or were not as this
history represents them to be,  is not really a choice open to the
common man, we have to accept them as such, and then either praise
or vilify the appropriate Emperor.

Arriving in Delhi this realization was further affirmed when I
flipped through the brochure of a prominent centre for Islam in
India. The Centre continues within a tradition that understands
‘Indo’ as code for Hindu, accepts the proposition that Islam is
from outside and can never truly be internal(ised) but asserts at
the same time that one can be a good Indian Muslim. This assertion
it should be pointed out works for a particular class of Indian
Muslims, the upper class/caste, who stress their foreign origins,
and derive social distinction vis-à-vis the lower caste Indian
Muslim from it. Further their emphasis on clarifying the “true”
meaning of Islam creates a space where their access to the text is
privileged. This emphasis on the text of Islam, rather than the
happy soup of lived practice inspired by the message of Islam in
fact creates the necessary background for fundamentalist Islam. In
sum this acknowledgement confirms their place as leaders and
representatives of Indian Islam and denies any space for lower
class/caste Muslims to stress their vision of what it means to be
Islam, a vision that could possibly escape the fundamentalist
readings of what it means to be a Muslim.

In Goa, the Catholic shares a similar fate. There is a similar
celebration of Hindu nationalist myths as the Muslim is either
erased or cast as the bad guy. The celebration of Indo-Portuguese
art is a good example.  The term Indo-Portuguese in fact operates
as code for Hindu-Catholic and celebrates their union.
Unfortunately the term leaves no space for the influence of the
Islamicate in Goa, which is plentiful. The celebration of
Indo-Portuguese art therefore casts the Muslim as the eternal
outsider to Goa, while creating Goa as the legitimate space for
the Catholic and the Hindu.  This equation operates for only a
certain kind of Catholic though, the upper caste Catholic. The
upper caste Catholic is able to link up with the Hindu imagination
for the nation through stressing their Brahmin, Kshatriya
backgrounds. At the same time a textual interpretation of the
religion stresses their distinction from the lower caste Catholic
masses. Both ways it leaves the lower class/caste Catholic without
an option.

It delegitimises the easy mix of local and Catholic belief that
marks Goan Catholicism and also leaves a lower caste Catholic with
no way to link up with a nation that is imagined primarily in
upper caste terms and pride of racial origin.

For years now the Muslim problem in India has been imagined as
precisely that, as a problem of and by Muslims. Increasingly
though we are coming to realize that this problem is the result of
the history of Hindu nationalism and impacts equally on all
communities that are not Hindu and upper caste, or do not share in
this exclusivist vision. In Goa our belly-gazing has still not
allowed us to realize what exactly is going on, but for those who
are willing to see, the writing on the wall is pretty clear!

-- 
Question everything -- Karl Marx

Re: [Goanet] Thoughts to Kamalaksh

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

From: sonia gomes 



Is there some effort on Goanet to search for "true"
goans?


Welcome to reality on Goanet, Sonia. Considerable amounts of the
debate on this forum for months now have focused on this very
issue. It is the usual divisive agenda of dividing people into
good and bad based on ethnic background. In such a context, this
kind of status assumes overwhelming importance in some people's minds.


People move all the time, I met a family called Pai in
Kerala, originally from Goa but moved to Kerala a long
time ago. They go to Goa everytime there is something
of importance in the family, a wedding, a journey
abroad, they however did not know a word of Konkani
but are fluent in Malayalam. What are they goans or
Malayalis ? Does it matter ?


Couldn't agree with you more that it is a totally irrelevant
issue. But when you start classifying people as good or bad based
on such things, beating your breast and trumpeting your ethnic
background becomes very important.



--
Question everything -- Karl Marx

Re: [Goanet] Thoughts to Kamalaksh

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

> From: "Kamalaksh Chari" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> 
> Nowadays all ghatis are proving niz-goenkars as outsiders and calling 
> themselves as Goenkars. May be because they are marching towards being a 
> majority, with the blessings of Digu kaka.

Don't worry, most of us are quite comfortable with what we are,
and are hardly bothered about these labels you seem to enjoy
applying somewhat arbitrarily. These matters are an accident of
birth, and are a matter of supreme indifference to most. Seems
rather silly to have pride or shame over a status so arbitrarily
assigned, and to which one has not contributed in any way...apart
from being born, of course, for which one can hardly claim credit.

You are most welcome to the niz Goenkar status or whatever status
you wish to apply to yourself. And with all the branding,
labelling, etc. on this forum, I can only say, "Garv se kaho hum
ghati hain!" :-)

-- 
Question everything -- Karl Marx

Re: [Goanet] D.D. Kosambi Festival of Ideas

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

> From: "Cecil Pinto" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> D.D. Kosambi Festival of Ideas
> 4th February :
> 1. Hamid Ansari , Vice President  :  Inaugural Lecture ? DDK's Thoughts on 
> Peace
> 2. Meera Kosambi : DDK - the scholar and the man.
> 5th .
> P. Sainath "Rising inequality & the danger to democracy"
> 6th
> Romila Thapar : D.D. Kosambi's Legacy to the Study of Ancient Indian History.
> 7th
> Vivek Monteiro : Science as the cognition of necessity.
> A prizewinning exhibition of photographs by Sainath  VISIBLE WORK,
> INVISIBLE WOMEN will remain open from 4th  till noon 7th.
> All lectures are  at DM auditorium, Kala Academy at 5.30pm
> But on 4th it will start at 5pm and seating will be requested  much
> earlier;  security will be tight on that day.
> Please spread the word and bring all your friends.

Wow, this is some programme! And we're getting the benefit of such
a fantastic bunch of heavyweights sitting right here in Goa!

Not to be missed at any cost!

-- 
Question everything -- Karl Marx

[Goanet] MARRIED TO THE MOB

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

Hindustan Times
January 24, 2008

MARRIED TO THE MOB

by Rajdeep Sardesai

Last Saturday, as India was celebrating a famous
cricket victory over Australia in Perth, NDTV's
Ahmedabad office was ransacked by a mob calling
itself the Hindu Samrajya Sena. The alleged
provocation: an sms poll on the network that had
asked viewers to vote for painter M.F. Husain as
a possible Bharat Ratna. Only a week before that,
an IBN-7 broadcast van was damaged in Mumbai,
allegedly by supporters of Raj Thackeray's
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena. Their grouse? The
channel had questioned the manner in which
Thackeray had supported a group of men accused of
molestation on New Year's Eve to the Home
Minister. A few months ago, journalists in Patna
were attacked after they reported on the possible
involvement of a Janata Dal United MLA in a
murder case. Last year, the Star News office in
Mumbai was badly damaged by another little known
group, offended by the channel's coverage of a
Hindu-Muslim marriage. In 2006, a CNN-IBN car was
burnt outside the Uttar Pradesh assembly by a
mob, only a day after the channel reported on BSP
leader Mayawati's disproportionate assets case.

In all the instances, a clear pattern emerges: a
faceless mob, often belonging to an equally
unknown  organisation, gets its 15 seconds of
fame by taking the law into its own hands.
Violence becomes the substitute for logical
argument; anonymity provides an alibi and a
disturbing licence to kill; spurious asmita or
self- respect becomes the justification and
television the soft target. After all, what
better way to find yourself on prime time TV than
attacking a television channel's crew? The camera
lens is the  window to a wider world, reaching
out to millions of viewers. What better way to
express yourself than destroy the very instrument
that could leave you exposed?

If you can't physically touch Husain, then try
and attack any symbol connected with the artist,
be it a painting exhibition or an innocuous sms
poll. If you can't stop Hindu-Muslim marriages,
then shoot the messenger carrying the story. If
you can't enter the courtroom to stop the
judicial process against your leader, allow the
writ of the mob to prevail over the rule of  law.

The profile of the 'mob' is also familiar. A
majority of them are young, mostly unemployed,
desperately seeking an identity and relevance in
an increasingly chaotic and competitive world.
Faced with the threat of marginalisation, being
part of a Sena or a politician's armed militia
provides an individual with at least a sense of
'being', an identity that gives some meaning and
excitement to a life otherwise spent in drudgery
and deprivation. Do I want to spend the rest of
my life in a queue for water before sunrise at
Dharavi, and then an even longer queue for a job?
Or do I want to be part of a group that promises
me upward mobility, through a clever mix of money
and muscle power?

The image of tearing down an Aamir Khan film
poster seems far more attractive than avoiding
the pot-holes in the mucky bylanes of the slum
pocket. Call it ersatz machismo, or simply urban
anomie, it is so much easier to be married to the
mob than be engaged to the harsh realities of
daily living.

Nor is this only the big city phenomenon that it
perhaps was a few years ago. The original Senas
might have emerged in the grimy and unforgiving
cauldron of Mumbai's backstreets, but they have
now spread their web across the country. What
started off as groups seeking a political
identity - like the Shiv Sena - are now
re-inventing themselves as the morality police,
guardians of a so-called cultural 'purity', based
largely on a growing conflict between 'them' and
'us' at different levels of society, between
conflicting notions of social conservatism,
religious identity and rapid westernisation.
Then, whether it is a group that threatens women
without headscarves in Srinagar, or young couples
in a park in Meerut, or those wearing jeans in a
Chennai college, it is clear that there is a
growing geographical spread to the culture of
moral absolutism through the use of violence and
intimidation.

The real culprits though are not the faceless
mob. Much like the TV camera, they are, in a
sense, the soft targets. The actual
responsibility must lie with the law enforcers,
those who are supposed to ensure respect and
adherence to the rule of law. How, for example,
does one explain that the same Gujarat government
that gets tough with farmers who don't pay their
electricity dues, cannot act against those who
ransack art exhibitions in Vadodara or even dare
to enter the Sabarmati ashram and assault Narmada
Bachao Andolan activists inside the Mahatma's
abode of  non-violence? How does one explain that
the Congress-NCP government in Maharashtra, which
gets tough against bar dancers, chooses to turn a
blind eye to the destruction of valuable archival
material in a prestigious library in Pune by the
so-called Sambhaji brigade? What can one expect
from successive govern

Re: [Goanet] Apologies to Selma

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

> From: anand virgincar <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Subject: [Goanet] Apologies to Selma
> 
> Just one final point I wish to make...I assume that
> when you refer to " saffronites " I assume that you
> refer to the BJP . It is a misconception that BJP 
> supporters are predominantly those who support
> the political party because they are believers in
> the " Hindutva " ideology. On the contrary ,the
> overwhelming majority of these are " normal " 
> human beings like you and me. There is a hardcore
> element in every religious and political ideological
> group...but it extends across all of these groups

This is perfectly true, nobody is saying that BJP supporters as a
group are hardcore or fanatics or anything like that, they are
obviously largely 'normal', middle-of-the-road people.

The problem is that the BJP is completely controlled by the
hardcore element, namely, the RSS -- a fact that neither the BJP
nor the RSS bother to hide but in fact flaunt proudly. And thus
the BJP's main agenda becomes to spread the pernicious agenda of
Hindutva.

I won't go into further details, the issue has been adequately
discussed on this forum over the years.

-- 
Question everything -- Karl Marx

[Goanet] Orissa Violence of December 2007

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

---
 http://www.GOANET.org 
---

 Symposium on Pre-Primary & Primary School Education & 
  Primary School Students Chess Tournament

More information at:

http://lists.goanet.org/pipermail/goanet-goanet.org/2008-January/068222.html
---

A National Commission for Minorities Team comprising Zoya Hasan
and Dileep Padgaonkar visited the violence-stricken areas in
Orissa and the report from the NCM is now available at
http://ncm.nic.in/pdf/orissa%20report.pdf.

-- 
Question everything -- Karl Marx

Re: [Goanet] Archbishop's Appeal for a Week of Prayer for Orissa

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

> From: Santosh Helekar <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Subject: Re: [Goanet] Archbishop's Appeal for a Week of Prayer for
>   Orissa
> 
> It is hard to pardon anybody who accuses others of
> resorting to innuendo while admitting his own
> ignorance of the issue. An ignorant man who truly
> wants to find out the details would at least care to
> read Miguel's original Goanet post on it. He would
> learn from the IANS news service report posted by
> Miguel that the Christian Panas people who clashed
> with the Hindu Kandha tribals attacked the swami, and
> the whole thing escalated into mindless violence.

The "attack on the swami" version of events is disputed. Even
assuming that the anti-Christian violence has been "retaliatory"
in nature, its sheer scale is reminiscent of Gujarat violence of
2002 in "retaliation" for Godhra. There is a report at
http://tinyurl.com/2wv5gd, which gives details of casualties and
damages, and calls for a CBI enquiry into the whole thing,
including especially the alleged attack on the swami.

-- 
Question everything -- Karl Marx

Re: [Goanet] Caste blindness............

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

   * * *  2007  ANNUAL  GOANETTERS MEET - GOA  * * *

WHERE: Foodland Cafe - Miramar Residency - Miramar, Goa

WHEN: December 27, 2007 @ 4:30pm

More info:

http://lists.goanet.org/pipermail/goanet-goanet.org/2007-December/066098.html

> From: "Vivian A. DSouza" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Subject: [Goanet] Caste blindness

>   Perhaps I could call myself Chimbelcho or is that copyrighted ?  Any 
> suggestions folks ?
>   I am trying to be caste neutral.

We have registered our kids right from birth as C.G. Nitash and
C.G. Niyati. The initials have no full form on any official
document, and though it was a bit of a nuisance for the kids to
have to explain that those were their 'full' names, they have got
used to it now. As for ourselves, my wife and I felt it would be
too much of a nuisance to go about contracting our surnames to
initials, since we are already known by our existing names. For
better or worse, it is simpler to live with those names.

The idea came from our sojourn in South India, where having a name
like A.B. Alphonso or B.D. Vasant or S.V. Sudha is quite common.
The initials are the village names, but are rarely written in
full. And this makes the caste impossible to figure out from the
surname -- though first names also do have caste (and religious)
associations, they are less obvious.

-- 
I wept because I had no answers, until I met a man who had no
questions -- John David Stone
---

Spread the Christmas Cheer, even when you're not here!
Send classic greetings to your loved ones in Goa.
EXPRESSIONS - 2007 Christmas Hamper
Visit http://www.goa-world.com/expressions/xmas/
Or e-mail:  [EMAIL PROTECTED]

---

Re: [Goanet] Congress wants Speechwriters to take the blames!

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

   * * *  2007  ANNUAL  GOANETTERS MEET - GOA  * * *

WHERE: Foodland Cafe - Miramar Residency - Miramar, Goa

WHEN: December 27, 2007 @ 4:30pm

More info:

http://lists.goanet.org/pipermail/goanet-goanet.org/2007-December/066098.html

From: "Dr. U. G. Barad" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Goanet] Congress wants Speechwriters to take the blames!

> Media reports tell us that no one is willing to take the responsibility for
> inserting in the Congress president's speech the phrase maut ke saudagar,
> which attracted the attention of Election Commission (EC)! 

It is amusing to see the 'Maut ke Suadagar' phrase attracting
criticism on this forum, while Modi's transgression is ignored.
Given what Modi said about Sohrabuddin, and Modi's track record,
'Maut ke Suadagar' is spot on and the speechwriter should be
commended for truth-telling. (The Congress, of course, in its
usual pusillanimous style, is going flip-flop over the issue.)
What prompted the EC to issue this notice to the Congress is
unknown -- some mysterious notion of fairness, perhaps. An
interesting take is here:

http://www.tehelka.com/story_main36.asp?filename=Ne221207NOTICE_pros.asp

Incidentally, the Supreme Court has now issued notice to Modi. And
since there is plenty of video footage of his speeches claiming
credit for killing Sohrabuddin, he is probably in serious trouble.


-- 
I wept because I had no answers, until I met a man who had no
questions -- John David Stone
---

Spread the Christmas Cheer, even when you're not here!
Send classic greetings to your loved ones in Goa.
EXPRESSIONS - 2007 Christmas Hamper
Visit http://www.goa-world.com/expressions/xmas/
Or e-mail:  [EMAIL PROTECTED]

---

[Goanet] Hilarious article on NRI worship

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

   * * *  2007  ANNUAL  GOANETTERS MEET - GOA  * * *

WHERE: Foodland Cafe - Miramar Residency - Miramar, Goa

WHEN: December 27, 2007 @ 4:30pm

More info:

http://lists.goanet.org/pipermail/goanet-goanet.org/2007-December/066098.html

It's getting to be Christmas time in Goa, and there is going to be
lots of opportunity in the pastime described below :-)

Outlook, Dec 17, 2007

Idle Worship, Or The Non-Residents Role Play

Come winter, and Indians will genuflect before the visiting hordes
of NRIs ...
Ramachandra Guha

A new festival has been added to the Indian ritual calendar. Like
Dussehra and Diwali, it is a winter festival, but unlike them the
gods it honours are living beings, who appear before us in flesh
and blood instead of being frozen into stone. This relatively new
addition to our lives is called NRI puja. It takes place in
December, a time when thousands of Non-Resident Indians briefly
become Resident Non-Indians.

As a middle-class, English-speaking South Indian, I am always part
of these festivities myself. For half my family serve as deities;
the other half as worshippers.

Whether I like it or not, I am placed by default in the second
class. Fortunately, whatever personal apprehensions I have about
participating in this annual puja are overcome by the force of
professional obligation. As an Indian who chose to live in India,
I might affect scorn for the migrants, but as a social scientist I
must take cognisance of a phenonemon whose social significance
grows with every passing year.

The first thing to note about this puja is that it has space only
for a certain kind of NRI. Those who live with Arabs in the Gulf
or with Fijians in the South Pacific do not qualify; still less
those who have made their home with humans of African descent in
the Caribbean. To be worthy of worship, an NRI must live with
people whose skin pigmentation is, in the Tamil phrase, paal
maadri, literally, the colour of milk.

Among the gods who visit us every winter, three deities tower
above the others. Analagous to Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva, we have
Salman the Creator, Amartya the Preserver, and Sir Vidia the
Destroyer. Just as Brahma gave birth to the world, Rushdie gave
birth, through his magnificent novel Midnight's Children, to an
innovative and globally influential school of Indian writing in
English. Like the god he resembles he appears to have done little
since—but, for that first and fundamental act of creation, we
worship him still.

Vishnu the Preserver is supposed to have had 10 avatars. His
successor probably exceeds him in this regard. Sometimes he comes
to us as a Bangladeshi (by virtue of the fact that he was born in
Dhaka), at other times as a Bengali, at still other times as a
Global Indian. Other roles he has assumed include economist,
philosopher, sociologist, historian, and seer. Like the god he
resembles he comes to cheer us, to console us, to chastise us.

Siva could set the world ablaze with a mere blink of the eyelids.
His modern successor can destroy a reputation by a word or two
said (or unsaid). As with Siva, we fear Sir Vidia, we propitiate
him, and we worship him. Who knows, if we are diligent and devoted
enough, he may grant us some favours in this world (or the next).

In the Hindu pantheon there are three main Gods as well as 33,000
lesser ones. Through the month of December, the Holy Trinity are
sighted from afar—prayed to, occasionally touched, but rarely
spoken to. But how many Indians get to go to Badrinath anyway?
Their regular prayers are offered to more modest deities who live
in or visit the smaller shrines in their own villages or towns.

Among these lesser gods, the first and by far the most numerous
category consists of the Family Show-Off. This is the man—less
often, the woman—who went early to the West, usually the United
States, to study, work and earn. He makes trips home every few
years—at first coming alone, then with Indian wife acquired
through traditional channels, and finally with one or two brats in
tow. When these family NRIs appear, we, mere permanent residents,
are obliged to pay homage, altering our own lives and work
schedules to do so. It is striking how naturally we slip into the
role of worshippers; they, as naturally, into the role of the
worshipped.


-- 
I wept because I had no answers, until I met a man who had no
questions -- John David Stone
---

Spread the Christmas Cheer, even when you're not here!
Send classic greetings to your loved ones in Goa.
EXPRESSIONS - 2007 Christmas Hamper
Visit http://www.goa-world.com/expressions/xmas/
Or e-mail:  [EMAIL PROTECTED]

---

[Goanet] Insiders and Outsiders

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

Gomantak Times, 8 December 2007

Insiders and Outsiders

by Vidyadhar Gadgil

One of the most popular subjects of public discourse in Goa is the
‘Goan identity’ -- reams of newsprint, scholarly articles and even
entire books are devoted to this subject, and it is a staple of
innumerable seminars. The Goan identity is considered notoriously
difficult to define, with remarkably few of the defining features
that generally go into making a national identity. There are
differences in language, religion and culture (the main markers of
community or ‘national’ identity), and also considerable overlaps
with neighbouring states.

But the quest becomes much easier if we keep in mind that any
identity always requires its mirror image -- the ‘other’ -- and
that it is in relation to this other that any identity must be
understood. A basic characteristic of any identity, any community,
is that it excludes as much as it includes. And if we look at
those whom the Goan identity excludes -- the outsiders, the
benighted ‘bhailos’ -- we can better appreciate what the Goan
identity includes, what it is all about.

Ethnicity is commonly considered to be one of the most common
markers of the Goan identity. In Goa, it would be very difficult
to show any meaningful commonality in terms of ‘racial’
characteristics -- anthropometric research has shown that in most
parts of India (Goa included), most Indians come from a kind of
racial soup, thus making ‘ties of blood and race’ a pure illusion.
So when one talks of Goans as an ethnic group, one is talking of
the concept not in terms of any racial characteristics, but in a
Weberian sense as a group ‘that entertains a subjective belief in
common descent because of similarities of physical type or of
customs or both, or because of memories of colonization and
migration.’

Physical type we have already dismissed. What about customs, i.e.,
culture? While this doubtless has some importance, we see many
people claiming to be Goans when they have no direct link with the
culture or language (and many of whom, like Keni’s musician, have
never even lived in Goa) -- this group would include various
emigrants, including NRIs, even second- and third-generation ones,
who proudly proclaim their Goan heritage and would be most
offended if they were described as outsiders. Thus common culture
is clearly not a necessary condition for being considered an insider.

Finally there is the concept of ‘memories of colonization and
migration’. Migration (real or imagined) is very caste-specific;
while the upper castes claim such a background, the lower castes
generally see themselves as the original inhabitants of the land.
So one common feature we can find is the fact of colonization by
the Portuguese -- since Goa was one of the few parts of India
which experienced Portuguese colonization, this feature certainly
sets Goans apart, though it is difficult to imagine much
enthusiasm among Goans about being so defined.

It was a bizarre tale told by Chandrakant Keni about the ‘Goan
identity’ that helped me pin down what is probably the defining
feature of the Goan regional identity (and of many other such
identities). Apparently Keni was at a hotel in Nainital. The band
at the hotel had a Goan musician who, apart from Western music,
sang some traditional Goan songs. Intrigued, Keni had a nostalgic
discussion with him afterwards, in which he discovered that the
musician had never actually been to Goa, but had learnt these
songs from his father, who had been born in Goa. Heading back to
his room, Keni was informed that there was another Goan gentleman
in the hotel. He decided to pay him a visit. Imagine his surprise
when the ‘Goan’ turned out to be a Sikh! Apparently this Sikh had
been living in Goa for the past twenty or thirty years, and this
led the hotel receptionist to classify him as a Goan -- a
reasonable enough assumption, one would have thought.

Keni ends the tale with his own musings about the Goan identity.
He upholds the claim of the musician to be a Goan, and
peremptorily dismisses that of the Sikh. He makes a brave attempt
to justify this in terms of ‘culture’, but this is just so much
window dressing, as is evident from the fact that he did not
bother to find out from the Sikh gentleman whether he knew the
local languages, whether he was tuned into local customs, whether
he identified with the issues and problems of Goa -- the fact that
he was a Sikh was sufficient evidence that he was ‘non-Goan’. But
the musician, on the other hand, could claim ‘ethnic’ links with
Goa -- meaning, in real terms, precedence in terms of his
ancestors having arrived in Goa first. In the final analysis that
is all that matters, certainly more than the trivial fact that the
musician had never even lived in Goa.

In a very powerful essay, ‘The Great Migration’, the German writer
Hans Magnus Enzensberger likens the community to a crowded railway
compartment. Each new arrival is greeted with hostility and only
grudgingly

[Goanet] Sewage and sanitation issues in Goa and India

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

Amidst all the talk of shit on this forum, I don't know how many
people noticed this item.

http://oheraldo.in/pagedetails.asp?nid=4685&cid=26

> Two labourers meet tragic end in septic tank 
> BY HERALD REPORTER
> 
> PANJIM, NOV 24 – Two labourers, who were employed to clean a
> septic tank of a building in Taleigao, met a tragic death on
> Friday, even as the police said they are investigating who
> employed these men for the job. Police gave the names of the
> deceased as Mujju Aziz Shaikh, 27 and Zamir Gounshuddin Shaikh,
> 43, who, they said, died after inhaling the noxious gases
> produced inside the septic tank.

And today I saw this absolutely chilling story on Tehelka:

http://tehelka.com/story_main36.asp?filename=Ne081207LIFE_INSIDE.asp

Do read it. It is a graphic description of the lives (and deaths)
of the Dalits who are condemned to keeping our rivers of sewage
flowing. Also spare a glance at the photos that accompany the story.

But who cares? They are Dalits, after all. And in Goa, if the
above item is any indication, some of them at least are members of
another despised minority (Muslims), and probably -- horror of
horrors -- ghantis, those very people currently held responsible
for all Goa's ills. Not only do we expect them to clean our shit,
we feel no compunction in condemning them and railing against them.

It costs a lot in misery and lives to keep our cities and our Goa
beautiful and clean. I really think we should develop a more
nuanced understanding of these issues. It is very easy to talk of
beautiful Goa and how clean it is, and to demand sparkling clean
environs. And it is equally easy to rail against those (Dalits,
ghantis, whatever) who are condemned to the job of ensuring this.

Next time we go to our sparkling clean bathrooms and sit on our
beautiful commodes with the fragrance of that lovely air freshener
wafting about us, let us face the fact that we are contributing
our mite to the misery and death of others. Before calling others
dirty, let us think about what our clean and beautiful lives cost
countless others who remain invisible and whom we never think about.

-- 
Question everything -- Karl Marx

Re: [Goanet] Narendra Modi, BJP show true colours

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

---
 http://www.GOANET.org 
---

Goanet mourns the passing of Jorge de Abreu Noronha in Portugal - Nov 27/07

 http://tinyurl.com/2dk2bl

 http://tinyurl.com/29kpdx

---

> From: Bhandare <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Subject: [Goanet] Narendra Modi, BJP show true colours

> As regards Gadgil, once again I request him to place
> in public record any statemnt by a RSS functionary
> which supports sati or dowry.

Vijaya Raje Scindia (along with other BJP leaders) has repeatedly
defended sati as being part of 'Indian tradition'.

http://www.indianexpress.com/res/web/pIe/ie/daily/19990907/iex07089.html

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE4D61E30F93AA15753C1A966958260&n=Top/Reference/Times%20Topics/Subjects/I/Islam

If you go through the accounts of the Deorala sati case and its
aftermath, you will get lots of stuff.

Mridula Sinha, ex-President of the BJP Mahila Morcha, defended
dowry in a 1993 interview. She went on to say:

a) A woman should not work outside the home unless her family is
financially very deprived;
b) Give dowry and receive dowry;
c) We oppose women’s liberation, as it is another name for ‘loose
morals’;
d) We oppose equal rights for both sexes;
e) There is nothing wrong with domestic violence against women;
very often it is women’s fault, we advice women to try and adjust,
as her non-adjustment creates the problem;
f) Women’s future lies in perpetuating the present, because no
where else women are worshipped as we are in India;
g) Women’s liberation means liberation from atrocities, it does
not mean they should be relieved of their duties as wives and mothers.

Various Sangh Parivar bodies repeatedly make it clear that they
support the role assigned to women by 'Indian tradition' (which in
their understanding seems to include the above).

As to Sachin's point, I couldn't agree with him more on the fact
that the issue is Taslima, not Modi. But since Modi had become
part of this debate (not introduced by me, please note), it was
necessary to point out his motives in extending support to
Taslima, and his own government's deplorable track record in the
matter of protecting women.

Yes, it is terrible that Taslima has been ejected from Kolkata,
and the WB government must get her back and make arrangements for
her security. And in the same vein we must work to ensure that
Hussain can return to India. You say that you find Hussain's stuff
offensive. Well, many Muslims find Taslima's writings blasphemous,
but we support her, don't we? What's so different about Hussain --
that he is perceived to have insulted Hinduism (a very dubious
proposition, just like Taslima's alleged insults to Islam) rather
than some other religion?

-- 
Question everything -- Karl Marx

[Goanet] Narendra Modi, BJP show true colours

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

---
 http://www.GOANET.org 
---

Goanet mourns the passing of Jorge de Abreu Noronha in Portugal - Nov 27/07

 http://tinyurl.com/2dk2bl

 http://tinyurl.com/29kpdx

---

> From: Sachin Phadte <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject:
> [Goanet] Narendra Modi, BJP show true colours
> 
> Taslima has highlighted the problems of the Hindus in
> Bangladesh right from 1946. Furthermore, she has written about
> the problems that Muslim women face due to what the
> fundamentalists claim is true Islam.

> One can criticise Modi for many of his sins - but this is not
> one of them.

You really think Modi is in the least concerned about Taslima? And
Taslima herself has clearly stated many times that she considers
the Hindutva brigade no better than the fundamentalists who are
hounding her, as the politics of both are essentially the same.

Tell us about it when Modi offers shelter to a writer who is being
hounded for highlighting the problems Hindu women face due to what
the fundamentalists claim is true Hinduism (the Sangh Parivar is
repeatedly on record supporting dowry, sati, etc.).

Talking of criticising Modi, I found this interesting in the
context of Taslima:

AN OPEN LETTER TO NARENDRA MODI

Chief Minister,
It is ironical that a Govt which refused to acknowledge the gang
rape of more than 300 Muslim women during the Gujarat carnage of
2002 is proposing to give shelter to Taslima Nasrin.
The forces of hatred that you and your government unleashed in the
society have caused havoc during your regime against ordinary
women of Gujarat.

It is a well established fact that there is a direct and deep
connection between the ideology of hatred and growing violence
against women. If a society allows hatred to breed and spread
against any section of the society it ultimately engulfs every
other section too and has direct impact on the women in that
particular society. The hatred and violence that you unleashed in
2002 against the women from a particular background has engulfed
women of all classes, religions, castes and socio-economic
backgrounds.

It is shocking every morning to open the newspapers. The news of
dowry deaths, female feticide, domestic violence and rape glares
at the reader. One wonders if it is the same Gujarat where the
Mahatma was born.

A pilot study conducted by Ahmedabad Women's Action Group (AWAG)
under the 'Mental Health Care Pilots in Gujarat' project
undertaken by the Indian Institute of Management , Ahmedabad
(IIM-A ) revealed that a whopping 58 per cent of the surveyed
women in 'your mega city' of Ahmedabad suffer significant mental
distress.

The study revealed horrendous forms of physical violence which
include slapping, punching, biting, kicking and even branding with
cigarette butts!

According to the sample survey 65 per cent women conceded to being
abused in public and in front of neighbours! 35 per cent women
reported that their children, especially girls, were victims of
violence and were physically and verbally abused by the father. 70
per cent reported verbal abuse, threats, 68 per cent reported
slapping, 62 per cent reported kicking, 53 per cent reported
punching, 49 per cent reported hitting with hard objects, 37 per
cent reported biting, 29 per cent reported choking and 22 per cent
reported branding with cigarette butts.

It is the result of the hatred which you have sown in the hearts
and minds of the people. The men whom you encouraged and sent to
rape and kill in 2002 were brothers and fathers and husbands. They
were part of this society. Did you expect that they will indict
violence on 'other' women and be very nice to women inside their
own houses?

Mr. Chief Minister, You could not protect women in Gujarat. It
will do you good to first try and put your house in order.

India is a large democracy and Indians will protect and keep
Taslima safely.

Shabnam Hashmi
November 28, 2007
1914, Karanjwala Building, In Front of Khanpur Darwaza,
Ahmedabad


-- 
I wept because I had no answers, until I met a man who had no
questions -- John David Stone

[Goanet] Intervention sought on Margao expo

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

---
 http://www.GOANET.org 
---

Goanet mourns the passing of Jorge de Abreu Noronha in Portugal - Nov 27/07

 http://tinyurl.com/2dk2bl

 http://tinyurl.com/29kpdx

---

Herald, 28 Nov 2007

Intervention sought on Margao expo

HERALD NEWS DESK

PANJIM, NOV 27 -- Citizens’ Initiatives for Communal Harmony has
drawn the attention of the chief minister and the chief secretary
to an exhibition which got underway in Margao organised by Hindu
Janajagruti Samiti.

Ramesh Gauns in a press note issued here stated that the
exhibition makes a selective call to the Hindu community to act
against terrorism, when communalism and terrorism associated with
it are problems faced by people of all creeds and communities.
Communal forces have also been using this exhibition as a vehicle
for communal propaganda as well as to demonise a particular
community, he alleged. In its representation to the Chief
Minister, copy of which was also given to the Chief Secretary,
CICH has called upon the Government to address the spread of
communalism, propagate secular values and pre-empt people from
falling prey to the communal feelings.

CICH has also pointed out that the ostensibly secular government
of Goa has thus far taken no steps to combat communal forces, and
that the recommendations of the one-man enquiry commission into
the Sanvordem-Curchorem communal violence remain unimplemented.

-- 
Question everything -- Karl Marx

[Goanet] Property in Goa: Heaven on hold as Goa awaits its fate

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

Telegraph, UK, 18 Nov 2007

Property in Goa: Heaven on hold as Goa awaits its fate

Britons love it for the beaches, winter sun and its house prices -
but is it a safe investment? Ginetta Vedrickas investigates

The British love affair with Goa is easy to understand. In
contrast to the frenetic pace of most of India, a languid calm
prevails, where the dry heat and dust of the interior seem a long
way distant. On the south-west coast, with 50 miles of beach
washed by the Arabian Sea, Goa was under Portuguese rule for 400
years and, although it became an Indian state in 1961, the region
still has a laid-back, European feel.

Dilapidated colonial buildings peep out from its luscious
rainforest, but pockets of smart, new development are increasingly
common, attracting growing numbers of Britons looking for a slice
of paradise to call home.

Goa is India's most popular tourist destination, with about 40 per
cent of visitors coming from the UK. The 1970s may have attracted
hedonistic hippies, but today it is mostly package holidaymakers
who venture here, courtesy of the 850 charter flights per year.
The government is trying to replace the scruffier tourist fringe
with upmarket hotels, and five-star venues such as the Radisson,
Intercontinental and Marriott are starting to appear.

After you land at Dabolim airport, your age and lifestyle may
determine your destination. Northern Goa, near the capital,
Panjim, boasts the liveliest beaches and mass development. The
south is quieter and less developed, attracting older buyers
seeking solitude.

Axiom Estates sells property across India from its offices in
Calcutta, London, New York and Dubai, and increased demand for Goa
has prompted it to open an office here. Typical developments for
sale include Sapana Habitat, where two-bedroom apartments start
from £32,000. Ten minutes from the popular Calangute and Baga
beaches, and near buzzing Panjim, its on-site amenities include a
communal pool, clubhouse and play area.
advertisement

Rajesh Goenka, Axiom's chairman, says it appeals to younger
British buyers looking for a base near Goa's liveliest spots. In
her view, Goa may prove to be a better investment than many of
India's "tier one" cities such as Delhi and Mumbai. "Goa is firmly
on the growth path," she says. "It is undervalued but you are
cushioned by a great lifestyle."

Goa also masks the extremes of poverty in the rest of the country.
Workers here still toil in the paddy fields but tourism is the
main industry and locals are proud of their tolerant reputation.
Bars and beaches throng with scantily clad tourists and lenient
tax rules mean that alcohol is cheaper here than elsewhere in India.

Thanks to its low cost of living, it is still possible to find
apartments for £10,000 in the more remote south, and a typical
meal of Goan fish curry washed down with locally brewed Kingfisher
beer costs as little as £5 for two.

Many Britons have bought holiday homes here, although, because
foreign ownership is theoretically not allowed, figures are vague.
Only non-resident Indians (NRIs) and persons of Indian origin
(PIOs) can legally own property in India. Yet many foreigners have
circumvented the rules by forming companies, which are allowed to
buy, or by staying in the country for more than 183 days and then
claiming residency.

So far, these methods seem to have worked in Goa, but recent
government corruption has unsettled many British owners and
potential buyers. Precious rainforest has been sold off for
development but construction has stalled until a new master plan
for Goa is announced later this year.

Developer N K Naik, of Sapana, who has been building since 1972,
describes buying in Goa as a "minefield for foreigners". Several
Sapana developments are on hold until the rainforest plan is
finalised, but Naik is confident of his developments' legality.
"I've been here long enough to know that this [rainforest] land
should not be built on. We want development but not at the cost of
the environment."

Yet some buyers are concerned that they have put deposits on
projects that may never be built. Others claim that India's lack
of transparency in relation to foreign ownership also makes buying
here a worrying prospect. Paul, a British buyer who refuses to
give his full name for fear of reprisals, says: "I know owners who
have asked too many questions and been kicked out, leaving their
property behind."

Paul formed a company and paid £25,000 to a small local developer.
His main worry is being unable to register the title under his own
name and says others are in a similar position.

Savills is selling to NRIs and British buyers with no Indian
connections. Sheetal Halai, of its South Asia branch, says that
buying in Goa, and throughout India, is safe if approached through
the right channels. "We wouldn't risk our reputation if buying
here wasn't safe," she says. "We have handpicked our developer and
are absolutely confident of their quality and integrity."

Savill

Re: [Goanet] VHP goons allegedly beat up 25 priests (Vidyaghar)

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

> From: Bhandare <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Subject: [Goanet] VHP goons allegedly beat up 25 priests (Vidyaghar)

> Even though the article mentions only one priest, did
> our resident comrade type in 25 priests in the title
> for the extra effect? does that mean he is a liar?

Instead of making frivolous allegations about my making up
headlines, all you had to do was click on the link supplied when
the article was first posted:

http://www.ibnlive.com/news/vhp-goons-allegedly-beat-up-25-priests-in-maharashtra/52089-3.html?xml

More detailed articles giving information on this and related
incidents are available at:
http://www.ucanews.com/search/show.php?q=thane%20vhp%20&page=archives/english/2007/11/w3/tue/ID03797Rg.txt
http://www.spcm.org/Journal/spip.php?breve3154
http://www.crosswalk.com/news/religiontoday/11559225/

CNN/IBN does seem to have goofed on its headline, though, as in
none of the articles could I find information on 25 priests, only
information about a persistent series of attacks by VHP elements
on Christian tribals in remote parts of Thane district.

-- 
Question everything -- Karl Marx

[Goanet] Summary of meetings with Digambar Kamat

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

> From: "Rajan P. Parrikar" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Subject: [Goanet] Summary of meetings with Digambar Kamat

> Digu feigned ignorance of the details of the Aldeia de Goa
> project and said he needed to "study the chronology."  This
> is, of course, pure bullshit.  It is inconceivable that Digu, a
> builder himself, wouldn't know of the machinations of
> Aldeia de Goa, the biggest real estate project in Goa,
> and the recent volte face by his own government.  When
> it was pointed out that the TCP dept had violated its
> own laws, neither Morad nor Digu accepted responsibility
> for the infractions.

The mistake I think too many people are making is thinking that
Kamat's intentions are good until proven otherwise. The track
record clearly indicates that they are bad. It is on this
assumption that we have to proceed.

Also, GBA's approach is a little too 'middle-class' -- all this
endless meetings and discussions, in which they can keep you
occupied for ever. It is time once again for a demonstration of
people's power, like the 18th December Azad Maidan binge. Rajan's
suggestion of using the inaugural of IFFI is very good. Make a
mess of it, have a massive morcha and paralyse Panjim. This is the
showcase event for the government, there is going to be lots of
media here, let the world see that there is a problem in Goa,
which the people are no longer going to take lying down.

It is necessary in all this to steer clear of politicians. They
are ALL the same. Whoever is in opposition now will support this
as a matter of convenience, at least tacitly as they did last
year, only to turn around and do exactly the same once they are in
power. Let us not forget that it was Manohar Parrikar who pushed
SEZs, the regional plan, and many of our more horrible projects
when he was in power. On this matter, there is no difference
between any of the politicians, and we should avoid them all.


-- 
Question everything -- Karl Marx

Re: [Goanet] VHP goons allegedly beat up 25 priests (Vidyaghar)

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

> From: " J. Cola?o < jc> " <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Subject: Re: [Goanet] VHP goons allegedly beat up 25 priests
>   (Vidyaghar)

> On 12/11/2007, Vidyadhar Gadgil <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> posted the following:
> VHP goons allegedly beat up 25 priests in Maharashtra
 > Mumbai: With broken ribs and a fractured leg, Father Victor
Pareira is
> just one of the 25 victims, who were brutally beaten up allegedly by
> members of Vanvasi Kalyan Parishad, an oraganisation affiliated to the
> VHP.

> jc's comment:
> 
> I fail to fathom Vidyaghar's primary purpose of reposting the above
> quoted item - that too, without even bothering to analyse the story.

I am not aware that this was a reposting, I am unable to find an
earlier post on this, maybe I missed it. Would just like to
mention that since I subscribe to the digest version, I get
messages a little late, so there may be some duplicate posting,
for which my apologies.

> I do not believe that there were 25 priests in one village in
> Maharashtra at one time - unless they were there for a convention.

The article doesn't say there were 25 priests; it mentions only
one priest, Fr. Victor Pareira.

A similar article also appeared in Herald on 11th --
http://oheraldo.in/pagedetails.asp?nid=4085&cid=2

> IMHO many of Vidyaghar's postings on GoaNet are as unreasonably and
> unnecessarily biased as Bhandare and Rajan's.

Well, I post articles etc. that interest me and that I feel may be
of interest to other goanetters (note that the article above is
from CNN/IBN, not written by me). Any view is necessarily 'biased'
-- 'objectivity' is a myth, and any process of selection perforce
indicates a 'bias'. I am sure jc is not himself claiming to be
'objective' and 'unbiased'. All one can do is try to present facts
to buttress one's viewpoints.

-- 
Question everything -- Karl Marx

[Goanet] Petition on Nandigram violence

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

http://www.petitiononline.com/rspcpifb/petition.html

Below is the start of the text of the petition
To:  The General Secretaries of Revolutionary Socialist Party
(RSP), Communist Party of India (CPI), All India Forward Block (AIFB)

Respected friends,

We are horrified by the barbaric attack on the people of Nandigram
by a veritable army of CPI(M) cadres and anti-social elements. In
a clearly pre-planned move, co-ordinated with the West Bengal
government, the CPI(M) is out to recapture what it identifies as
lost territory, and to teach the people of Nandigram a lesson for
originally resisting the acquisition of their lands for
establishment of an SEZ.
...


-- 
Question everything -- Karl Marx

[Goanet] 'The whole of the BJP is debased’ : Interview with Swami Agnivesh

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

'The whole of the BJP is debased’: Interview with Swami Agnivesh

Tehelka Magazine, Vol 4, Issue 44, Dated Nov 17, 2007

Shailendra Pandey

Swami Agnivesh tells S. ANAND about Gujarat during the riots, and
about Hindutva’s assault on Hinduism. Swami Agnivesh, who has been
called ‘a Marxist in ochre robes’, is the president of the World
Council of Arya Samaj. He pioneered the liberation of bonded
labourers through the Bandhua Mukti Morcha, an organisation he
established.

You worked in Gujarat after the 2002 pogrom. There seems to be a
lack of outrage over a genocide of such magnitude.
To an extent, I witnessed this genocide. I visited Gujarat between
April 1 and 5, 2002 as part of a group. Rear Admiral Ramdas,
Nirmala Deshpande, Valson Thampu, Father Dominic Immanuel, the
Maulanas of Jamait-e-Islami and Jamait-e- Ulema-e-Hind, and others
were part of the group. We were on a healing mission. On the
second day, we were to stay for the night at a place called Eshwar
Bhavan in the Ahmedabad’s Navrangpura area. There, we were
accosted by a group of well-dressed Hindu fundamentalists. They
told us, point blank, that we were most welcome to stay in the
Bhavan but our Muslim colleagues must go stay in a masjid. We
said, “We are all together, we are here just to ask everyone to
stop this madness.” They simply insisted that Muslims must be
separated from the rest. When we said this was not acceptable,
they warned us that if the Muslims stayed they would blast bombs
at the site.


Which Hindutva outfit did they represent?
They seemed to be from the Vishwa Hindu Parishad. After they left
— it was about 9 in the evening — we decided to go to Gandhi’s
Sabarmati Asharm on the outskirts of the city. On reaching there,
we realised the goons had followed us in their cars. They
reiterated their demand. They said, “Don’t think you will be
spared because you take shelter in Gandhi’s ashram. We will
detonate bombs here and unleash terror as long as these Muslims
are with you.” Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee was to arrive
the next day, and so we reasoned with them that such violence
would be send an inappropriate message. Their reply was, “This has
nothing to do with Vajpayee or Modi. This is dharma yudh and we do
not want Muslims around.” Ramdas and Nirmala then contacted the
Army in Gandhinagar and they gave us protection.

The state machinery was paralysed. TEHELKA offered proof of this.
What I saw on TV and read in TEHELKA gave me goose bumps. A man is
boasting how he slit a pregnant woman’s womb; men are talking
about hoisting a dead pig atop a mosque. And these men are roaming
free. This genocide, and the state’s total complicity… we had
sensed all this. But still there was reason to give [them] the
benefit of doubt. But after the TEHELKA report, I am beginning to
feel that Godhra itself was staged.

TEHELKA’s dissection of Godhra and the fire in Sabarmati Express,
does raise some disturbing questions.
About the same time, along with Inder Gujral, Harsh Mander and
others, I met Vajpayee at Panchvati. I requested Vajpayee for a
white paper on Godhra. I said, find out exactly who was
responsible for Godhra. The PM just laughed and said the inquiry
was on. Early in April, when the rioting was at its peak, Vajpayee
had expressed regret over the carnage, and had famously wondered
how he would face the world. He had admonished Modi in this speech
and reminded him of his raj dharma (duty as the chief minister).
Our esteem for Vajpayee went up. We thought he was one truthful
person. We thought he would remove Modi from the chief
ministership. Nothing happened. Later, in Goa, Vajpayee took a
U-turn, and began to praise Modi. After that statement he was
totally exposed.

But Vajpayee has always maintained he was a Sanghi.
After the 2002 election and Modi’s victory, Vajpayee was once
asked by a reporter if they would repeat the Gujarat experiment in
Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan which were going to the polls.
Vajpayee’s reply was dangerous and irresponsible. As PM, he asked,
“Will Godhra be repeated?” No prime minister has made such a dirty
statement. Without waiting for what the inquiry said, he had made
up his mind on who was behind Godhra and justified the genocide.
That’s when we realised this entire party is debased. On our
return to Delhi, Nirmala Deshpande, Nafisa Ali and I filed a case
in the High Court seeking BJP’s de-recognition as a political
party under the Representation of the People (PR) Act. Our
contention was that the RSS, VHP, Ba-.jrang Dal and BJP are all
one. These different names and different leaders are just for
show; their identity is one. If all of them are violent, communal
and have participated in genocide, the BJP as the political wing
of the Sangh Parivar should necessarily be de-recognised under the
RP Act. The judgment on the case is not yet out.

But what is the alternative to the BJP? The Congress behaves like
its B-team. Take their role in the 1984 pogrom.
What is the alternative in Gujarat? We 

[Goanet] VHP goons allegedly beat up 25 priests in Maharashtra

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

http://www.ibnlive.com/news/vhp-goons-allegedly-beat-up-25-priests-in-maharashtra/52089-3.html?xml

VHP goons allegedly beat up 25 priests in Maharashtra

Kanhaiya Singh / CNN-IBN

Sunday , November 11, 2007 at 15:25

Mumbai: With broken ribs and a fractured leg, Father Victor
Pareira is just one of the 25 victims, who were brutally beaten up
allegedly by members of Vanvasi Kalyan Parishad, an oraganisation
affiliated to the VHP.

“My rib is fractured and my leg is broken. I am undergoing a lot
of pain,” Pareira said.

What is even more shocking is that the injured priest had to
travel over 30 kilometers to meet the Director General of Police
to demand justice as the local police station failed to act on his
complaint.

“They (victims) have complained that the police did not take
enough action. Therefore, I have instructed them to submit a
report to me,” Director General of Police, Maharashtra, PS
Pasricha said.

But this contingent of victims, which is led by the Vice-Chairman
of the State Minorities Commission Abrahim Mathai raises a much
bigger issue.

In the last one month there has been five such instances. All of
them in Thane rural areas adjoining the Gujarat border, which
include the tribal areas of Wada, Manor, Vikramgarh and Mokhada.

“People from Gujarat come frequently to this part of Maharashtra
and create problem in these tribal areas,” Mathai said.

However, this is a charge the VHP leaders deny, but they are also
quick to raise the contentious conversion issue, which clearly is
an attempt to defend the culprits.

“It was done by the village sarpanch (head) and the people. VHP
has nothing to do with it,” VHP Secretary Arun Handa said.

But even as these tribals walk out of the office of the Director
General of Police with an assurance that they will not be
attacked, the fear of being harassed is etched on their faces.

-- 
Question everything -- Karl Marx

Re: [Goanet] Radio Goa for Konkani music

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

> From: "Michael Ali" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Subject: [Goanet] Radio Goa for Konkani music
 > A new website www.radiogoa.net offer a very wide selection of
Konkani  & Manglorean music 24/7.

Also try http://radioverve.com/konkani. Radioverve is an Indie
Indian Music Radio Site.

-- 
Question everything -- Karl Marx

[Goanet] One more horrible project

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

http://www.property-report.com/aprarchives.php?id=880&date=07

DSR unveils massive Goa project
by Robert Carry
Advertisement
International property development company David Stanley Redfern
has launched it´s latest Asian project, the sprawling Peace Valley
in Goa.

The township covers 55,125 square metres at Sirvoi, Quepem and
consists of 23 villas and 174 apartments. The units range from one
to five rooms and are set in a guarded communal neighbourhood with
swimming pools, golf course, tennis court, running track and horse
stables. The landscaped development also features a children’s
playground and a club house with gym and sauna. Plans are also in
place for a Peace Valley flying club which will give residents a
facility for the use of micro and ultra-light aircrafts.

Peace valley is 50 minutes from Goa´s capital, Panjim, 40 minutes
from Dabolim Airport and  20 minutes from the beaches of Colva and
Cavaassim.

The overseas property specialists, who have developments in over
forty countries worldwide, are offering units in the development
from US$39,485 for a one-room apartment.

-- 
Question everything -- Karl Marx

Re: [Goanet] Challenges Posed by Christian Fundamentalists

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

> Subject: [Goanet] Challenges Posed by Christian Fundamentalists
> To: Sanny de Quepem <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>

> I would like to share with KC family my reflection on challenges posed by the
> Christian Fundamentalists. 
> This is a worldwide phenomenon of people leaving the Catholic Church. 

This is a strange definition of Christian fundamentalists. Leaving
the Catholic Church makes you a fundamentalist? All sects for
which people leave the Catholic Church are fundamentalist?

> This
> programme will help our people to know their faith well and prepare them to
> defend themselves from wolves that comes in sheep clothing. 

Rather a harsh way to describe people whose opinion differs from
yours.

-- 
Question everything -- Karl Marx

Re: [Goanet] Manohar Parrikar - Response to Cedrico

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

> From: Vinay Natekar <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 
> Subject: [Goanet] Manohar Parrikar - Response to Cedrico

> Gujrat incident is a blot
> on Humanity. I condemn Narendra Modi and those who were
> responsible for the carnage be it either Godhra train incident
> or the riots that followed after that.  You can not compare
> Goan BJP supporters with those  Gujaratis. The people who are
> voting for BJP in Goa are always Secular and voted  for the
> stable and clean administration. Goan political scenario is
> totally different from rest of India. 

But who is talking of BJP supporters or those who voted for them?
The point is the party itself. That is no different from what it
is in the rest of India. If they are different, let the BJP (Goa
version) give a public statement condemning Narendra Modi and
asking for action to be taken against all those responsible for
the Gujarat carnage.

>>> I am in possessions of various documents that were ccd to
>>> porikar when >he was Cm when Digamber kamat was running
>>> riot with several catholic >families in Margao.
> 
> Response It is your people who have re elected him from Margao
> Constituency.

What is this "your people" and "my people" business? Here
precisely is the problem with the Sangh Parivar -- the inability
to think beyond communal identities.

-- 
Question everything -- Karl Marx

Re: [Goanet] David vs Goliath

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

> From: Carvalho <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Subject: Re: [Goanet] David vs Goliath

> The Fijians would ultimately stop using human flesh as
> canapes before dinner, even without the help of
> interventionist missionaries.

Anthropological and ecological research has indicated that cannibalism
may be a feature of small, isolated island societies, and develops
almost inevitably there. Many of the Pacific islands had independently
developed into cannibalistic socities, where cannibalism was not
restricted to members of other tribes, but even turned inwards. (Of
course, cannibalism also has a ritualistic dimension, which is why it
is also found in non-isolated-island societies.

So, cannibalism in such societies probably stopped not because of the
alleged 'civilizing' influence of Christianity but because these
societies came into contact with the larger world and no longer had an
isolated island ecology.

Incidentally, the pig is considered to be the closest approximation to
human flesh, which is why in many of the Pacific islands human flesh
is called 'long pig'. This is something that the Daniel Day Lewis
character talks about in Scorcese's "Gangs of New York".

-- 
Question everything -- Karl Marx

[Goanet] HOUSES BY THE SEA

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

Looks like the builders are going to be creating even more havoc. One
interesting statement herein: ""Over 40 per cent of our bookings until
now have been made by Goans." I wonder how much truth there is in this
or is it just a claim by the builders to blunt opposition?

-
Indian Express, Saturday, November 03, 2007

HOUSES BY THE SEA
Kavitha Iyer
Sun, sand and lassitude—that was what Goa used to be. But it has
suddenly woken up...

THEY serve up the same luxury of sea views and salt spray, but one
year ago you could hardly speak of Juhu and Calangute in the same
breath. One is home to the cream of Mumbai and Bollywood, with
residential real estate rates here making it to global charts. The
other is on every globetrekker's annual December agenda, a pristine
Goa beach skipped by the winter and the moral police. Now,
unbelievably, the two unlikely rivals are neck to neck in the realty
market.
Goa's big story is no longer the foreign tourist returning unerringly.
It is the cold mathematics of real estate, more fashionable here than
in any Tier Two town and pricier than ever before. In Panjim, where
prices have doubled in a year and developers are fielding enquiries
from Europe, New Delhi and Bangalore every day, apartments in
well-planned townships are demanding—and fetching—Rs 10,000 a sq ft.
"Goa's real estate is quickly moving away from its original tag as
holiday home property," says Anuj Puri, managing director of property
consultants Jones Lang la Salle Meghraj. Puri confirms there is keen
interest among foreign buyers too, perhaps a lot of the tourists now
want to just stay back.
But Goans, earning the highest per capita incomes in the country, are
for the first time beginning to live the big city life. "Over 40 per
cent of our bookings until now have been made by Goans. We were
surprised ourselves," says Poonam Bhandari, heading sales for Gera
Developers, a Pune major just beginning the construction of Astoria, a
premium apartment complex and Gera's first residential project outside
Maharashtra. Ditto at Aldeia de Goa, a hugely controversial project of
Mumbai-based Dynamix Group.
"In Phase I, 42 per cent of our buyers were Goans seeking to shift
residence into this gated community—for the lifestyle, the amenities
and the security," says Brigadier SCK Puri, director at the lavish
project of plots and readymade tiled-roof homes on "thoughtfully
landscaped slopes" on a 140-acre estate adjoining the sea. The others
were from Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore while another 30 per cent
belonged to the UK and the Middle East. Depending on the view, plots
in Aldeia de Goa could set you back by about Rs 40,000 to Rs 55,000 a
sq m—up from Rs 15,000 a sq m two years ago.
Little wonder then that with such huge returns expected, the big
daddies from New Delhi and Mumbai are making their first forays into
uncharted Goan realty. Parsvnath is undertaking a mega residential
project, DLF is expected to soon announce plans for a mall, the
Rahejas of suburban Mumbai are developing an IT Park.
That the IT economy is dramatically changing the realty market in this
once-tranquil region is obvious, everybody agrees. "IT firms readying
to occupy properties like the Rahejas's IT Park in Goa are going to
campuses for fresh recruits. Do they want to work in Hyderabad, Nagpur
or Bangalore? More and more fresh recruits are opting for Goa," says
Anuj Puri. "A stint of a few years in an exotic workplace like Goa
appeals to all youngsters."
The other reason is, of course, that the tourism economy continues to
boom. "After the Bali bombings especially, Goa remains a favoured
destination."
The state Government may have backed off on the Regional Plan—it
involved contentious development permissions—for now, but its IT
policy remains focused, say officials. Foreign investments, more BPOs,
IT parks, world class bandwidth and hundreds of kilometres of fibre
optics top the agenda for RP Pal, secretary for Information
Technology.
"Technology infrastructure to match the first world," is what he is
concentrating his energies on, so that Goa is able to slug it out with
Mumbai and Pune not only in the real estate market, but also for a
bigger chunk of the outsourcing pie.
But whether as a young techie's dream job-with-dream-home attached or
as an ideal location for second homes, the stress for builders is now
on the luxe trappings of city living, coupled with lush views and
sunsets. Sea views alone are passé. Professionally managed complexes
of apartments or villas come complete with jacuzzis, piped music in
the lobby, jogging tracks, tennis courts, swimming pools—one
construction site is perched precariously along the Dona Paula cliffs,
with swimming pools overlooking the azure sea—and gymnasiums.
Just-launched, Astoria will be a "resort-style residence" with
landscaped gardens, a swimming pool with a "swim-up bar", a landscaped
walking track on the roof, a barbecue area, a "hotel style" lobby,
rooms for a "concierge", service elevators and solar

Re: [Goanet] Kudos to Floriano

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

> From: Bhandare <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Subject: [Goanet] Kudos to Floriano

> now that you have declared him patriot no 1 please
> raise your voice against the likes of gadgil and
> sabnis who seem to have taken up cudgels against Rajan
> simply because of his politcs

This is a typical comment from Bhandare who tends to see the world in
unidimensional colours. I have never cast doubt on Rajan Parrikar's
abilities and skills nor his commitment to improve Goa, in fact, I
have appreciated both in the past. What I have questioned are his
politics, and the chauvinistic and communal ideas he spouts, which can
only lead to disaster. The distinction between the two obviously
escapes Bhandare.

Unfortunately I am out of town at this time, else I would certainly
have gone for the exhibition. But I have seen the photos at
http://www.parrikar.org/images/deathofgoa/index.html as well as the
various photos to which he has posted links from time to time, and
been quite impressed. Also, his knowledge of Hindustani classical
music appears impressive, see http://www.parrikar.org/.

If only he were to abandon his communal and chauvinistic posturing...

-- 
Question everything -- Karl Marx

[Goanet] Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration to Puniyani and Bandukwala

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

Indian Express, 1 Nov 2007

Gujarat in mind, Sonia calls for fight against communalism

Referring to post-Godhra riots in Gujarat, Congress President Sonia
Gandhi said on Wednesday it was the responsibility of every
Congressman to fight against inhuman acts.

Presenting the Indira Gan-dhi Award for National Integration to J S
Bandukwala and Ram Puniyani here, she said, "If we don't fight against
anti-social elements, our secular democracy would be in peril." She
said the recipients had been hurt by the demolition of Babri mosque
and Gujarat riots and decided to use their talent to work for social
harmony.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi presented the award to
Bandukwala and Puniyani for their work in promoting and preserving
spirit of national integration. The award is given every year on
Indira Gandhi's martyrdom day.

Indirectly referring to the recent Tehelka expose, the Congress
President said, "The truth that came out recently has proved how
correct and true the views of social activists like Bandukwala and
Puniyani are." Puniyani, a retired professor from IIT Mumbai, has been
a driving force in EKTA, a Mumbai-based communal harmony group, and
the Centre for Study of Society and Secularism. Professor Bandukwala,
one of the victims of post-Godhra riots, has been a vocal critic of
religious fanaticism and has been associated with several institutions
promoting education and social uplift of Muslims.

Praising the recipients of the award, the Prime Minister said their
ceaseless activities were directed at safeguarding the architecture of
"our inclusive society". Bandukwala's constructive vision and action
in educating Muslims was of paramount significance in promoting
national integration. "Our Government too recognises this as an
important obligation. That is why we appointed the Justice Sachar
Committee to inquire into the status of the Muslim community," said
the PM.

Deliberating over the socio-economic and educational backwardness of
Muslims, Bandukwala said he was against reservation for them. "It is a
crutch that will permanently cripple the Muslims of India. I don't
want them to join the race for backwardness. It will also arouse very
strong emotions. The price will be too heavy, while the gains in tiny
layers," he said.

-- 
Question everything -- Karl Marx

Re: [Goanet] Paan Piss and Panaji

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

> From: Bhandare <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Subject: [Goanet] Paan Piss and Panaji
> 
> I had quoted a part of the Broken Peace report and
> asked Gadgil for a clarification. Discerning
> Goanetters must have noticed how he has refused to
> respond
> 
> I hope vidyadhar will consider this as a polite
> reminder to answer the question I had asked him
> 
> regards

Mr. Bhandare, you ask innumerable questions per day. When facts
and the necessary information are provided, you just wait for some
time and then ask the same questions all over again. And it goes
on and on in this fashion.

You may enjoy asking the same question over and over again,
irrespective of what facts are provided to you, but I certainly
have better things to do than answer the same questions all the
time. Unless you have something fresh to say, I am not getting
into this any further. And if your 'something fresh' is about the
horrific revelations on Tehelka about Gujarat, please direct your
questions to the staff at Tehelka or to Ravi Shankar Prasad, the
BJP spokesperson, who says that the persons caught on spycam may
just have been "boasting". (I am still trying to make sense of
that one. Boasting!?)

As to Broken Peace, do a search of the goanet archives for the
past one and a half years. The topic has been extensively debated
on this forum, and you will find all your questions answered in
the archives.

-- 
Question everything -- Karl Marx

[Goanet] The Tehelka expose

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

Today's media has the usual hilarious statements by the Sangh
Parivar chappies on the Gujarat expose (see
http://www.tehelka.com/story_main35.asp?filename=Ne031107gujrat_sec.asp,
if you haven't already) -- see, for example, Ravi Shankar Prasad's
rubbish. The blog below does a good analysis of the perspective
within which we now view news, and how the horrific details that
have been revealed, and what they say about us a society, can get
lost amidst all this.

As Tarun Tejpal says in his editorial: "Read. And be afraid."

Tehelka issues should be available on the stands today. If they
are sold out (bought up by those who do not wish this to get any
publicity), place orders with your newsagents. And, if you think
this is paranoid, Aaj Tak, IBN-7/CNN-IBN and NDTV have been asked
to switch off by government forcibly in Gujarat since 25.10.07
evening from 7:30 pm. There is a order
issued from District Magistrate and District
Election Officer, Ahmedabad Mr Dhananjay Dwivedi
dated 26.10.07, it states that: From 7:30 onwards
dated 25.10.07, there are programmes like
"Tehelka-Aaj Tak Khulasa", "Operation kalank" and
"Gujarat ka sach" being telecast on Aaj Tak and
IBN7 depicting visuals and statements of people
pertaining to 2002 communal riots. As per clause
5 of the cable tv network regulation, 1995, no
entity can broadcast or rebroadcast any
programme, which is not as per programming code.


--

http://www.prempanicker.com/index.php?/site/the_gujarat_tehelka/

Friday, October 26, 2007
The Gujarat tehelka

Moments after 7 pm yesterday, we knew the Gujarat riots formed the
subject
matter of the latest *Tehelka*
expose.
And, without sitting through the television coverage on Aaj Tak and
Headlines Today, you knew broadly what the reaction was going to
be. [To
segue for a moment into a side issue, I had every intention of sitting
through the television coverage—but inside of the first half hour,
I gave
up; there is something faintly obscene about a 'special report' on an
important issue being broken down into four minute chunks of
repetitive
sound bytes, sandwiched between 10 minute spells—I timed it—of
advertisements.]

Scanning blogs, comments on message boards (always a traumatic
experience;
on an issue of this importance, even more so) and even messages on
this
forum, I am not disappointed: the reaction is exactly on the lines
I had
anticipated. These are, broadly, the points being made:

1. Why now, just before the Gujarat elections? This proves the
expose is the
handiwork of the Congress. 2. Why this riot? Why not other,
earlier riots
that have taken place during various Congress governments? This
proves the
media is partisan. 3. Why is inordinate fuss kicked up whenever an
incident
involves Hindus, while no one says anything when the victims are
Hindus?
This proves the media is pseudo-secular (or, *gag*, p-sec). 4. Whyfor?
Outside of selling many copies of Tehelka (and providing an
advertising
windfall for two television channels), what good will it do to
rake over the
past? 5. How can you take this seriously? The media spins the news
depending
on its political affiliations, so what are we to believe?

[See blog for full text.]

-- 
Question everything -- Karl Marx

[Goanet] The real face of the Sangh Parivar

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

Don't know how many of you saw Headlines Today and Aaj Tak last
night for the chilling expose on the reality of the Sangh Parivar
in Gujarat. Check out Tehelka.com for details. The videos are all
on youtube. To start with you can see
http://communalism.blogspot.com/2007/10/gujarat-2002-truth.html,
and
http://communalism.blogspot.com/2007/10/i-got-call-saying-whats-this-all-of.html

-- 
Question everything -- Karl Marx

Re: [Goanet] Paan, Piss, & Panji

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

> From: "Rajan P. Parrikar" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Subject: [Goanet] Paan, Piss, & Panji
> 
> The first sight in Panjim during my drive home from the Dabolim
> airport last evening was that of two tourist buses offloading
> products of their metabolism on the Miramar beach, near
> Sharda Mandir.

We get information about the return of certain people to Goa by
the arrival of a fresh load of ordure in our inboxes.

It's not just the prejudice and bigotry that is on display -- in
fact, by now I have developed a certain admiration about the
way these attributes are proudly and shamelessly flaunted, as a
kind of badge of honour, to an extent that even Bal Thackeray is
yet to match. "Admire me, I'm more bigoted and abusive than
anybody else," seems to be the mantra here. Truly, nirlajjam sada
sukhi!

They say in a pithy proverb in Marathi (which happens to be the
mother tongue of this particular ghati), 'Hagnara tari lajto
nahi tar baghnara tari lajto' (if the defecator isn't embarrassed,
the watcher is). Well, in the role of 'baghnara', the person who
writes these posts seems to be unfazed and, leave alone feeling
embarrassed, is perpetually heading out in search of more
'hagnaras'. Verily, seek and ye shall find -- in unlimited
quantities, at every turn, all the time. You'll even find yourself
dreaming about it if you persist...

The posts themselves are repellent and abusive loads of crap
about, predictably, shit! But I, as a 'baghnara' in this case, am
by now acutely embarrassed at this outpouring of effluvium and am
in future just going to be pressing the delete button when such
mails appear. In any case, this particular psychological problem
seems to be so deep-rooted that it is more deserving of pity than
censure, and bothering to respond is just a waste of time. But
here are some links that may cast some light on the
problem and maybe help to alleviate it:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shit
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anal_fixation

-- 
Question everything -- Karl Marx

Re: [Goanet] Politics of Hate

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

> From: Bhandare <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Subject: [Goanet] Politics of Hate
> 
> 
> In 2004 The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC)
> has refused to pass Rakesh Sharma's award-winning film
> on the Gujarat violence. 

What is the use of giving selective information like this? The
film 'Final Solution' was initially refused CBFC certification,
but on review was granted the certificate. It then went on to win
the Special Jury Award at the National Film Awards. Also, earlier
I supplied a list of national/international awards won by the film.

> This must give an idea to the people about the nture
> of the film. I do not understand why people like him
> are so bent on destroying the peace of this country.

I doubt you have seen the film, or you would not say this. The
message of the film is clearly anti-hate/anti-violence.

But why am I getting into this? Now Bhandare will again present
some information out of context and use it to say the same things
over and over and over again...facts do not seem to be much of a
factor in his style in argumentation. Maybe it is the style of
indoctrination favoured by fascists the world over -- keep on
repeating the same thing over and over and maybe some people will
believe you, irrespective of the actual facts. Joseph Goebbels
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Goebbels) seems to be the
role model here.


-- 
Question everything -- Karl Marx

[Goanet] Fundamentalist revival in Goa?

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

Is Goa experiencing some kind of a fundamentalist revival? Just sent
away two Jehovah's Witnesses (Watchtower) who came over unsolicited (on
a Sunday evening, when I was all bleary-eyed after a long siesta), and
are going round house-to-house "sharing the Good News". Despite repeated
statements that I was not in the market for good news, they just
wouldn't go, and I practically had to force them out.

Just a few days ago I had to send away two Believers who insisted on
telling my wife about the Word of the Lord or some such and how it would
save her from the hell-fire that surely awaited me otherwise. She called
out to me to come and rescue her. Again it took some doing to get them
to go away.

All these people are most welcome to believe whatever they want, but
must they insist on coming and telling us about it in gruesome detail,
even after being told categorically that we are not interested?

Reason I was wondering about a possible fundamentalist revival was
because two in a week seemed excessive. Also, another pair had landed up
a month ago. Prior to that, in a ten-year period we had had only three
such pairs. Have they decided that the Apocalypse is round the corner,
given that they're crawling out of the woodwork in such large numbers?
But a quick survey of stuff on Jehovah's Witnesses shows that for them
the Apocalypse has always been round the corner, so what's so different
now, that's making them so active? I'm checking the climate charts,
maybe things are going to hell even faster than we thought :-)

-- 
Question everything -- Karl Marx

[Goanet] The Politics of Hate

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

Navhind Times, 21 October 2007

The Politics of Hate

Vidyadhar Gadgil

Freedom of Expression, Hate Speech, and the Government Response

Freedom of expression has been an issue that has been much in the public
eye of late. At the national level, we have had two major cases of
artists – M.F. Hussain and Taslima Nasrin – who have been attacked by
religious fundamentalists (the former by the Hindu variety and the
latter by the Muslim version) for ‘hurting religious sentiments’.

Goa too has been witnessing a heated public debate on the issue of
freedom of expression over the Hindu Janjagruti Sammelan-FACT
(Foundation Against Continuing Terrorism) exhibition at the Kala Academy
which concluded on 2nd October, Gandhi Jayanti. Secular, human rights
groups and ordinary citizens have been questioning the government
patronage extended to the exhibition, and even demanding that the
government step in forthwith to stop it, arguing that it is covered
under the ‘hate speech’ exception. The Constitution, under Article 19,
guarantees the right to freedom of expression, but this freedom is not
absolute. As with other provisions related to various freedoms in
Article 19, ‘reasonable restrictions’ can be imposed upon this right. In
this article, we will look at three examples – the screening of Rakesh
Sharma’s ‘Final Solution’, Prof. Puniyani’s public talk and the FACT
exhibition – all dealing with the phenomenon of communal violence. How
are we to distinguish between them and decide what stand to take on
each? And how do we understand the government response to them, both
singly and taken as a whole, in the context of this constitutional
provision?

This exhibition, which is based on photographs by the Frenchman Francois
Gautier, has been touring the hinterland of Goa for some months now and
has been the centrepiece of a major communal mobilisation by the
Hindutva forces. When the exhibition was on at the Kala Academy,
volunteers would entice you inside, telling you to come and see the
atrocities being perpetrated by violent Muslims against innocent Hindus.
The photographs depicted mutilated corpses and other scenes of violence.
Was this used to warn us of the dangers of communal violence? No, the
captions and posters were inflammatory and invited the viewer to further
violence. To quote just one example, “If you are a Hindu, and your blood
does not boil when you see this, then you are not a true Hindu.” The
whole purpose of the exhibition appeared to be to create a deep,
visceral hatred among Hindus towards Muslims. There were jeeps going
round Panjim, with megaphone-wielding volunteers exhorting Hindus to
come see the exhibition, understand the threat against them, and unite
to defend the faith. There were clips promoting this film running on
Goan cable channels showing ‘Hindu self-defence squads’. Defence against
what and whom? Is this relevant in the Goan context; in fact, is it not
actively seeking to create a problem where none exists?  As for Francois
Gautier, the photographer, we all know his history as a cheerleader of
the Hindu right and as a person who denigrated ex-President Narayan as
an ‘untouchable’.

As we have seen, the right to freedom of speech and expression is not
absolute – the state may impose reasonable restrictions upon it ‘in the
interest of public order, security of State, decency or morality’. Are
we then to argue that no depiction or analysis of communal violence be
permitted? If we demand that the FACT exhibition be stopped, are we
saying that all depiction of communal violence be banned? Two other
recent cases from Goa relating to freedom of expression in relation to
depiction and analysis of communal violence are instructive in this regard.

It is well established in Indian law that it is not the actual portrayal
but the framing and the intent that is to be invoked when imposing
restrictions. Rakesh Sharma’s film ‘Final Solution’ is a study of the
gruesome communal violence directed against Muslims in Gujarat in 2002.
Through meticulous documentation of events and detailed interviews with
some of the dramatis personae, the film projects itself as a ‘study of
the politics of hate’. The director claims that “Final Solution is
anti-hate/violence as those who forget history are condemned to relive
it.” When the film was screened widely in Goa in August 2006, with the
director in attendance, there were protests from some sections of the
Hindu right, asking that they be stopped.

The film was denied a certificate by the Censor Board (during the NDA
regime) for several months. It was only after a sustained public
campaign that the ban was finally lifted and a censor certificate issued
in October 2004. The film has subsequently gone on to win a plethora of
national and international awards and has been feted as one of the most
powerful statements against the politics of hate and violence made in
recent times. Answering questions after a well-attended public screening
in Panjim in August 2006

[Goanet] Pointing Fingers at Fascists

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

Gomantak Times, 19 October 2007

POINTING FINGERS AT FASCISTS

Right to Free Speech is not Absolute

Jason Fernandes

A fortnight ago I had occasion to visit and write about an exhibition at
the Kala Academy that, in my opinion, amounted to trying to create a
genocidal Gujarat-like situation in Goa. Subsequent to its publication
the essay was ‘commented’ on by the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti- the
organizers of the exhibition, and a few others. The more substantial of
the criticisms against the column accused me of being Fascist and
preventing a peaceful organization from exercising their right to
speech. This particular criticism is an interesting one to respond to
since it is this single argument that often underlies a number of
contentious issues.

Thanks to the Constitution of India, the right to the freedom of speech
and expression is the fundamental right of every Indian. And yet, this
right is not an absolute right allowing us to say and express everything
that we think and feel. The same Article that guarantees us this
fundamental right also places restrictions on this right. We may not
exercise this right to speech and expression if it threatens to, among
other things, impinge on public order or act as incitement to an
offence. It was my opinion that the exhibition in exhorting Hindus (and
Hindus alone) to hate Muslims and view every single one of them as a
potential terrorist was clearly exceeding the rights under the
Constitution and entering into the realm of hate-speech. There can be no
fundamental right to hate-speech. To allow for hate-speech under the
Right to Speech and Expression is to make a fetish of this Right to the
point of its loosing its meaning. In fact it would be a fascist tendency
that would argue that it has a right to hate-speech, allowing me to turn
around and ask my accusers if they and not I are more worthy of the
label they award me.

The criticisms also accused me of being a Hindu-hater for asking that
their exhibition be banned. Nothing could be further from the truth; on
the contrary most of my best friends are Hindu! The exhibition purported
a concern for the situation for the Hindus in Kashmir, and truly there
is reason to be concerned for the daily violence and bloodshed in
Kashmir. It is true that a number of Hindu families have been forced to
leave the valley and this is not just tragic but condemnable. But this
is not a Hindu tragedy alone since it is also Muslim families and those
of other religions that have been forced to leave the valley thanks to
the frenzy of violence that engulfs Kashmir. To ignore this dimension of
the problem is not to solve the problem, but to only compound it. Any
solution to Kashmir must necessarily ensure that all these affected
groups are returned in peace to their homeland. The violence in Kashmir
is one that should concern any individual not just Hindus. It is the
appeal to Hindus alone, thereby excluding others from even expressing
concern, or denying their possibility for concern- as indeed is what my
critics are doing to me- is what is disturbing about the exhibition and
its organizers. What is disturbing about the appeal to a ‘Hindu’
consciousness is that it is based on the denial of all other identities-
gender, caste, region, syncretic- and the recollection of historical
wrongs that are sought to be redressed in the present. Thus, it wasn’t
surprising that responses to the column dragged up the issue of the
Inquisition and the destruction of temples in Goa. In doing so, once
more the issue was constructed as only a Hindu issue. What these critics
forget is that the primary target of the Inquisition was those persons
who became Catholic and whose lives subjected to greater stricture than
those who managed to retain, through negotiation with the Portuguese
state, their religion. This historical recollection of wrongs then, is
only a partial recollection, and it is this partiality that we must
question to realize that there is something deeply problematic with the
construction of a ‘Hindu’ consciousness.

The problem of ‘Hindu’ consciousness is not a unique problem though; it
shares more in common with fundamentalist and radical Islam and
Christianity that it realizes. Which is why, when we are called to
contest Islamic radicalism and the manner in which these radicals begin
to define Islam, we are similarly called on to contest Hindutva
proponents who seek to tells us that they know Hinduism better than us,
and Christian fundamentalists who pervert the religion in their bid for
State power. Hindu-Muslim-Sikh- Isai, Sab hain bhai-bhai, went a now
forgotten nationalist slogan. It appears that the moment to forge the
Brotherhood anew is upon us as the fight with these dark fascist forces
looms large on our horizon.

(Comments are welcomed at www.dervishnotes.blogspot.com)


-- 
Question everything -- Karl Marx

Re: [Goanet] Dividing the Pie

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

> From: Mervyn Lobo <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 
> Subject: [Goanet] Dividing the Pie
> 
> Explained simply: To ensure that limited resources are divided
> equally, one person cuts the pie and the second person gets the first
> choice of the pieces.
> 
> I was still pondering the simplicity of this theory when I read
> today's newspaper. In the Letters to the Editor section, one reader
> pointed out the following: "In our house, however, my wife always
> cuts the pie and I always choose the smaller piece, because she's the
> one with the knife."

Just loved this. Reminded me of Joan Robinson's riposte to Adam Smith's
'hidden hand' view of the market: "The hidden hand will always do its
work, but it may work by strangulation."

-- 
Question everything -- Karl Marx

Re: [Goanet] Defamation of HJS FACT Exibition

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

> From: Sachin Phadte <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 
> Subject: Re: [Goanet] Defamation of  HJS FACT Exibition

This is getting very repetitive, I thought my previous mail on the
subject covered most of the ground. But since Sachin always approaches
these issues with a positive attitude, I will take some time to give a
brief response. And then please allow me to beg off -- I cannot spend so
much time crossing every t and dotting every i.

> In his message, Vidyadhar Gadgil says that Communalism Combat has
> taken up the issue of the Kashmiri Pandits. A friend of mine
> subscribes to the publication, and I am afraid I do not find myslef
> in agreement with Vidyadhar on this. Yes, they have some articles on
> the subject - but what is the rule and what is the exception? 

CC is an all-India magazine. In India, what is the rule and what is the
exception? The rule is minorities (Muslims and Christians) getting
hammered and killed, the exception (as in terror attacks, etc.) is
Hindus getting the same treatment. The national figures on the death
toll and financial losses in communal violence are there for all to see
-- just google for them. So CC could be said to accurately reflect the
picture in India. And the editors' statement I have quoted does explain
the 'bias'.

> Another
> friend says that he questions the sincerity of the editors of
> Communalism Combat on the basis of what he has heard them say in
> public meetings.

Fine, people have different opinions. I am not a spokesperson for
anybody but myself, your friend should take up the issue with the
persons concerned. I just gave these examples to counter the statement
that so-called 'psuedo-secular' people are not concerned about communal
violence against Hindus.

> Again, the issue is really not whether the Sangh has done anything
> for the Kashmiri Pandits or whether Communalism Combat has done
> anything for them. It is what Vidyadhar had said in response to a
> message from me, namely: "Of course, their plight must be addressed.
> Meaningful solutions must be found."
> 
> I would like to know from Vidyadhar exactly what these meaningful
> solutions are. He has said that Communalism Combat has written many
> articles on this. To test the sincerity of the editors, and prove my
> friend wrong (which I dearly want to do), can he post an article from
> the publication where a meaningful solution has been proposed. 

Please do the search for yourself, I have given the url of the magazine.
I really don't have time for this, and if you consider this running away
from the debate, so be it. But there are articles in CC which do address
the issue.

> To the
> point of sounding like a broken record, I would like to once again
> mention that the Pandits have been suffering since 1989, that is for
> the last 18 years.

True. But Kashmir is such a complex problem that it is a very difficult
 to solve, especially without a lack of political will. Incidentally,
the people of Kashmir (Hindus and Muslims) have been suffering for 60
years, not 18, and they all (Hindus and Muslims) continue to suffer
today, with their rights for self-determination denied, and with them
having become a political football between two belligerent nations.

And to reiterate, all that the HJS exhibition seeks to do is stoke the
fires of communal passions using the plight of the Kashmiri Pandits.
This is not a positive approach, either to tackling the plight of
Kashmiri Pandits or to combating communalism elsewhere in the country.

> I was also intrigued by the quote from a Communalism Combat
> editorial, namely: "Whenever Communalism Combat is blamed for being
> 'too pro-minority', we hold the Sangh Parivar and the rest of the
> saffron brotherhood responsible for this editorial 'tilt'."
> 
> Reminds me of a joke where a person says that he has very responsible
> position in his organisation - he is held responsible for all that is
> going wrong in it.  :-)
> 
> On a serious note, does this quote not disprove Vidyadhar's
> contention about the concern of Communalism Combat with respect to
> the Kashmiri Pandits?

I do not understand this leap of logic, so I pass on this. Maybe
somebody else can answer, I thought my earlier post did so quite adequately?

And now I better get back to the grind, I'm way past my deadlines, and
have to focus on my work.

Frankly, I'm 'over and out' on this topic unless some new issue is
thrown up. Two sides in a debate repeating the same things over and over
again gets very tedious, and if I, one of the participants in this
debate, am beginning to get bored, imagine the plight of the other
readers of goanet :-D In deference to them at least, I am signing off
this topic and leave it to others to carry on the debate if they so desire.

-- 
Question everything -- Karl Marx

Re: [Goanet] Defamation of HJS FACT Exibition

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

> From: vinay natekar <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 
> Subject: [Goanet] Defamation of  HJS FACT Exibition
> 
> It is very strange that no Muslim have objected  to the FACT Photo
> Exhibition. 

Do you seriously think they are enjoying the way they are being painted
as the enemy? That is the success of the Hindutvavadis -- the people
they are hounding are often too scared to raise their heads above the
trenches and protest, for fear of getting their heads shot off for their
pains. Go visit Gujarat, you can see the situation at its starkest
there, in the self-proclaimed laboratory of Hindutva, where the fear
among the minorities is palpable, and they are forced to swallow their
hurt and pain for fear of having worse miseries visited upon them.

> Then why the Christians and phony secularists are so much
> concerned about ? 

But injustice must be protested, or it reigns unchallenged, and grows in
strength. That's where others -- however you define them -- come in.

> Christians and Muslims all over the world are
> enemies of one another, but in secular India alone they are always
> found on the same side against their common enemy : Hinduism. 

You appear to have been reading Samuel Huntington's Clash of
Civilizations, one of George Bush's favourite bedtime fairy tales.

> Let me
> put in a straight forward words to you , Hindus are not going to be
> intimidated by your illusionary malady of bias propaganda which is
> appealing and exhilarating  fabrication of facts. 

Your purple prose is running away with you :-) And now you arrogate to
yourself the role of spokesperson of all Hindus, just like the Sangh
Parivar does. But much to its chagrin, it has not succeeded. The vast
Hindu majority (like the majority of people from all religions) is too
balanced and against hate and violence to fall easy prey to such propaganda.

> You have the right
> to express your opinions 

Thank you, sir, that is very kind of you!

> but you can not deny the truth and facts to
> be exposed. 

Expose away, though what gets exposed in the process is there for all to
see.

> In west, historically secularism stood for rationalism,
> universalism, humanism . In India today secularism is united front of
> all anti hindu ideologists. In the context of minority appeasement it
> has resulted unfortunate perversion of India?s political parlance. 
> The most spectacular thing about the fraudulent liberals and anti
> hindu secular brigade that they will never take up the cause of the
> organized genocide of Kashmiri Pandits in Kashmir. 

Do you seriously think that repeating yourself over and over again like
a stuck record will make people believe you? This is getting tiresome,
but okay, here goes. Will Teesta Setalvad, the editor of Communalism
Combat, serve as an example of the kind of people you describe as
'psuedo-secular'? I rather think she will do, given the vitriolic
invective against her on this very forum by various apologists of Hindutva.

Well, Communalism Combat has regularly focused on the plight of Kashmiri
Pandits. See, for example, the article at
http://sabrang.com/cc/comold/sep00/mino.htm. The other examples are too
numerous to mention, just go to sabrang.com, and search the 'Communalism
Combat' archives for 'Kashmir' and see for yourself.

Another of the favourite themes of the FACT-wallahs and their ilk is
Hindus in Bangladesh (Francois Gautier has done another exhibition on
this theme). Well, Communalism Combat regularly features this issue.
See, for example, http://sabrang.com/cc/archive/2004/sep04/cover.html,
and http://sabrang.com/cc/archive/2001/dec01/cover.htm. Again, there are
many more examples -- just type 'Bangladesh' in the search and see for
yourself.

Of course, where Teesta Setalvad fails, from your point of view, is to
use these cases to whip up passions against innocent Muslims who have
nothing to do with all this. That is the speciality of FACT, the HJS and
the Sangh Parivar in general. Teesta Setalvad actually uses these cases
(as she does the violence against minorities in India) to argue against
communalism and spread a message of peace and tolerance. And so she and
her ilk are damned in your eyes.

> Criticizing
> anything anti ?Hindu activities are painted as communal and tagged as
> pro  Sangh Parivar. To sum up: -Talking about and exposing ethnic
> cleansing and massacre of Hindus in Kashmir is communal. -Talking
> about Mumbai, Varanasi, Delhi Jehadi terrorist bomb blasts  is
> communal. -Talking about  the genocide of Hindus in Pakistan and
> Bangladesh is communal. 

Need I go on? Again, search the archives of Communalism Combat for all
these issues and see for yourself. Okay, you don't like this example? Go
to pluralindia.com, which hosts the articles of another of the targets
of your ire, Ram Puniyani. Search for these issues and see for yourself.
Search the writings and work of any of the people you describe as
'psuedo-secular' and you will see that they have roundly condemned all
this.

Yes, secula

Re: [Goanet] Is filter coffee drunk/sold in Goa?

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

> Date: Tue, 16 Oct 2007 00:30:59 +0530
> From: " Frederick [FN] Noronha *  ??? "
>   <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Subject: [Goanet] Is filter coffee drunk/sold in Goa?
> 
> Was just wondering after having a cuppa at Caje's place yesterday, and
> he showed me the process of making it:
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_filter_coffee

There's this little cafe in Panjim, on the right as you go from Azad
Maidan towards National Theatre. The filter coffee there is quite
tolerable and reasonably priced too (Rs 5), as it's a janata joint,
perfect for disreputable (and broke) types like us. :-)

-- 
Question everything -- Karl Marx

[Goanet] ReL Beware the exhibition of hatred...

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

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---
> From: Sachin Phadte <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [Goanet]
> Beware the exhibition of hatred...
> 
> Marshall Mendonca writes: "One keeps on hearing about the plight of
> Kashmiri Pandits. The BJP was in power for 6 years. Would someone
> care to inform us what they did for the Kashmiri pandits other than
> exploit them for propaganda, as in the exhibition."
> 
> In this thread, the point made by Mashall is valid only if the
> exhibition in question was organised by the BJP.

Get real, obviously the BJP won't officially organise this, they're a
registered political party and after their fiasco with the UP communal
CD, they are more cautious. Besides, while our 'secular' government may
connive with these divisive agendas, the South Goa parliamentary seat
election is coming up, and the Election Commission is not as soft as our
'secular' government on communal propaganda. So obviously the BJP has no
official link with this exhibition.

Which is exactly why you have the entity called the Sangh Parivar with
the RSS at its head. Each player sings his part of the tune, but the
resultant cacophony is essentially the same. Visit the BJP website, go
to the Hindu Janjagruti Samiti website, check out Organiser, Panchajanya
and suchlike journals, go to the Bajrang Dal website, see VHP material,
etc., etc. and they are essentially saying the same thing -- hatred
against minorities, 'communists', 'psuedo-secularists', and now, in the
style of George Bush, everybody who isn't on their side. The tune of
Hindutva fascism is essentially the same. There is an excellent article
on this in the latest issue of Himal magazine (devoted to
fundamentalisms of all kinds in South Asia, a must read issue, they are
giving out free issues, go the website and ask for you copy to be posted
to you) at
http://www.himalmag.com/2007/october_november/the_psyche_of_hindu_fascism.html.
I quote an extract: "Although there is no coherent body of political
doctrine associated with fascism, the shared common features of fascist
movements have been: aggressive and unquestioning nationalism; belief in
the supremacy of one national, ethnic or religious group over others;
disrespect for democratic and liberal institutions, which does not
preclude using them to attain power; a profound hatred for socialism;
insistence on obedience to a powerful and absolute leader; and a strong
association with militarism and a demagogic approach, that appeals to
and whips up the basest emotions in a mob, making it suggestible, hasty
in judgement, easily swayed and carried away by the consciousness of its
own force."

Sounds familiar? If you want a more detailed exposition, there are
plenty of sources out there.

What's that about there being nobody as blind as those who refuse to
see? Or, as they say in Hindi: "Soye hue ko jaga sakte ho, lekin sone ka
dhong jo kar raha hain use nahin jaga sakte."

> Secondly, even if the BJP did not do anything, does it mean that the
> plight of the Kashmiri Pandits should be ignored? More than 300,000
> have been living as refugees in their own land, since 1989.

Of course, their plight must be addressed. Meaningful solutions must be
found. Which is exactly what this exhibition is NOT about, there is not
the slightest hint of any attempt to find a solution or to heal the pain
and suffering of the Pandits (leave alone the Kashmiri Muslims who are
suffering as grievously). Its only purpose is to use the plight of the
Kashmiri Pandits to whip up communal passions and hysteria among Hindus
in the rest of the country.

-- 
Question everything -- Karl Marx

Re: [Goanet] Voices of sanity

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

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From: Carvalho <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: [Goanet] Voices of sanity outweigh that of Madness/to Anjali

--- Anjali Patel <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> > Hindus don't have any place else to go
> > accept
> > to submerge into the Indian ocean if the situation
> > detoriates further.
> >
> > It is the call of Dharma to make every hindu aware
> > of
> > the situation.
> > Hope you will side with dharma and not the adharma
> >
> > Anjali
-
> It frightens me no end that the
> majority of Hindu voices on this forum tend to be
> shrill and extreme and that only a handful are
> moderate and discerning.

That's not correct, Selma. It's only recently that we have had a few
voices on this forum that have launched a veritable onslaught, posting
extreme views very frequently. So it's a few people making a lot of
noise, and it's a recent trend. By and large the other posters here (of
all religious stripes) are generally quite reasonable.

What is true of this forum is even more true of Indian society at large.
If the vast Hindu majority thought along communal lines, we might as
well forget about it and pack up, the battle is lost. But that is not
the case, people want peace and harmony. People have enough trouble
surviving from day to day and don't want to get involved in unnecessary
strife created by political forces that want to use religion for
political ends. Trust the masses, their good sense generally prevails!

The worry is that the persistent attempts by the Hindutva forces to
communalise and vitiate the atmosphere have been increasing and having
some success -- as witness the case of the FACT exhibition. It is this
kind of politics that must be resisted if we are to arrest the slide
towards fascism, and protect the values of secular democracy in India.

-- 
Question everything -- Karl Marx

[Goanet] IN THE MIDST OF GOANS

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

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Gomantak Times, October 11, 2007

IN THE MIDST OF GOANS

Vidyadhar Gadgil

Twenty years ago, when I first lived and worked in Goa, I attended a
workshop on threats to Goa’s environment and culture. It was there that
I first heard the term ‘bhaille’ (outsiders). It was one of the
recurring motifs of the workshop that the ‘bhaille’ were the biggest
threats to Goa’s environment. I was taken aback, as this was an event
attended by liberals and activists, where one would not have expected
such viewpoints. Another term I heard was ‘ghati’. There was clearly a
negative value attached to the term, which in Maharashtra is used to
describe rustics. Intrigued, I devoted a fair bit of time to examining
the issue. It seemed contradictory that I – ‘bhaillo’ and ‘ghati’ –
never felt any particular hostility directed towards myself; in fact, I
met with an easy acceptance. Was this because of my class/caste
background? Not entirely, I discovered – Goans are truly among the most
tolerant and easygoing of people, not easily given to prejudice.

It was not only me, there was no overt hostility towards the people from
outside Goa who lived and worked in Goa. When talking about ‘outsiders’,
what people were protesting was a phenomenon – their perceived lack of
control over the development process – rather than individuals. There
was also a genuine anger against the tourism industry’s despoilation of
Goa and against the anti-people pattern of development that people felt,
with some justice, was being imposed upon them from outside Goa.

Those were heady times – there was a churning in Goa as the masses began
to assert their identity and demand their rights. The Konkani agitation,
the movement against tourism spearheaded by the Jagrut Goenkaranchi Fauz
(JGF), the movement for statehood – they all redefined the political
landscape of Goa. At a public meeting on 30 May 1987, the day Goa
attained statehood, the mood was one of jubiliation: it was the dawn of
hope.

Over the next ten years, my involvement with Goa continued, albeit
somewhat intermittently, so I was aware that these hopes were being
largely crushed. Yet, in 1997, when my family and I shifted to Goa to
settle here permanently, it came as a bit of shock to see the change in
the public mood; it was as if the churning of the mid-80s had never
happened. The movement for genuine change had been sidetracked,
marginalized or co-opted by the political class and corporate interests,
and it was business as usual. A cynicism and tiredness had set in
amongst the no-longer-so-young activists I knew in the mid-80s.

But around 2005 the churning process began once again, as globalization
and neo-liberalization began to be revealed for the chimeras that they
were. People looked around them and discovered to their horror that the
development process had been hijacked and turned against the people. The
beaches had become privatized concrete jungles, Goa’s forests were
facing the axe as the construction boom reached ridiculous proportions,
and Goa’s politicans fattened themselves at the expense of the masses.
Once again, the common man was feeling marginalized and threatened.

One response to this has been a questioning of the very concept of
development. The people’s movement which crystallised around the Goa
Bachao Abhiyan has redefined the way development is perceived.
Development which enriches a few at the expense of the masses and
destroys Goa’s environment is not true development, this strand of
thought avers. It is not the mass of people – of Goan descent or
otherwise – who are the problem. It is those who heedlessly plunder
Goa’s resources – politicians, industrialists and various kinds of
middlemen – and sell them to the highest bidder that are the problem. To
paraphrase the speech of Dr. Oscar Rebello, the convenor of the GBA, at
the massive public rally in Panjim on 19 December 2006: “It is not
non-Goans who are the problem; it is the anti-Goans.”

There is however, another response to Goa’s current crisis. This seeks
to externalise the problem and, following a xenophobic and reactionary
line of thought, blames the workers who come to Goa from other parts of
India to earn their living. Ignoring the fact that these workers make a
vital contribution to Goa’s economy, they are despised and condemned on
the basis of the fact that they are poor and come from different
cultures and traditions. Rather than look at their relationship with the
community an

[Goanet] 'Race2Win' quiz at Carona, Aldona on Gandhi Jayanti: A brief report

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

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This October 2nd, the St Rita's Association clubhouse at Carona was
abuzz with an activity that may have enthused the Father of the Nation,
but maybe more so his protege Jawaharlal Nehru – namely, many children
having a lot of fun. The event was one that has truly never been seen
before -- it was called Race2Win, and resembled a life-sized board game
played out on the badminton court of the Association’s clubhouse. This
innovative concept had been developed specifically for the occasion by
Quizvaddo, a local group of quiz and game enthusiasts.

Quizvaddo comprises (in alphabetical order):
Aniruddha Sengupta, a well-known quizzer who has featured on the
prestigious Mastermind India programme compered by Siddhartha Basu; he
is also a web designer and media consultant;
Anjali Sengupta, writer, editor, and a true live-wire who was the life
of the show;
PD Mukherjee, human resource management consultant, who kept everybody
in line;
Savio Figueredo, popular Good Samaritan of Aldona, who among his other
activities, runs Rendeep Cyber Cafe in Aldona.

Kids had gathered in droves at the clubhouse by the scheduled 9am start
time, and the registration figure of 32 far outpaced the organisers'
expectations, so much so that the question papers for the preliminary
round had to be sent out for emergency photocopying. Twelve finalists
were chosen as a result of the written prelims, in which all the
participants -- students of classes 7 to 10 from schools in the
Carona-Aldona-Moira area -- had to answer 20 quiz questions in 15 minutes.

The 12 finalists lined up on a grid-like 'game board' prepared the
previous evening by Quizvaddo and St Rita's volunteers led by Regina
Alvares, Organising Secretary of St. Rita’s Association, and
Entertainment Secretary Vidyadhar Gadgil. The game then had Quizmaster
Savio Figueiredo of Aldona tossing up general knowledge questions for
the players, whose correct answers would take them a step ahead on the
board. Elements of luck were thrown in as well -- the roll of a die on
direct questions jumping players ahead by up to three steps; or special
cells within the board giving them additional impetus or sudden
restriction. Two-member 'support teams' picked by the participants from
among friends and family also played a role, answering questions that
evaded the players, taking them a step further forward.

After a sluggish start, the Goan question rounds brought the players
surging forward, and soon four leaders were well and truly ahead of the
pack. For the final three rounds, these four battled it out to an
exciting finish, which saw the order change several times before Colin
Braganza of Aldona answered the fourth of his 'Know2Go' sudden death
questions to win. Finishing in close contention were Sourav Naik of St.
Xavier’s School, Moira, in second place and Snigdha Mayenkar of St.
Thomas Girls’ School in third, narrowly edging out Ravela in fourth.

The event drew to an end with Gregory Carvalho, President of St Rita's
Association, voicing a note of thanks, and presenting the players and
all the other participants with certificates and cash prizes.

The team from Quiz Vaddo had planned the event meticulously. With
Aniruddha as the presiding mastermind, Anjali as the livewire who fired
everybody up with her energy and enthusiasm, PD Mukherjee as the human
resource manager who managed the sometimes unruly support teams, and
Savio Figueredo as the indefatigable and megaphone-voiced quizmaster
(incidentally, 2nd October was his birthday), the event was bound to be
a grand success – and so it was!

St. Rita’s Association extends its heartfelt thanks to the entire team
from Quizvaddo. And now that we have such a team here in Goa, we must
avail of their skills to bring new dimensions to quizzing in Goa and to
inculcate a love of knowledge and learning among our youth!

-- 
Question everything -- Karl Marx

Re: [Goanet] Between sanity and madness

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

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> From: Bhandare <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Subject: [Goanet] Between sanity and madness
> 
> Maybe gadgil is upset because more people attended
> this exhibition than the travelling circus of the
> carrer secularists...
> 
> the final solution is a money making venture of its
> director and its credibility is already in tatters...

The horrendous exhibition put on at the Kala Academy (government
premises, of which our 'secular' ex-Chief Minister and current speaker,
Pratapsinh Rane, is the chairperson) and visited by our 'secular' chief
minister was based on photographs by one Francois Gautier. He was a
correspondent with Le Figaro, and was sacked for his strong associations
with the Hindutvavdi right. The immediate provocation for his dismissal
was an article he wrote for Le Figaro during the visit of President
Narayanan's visit to  France, headlined 'An Untouchable is for the first
time going to shake the hand of our President'! This outraged public
opinion in France and and provoked such an outcry in India that the then
Le Figaro Editor-in-Chief had to tender a written apology.

'Final Solution' by Rakesh Sharma has, on the other hand, won a plethora
of national and international awards:

·   Wolfgang Staudte award & Special Jury Award (Netpac), Berlin
International film festival (2004)
·   Humanitarian Award for Outstanding Documentary, HongKong International
film festival (2004)
·   Montgolfiere d\u2019Or (Best Documentary) & Le Prix Fip/Pil\u2019 du
Public (Audience award), Festival des 3 Continents at Nantes (France; 2004)
·   Best Film, Freedom of Expression awards by Index on Censorship (UK; 
2005)
·   Silver Dhow, Zanzibar International film festival (2004)
·   Best documentary, Big MiniDV (USA; 2004)
·   Special Jury Award, Karafest (Karachi; 2004)
·   Special Jury Award, Film South Asia (Kathmandu; 2005)
·   Human Rights Award, Docupolis (Barcelona; 2005)
·   Special Jury Mention, Munich Dokfest (2004)
·   Special Jury Mention, Bangkok International filmfest (2005)
·   Nominee, Best Foreign Film, Grierson Awards (UK; 2004)
·   Best Documentary/Short Film, Apsara Awards(India;2006)
·   Special Award by NRIs for a Secular and Harmonious India (NRI-SAHI),
NY-NJ, USA (2004)
·   Special Award by AFMI, USA-Canada (2004)
·   Special Jury Award, Worldfest 2005 (Houston)
·   Special Jury Award, Mar Del Plata Independent film festival (2005;
Argentina)

Further details about the film are available at
http://rakeshfilm.com/finalsolution.htm

-- 
Question everything -- Karl Marx

[Goanet] Beware the exhibition of hate...

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

* G * O * A * N * E * T  C * L * A * S * S * I * F * I * E * D * S *

 GARCA BRANCA
VACATION ACCOMMODATION
 LOUTULIM, SOUTH GOA.
 For R&R; modern/clean amenities; serene, healthy and wholesome location

Visit http://www.garcabranca.com for details/booking/confirmation.

It is comforting to note the voices of growing concern at the disgusting
display of virulent communalism and hatred being allowed to grab the
cultural space of the Kala Academy. Under the guise of shedding
crocodile tears for the Kashmiri Pundits, they are trying to create a
false persecution complex in the minds of the majority community and
instigating it to teach a "befitting lesson" to the minority community.

Okay, that event is over. But now they are moving to Shiroda and Margao
and then elsewhere. They are broadcasting the films "asking Hindus to
pick up the gauntlet" on the local cable networks. We have to shed our
attitude of careless indifference. Ignorance in this case will be the
death knell of bliss.

Some have suggested protesting to the government and the police. The CM
has himself visited the exhibition, so he cannot feign ignorance. The
inaction on the part of the Goa government and the police  does not give
much confidence that
they will act.

Protest is needed on every front. And pressure has to be brought to bear
on the government to live up to its secular credentials. This has to be
a citizens' protest, in which each one of us is leader.

There are no easy answers as to how to best proceed towards this goal.
But this has to be a people's thing. Each person has to be figure out
how best they can contribute to the people's effort and act upon it.

Some possible courses of action are suggested below:

1. Draw up a petition condemning this in the strongest terms, and get
the maximum number of signatures possible within a short time. Submit
the petition to the CM, the CS and the Home Minister and ask them to
stop conniving with communal agendas.
2. Organise public meetings on this matter. Condemn it in the strongest
terms and demand action.
3. Write in the media about the exhibition and its communal agenda, as
Jason has done.
4. Use every nook of cyberspace you can to express your views: Goanet,
all goa mailgroups, all blogs.

There will be many, many citizens of Goa who will have other ideas.
Whatever we can think of, let each of us do.

Let this 'secular' government understand that protecting secular values
does not mean winning an election and then sitting around watching Goa
being communalised under their very eyes.

Let them know that the usually silent majority will not sit quiet while
this goes on.

-- 
"Those who profess to favor freedom, and yet deprecate agitation, are
men who want rain without thunder and lightning. They want the ocean
without the roar of its many waters...Power concedes nothing without a
demand. It never did and it never will." — Frederick Douglass

[Goanet] Between sanity and madness

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

* G * O * A * N * E * T  C * L * A * S * S * I * F * I * E * D * S *

 GARCA BRANCA
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 LOUTULIM, SOUTH GOA.
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Apparently, the Hindu Janjagruti Samiti exhbition which was showing at
the Kala Academy will soon be opening in Margao.

So now the politics of hate will be given space to vent its venom in
Margao. Given that the government premises at the Kala Academy played
host to the exhibition and that our 'secular' chief minister saw fit to
attend it, thus conniving with its agenda, maybe a government building
in central Margao will be handed over to the organisers to pursue their
divisive and poisonous agenda? And we will now have our public spaces in
Margao invaded with the poisonous propaganda promoting this exhbition as
they have been in Panjim?

This exhibition is such unspeakable filth that I have no words for it.
Fortunately, Jason Fernandes found the words and his powerful article in
Gomantak Times (posted here a few days ago), says it all.

If you want to see what he means, compare it with Rakesh Sharma's
award-winning film Final Solution, which has also been shown in Goa.

The Samiti exhibition claims to depict communal violence in Kashmir.
Final Solution depicts and analyses communal violence in Gujarat. But
compare the very different intent.

The exhibition seeks to use incidents of communal violence to spread a
message of hatred against a particular community and incite passions
against them. It posits this community as the enemy and appeals to the
viewers' machismo, race pride, what have you, positioning Muslims as the
enemy whom it is the duty of all Hindus to attack and wreak 'revenge' upon.

Final Solution depicts communal violence in Gujarat. But it does so to
tell us that if we take this path, we are headed for sure disaster. It
shows how communal violence scars the psyches of all involved, victims
as well as perpetrators, and leaves deep wounds in the social fabric
which may never heal. It tells us that if this is what we do, if this is
the politics we engage in, the end result will be a society of psychopaths.

The debate on issues around such issues on this forum has often been
posited as Marxism versus Hindutva nationalism, Goans versus ghatis,
etc., etc., -- in short, each group versus everybody different from them.

These are words and theories and constructs. They have their value and
place. But they sometimes hide the real issues that lie at the core, and
which are now becoming increasingly clear. The choice is stark --
between peace and violence, between amity and hatred, between prejudice
and acceptance. Between sanity and madness. And the choice is now for
each one of us to make, since our 'secular' government appears to have
abdicated its responsibilites.

-- 
Question everything -- Karl Marx

[Goanet] Hindu Janjagruthi Samiti Exhibition: An Invitation to Hate

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

 
 TRI Continental Film Festival - Dona Paula, Goa, Sep 28 - Oct 2, 2007

http://www.moviesgoa.org/tricontinental/tricon.htm

For public viewing. Registration at  The International Centre Goa.  (Ph: 
+91-832-2452805 to 10)

  Online Media Partner:  http://www.GOANET.org

Gomantak Times, Panjim, 2 October 2007

An Invitation to Hate

Jason Keith Fernandes

This weekend I had the misfortune of visiting the most obnoxious
exhibition. Set up by the Hindu Janajagruthi Samiti, the object of the
exhibition was to ‘educate’ the average Hindu about the violence by
Muslims on the Hindus of Kashmir and Bangladesh. I say ‘educate’ the
Hindu, since every display of violence was followed by a caption
addressed to the viewer indicating that if they were Hindu, then these
visuals should make their blood boil, and tomorrow this violence could
possibly be visited on them. If they were not moved, they were not fit
to be - and hence not - Hindu. The theme of the exhibition purported to
be the violence occurring in Kashmir, and yet, addressing the plight of
the Kashmiri whether Hindu or Muslim was not its concern. On the
contrary, the attempt through the exhibition was to ensure that local
Hindus see the local Muslim as the natural and necessary enemy. What
this exhibition is, therefore, is a very clear and deliberate attempt to
create communal divisions in Goa.

Now I am not surprised by this display of anti-Muslim hatred, since one
has gotten used to seeing this daily violence perpetuated for not being
a certain kind of Hindu. For the Hindu right wing, it is not enough to
hate only the minorities. Not being brahmanised upper-caste and minority
hating is just as bad in their book. What is surprising is that this
very blatant organizing of Hindus against Muslims (and by logical
conclusion against the Catholics in Goa) is that it is taking place in
the premises of the Kala Academy. Why the premier cultural institution
of a secular state is allowing violent activities on its premises is a
question that the authorities of the Kala Academy must immediately
answer. The authorities can reprieve themselves of this abuse of
authority only by withdrawing permission for this exhibition
immediately. Worse, this is not just an exhibition; there was also a
screening of inflammatory documentaries, followed by similar discussion
sessions which were nothing short of unnerving.

Walking through the exhibition, the organizing women clamoring quite
literally for the blood of local Muslims, was extremely unnerving. I
fancy myself as a reasonably rational individual not given to acts of
passion. And yet in this environment, I was strangely drawn toward
pulling down the posters, destroying the projector and disrupting the
meeting that was being conducted, knocking a few heads while I was at
it. It was when placed in this environment that I finally realized what
it must be like to be a persecuted minority, and especially a Muslim in
this country. Every apparently innocuous saffron flag is in fact a
threat, telling you that your time is coming and you had better be
careful.  If then I, as an individual who is not being directly
threatened here, who has an escape route out of the country in terms of
livelihood options, should respond irrationally and violently to such
stimuli, how would a Muslim, already on the economic fringes of society,
and subject to no less that 60 years of harassment respond to this
threat? The object of the exhibition then, is twofold. It is first to
tell the individual that you are Hindu (or not Hindu) first, and that
every Muslim is your presumed enemy and you should ‘get’ them before
they get you. The objective: The creation of a communal divide, and an
invitation to violence. It exceeds this-one sided mobilization however,
and also operates as a provocation to local Muslim groups. Of course,
once the Muslims have been hounded enough to retaliate, all of society
will turn around, refuse to see the provocation and shrug, saying “It is
true, these Muslims are violent by nature.” A minimum of 60 years of
such violence has produced nervous and insecure Muslim groups in India.
60 and more years of Hindutva aggression has created the communal
bloodbaths of this country, and the current exhibition is a fantastic
example of who and what is responsible for it.

This particular exhibition has been touring Goa for some months now and
it is a sign of the power and arrogance of these groups that they dare
to take over the Kala Academy, the space of the secular and
sophisticated in our capital. This is nothing less than a final flexing
of muscle before they act out their fiendish agenda. While we must guard
ourselves from this venom, they must first be cast out from the Kala
Academy and the Academy asked to explain how they got there in the first
place.

-- 
Question everything -- Karl

Re: [Goanet] No freedom of religion for Muslims in Goa?

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

 
 TRI Continental Film Festival - Dona Paula, Goa, Sep 28 - Oct 2, 2007

http://www.moviesgoa.org/tricontinental/tricon.htm

For public viewing. Registration at  The International Centre Goa.  (Ph: 
+91-832-2452805 to 10)

  Online Media Partner:  http://www.GOANET.org

> From: "vinay natekar" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Subject: [Goanet] (Goanet) No freedom of religion for Muslims in Goa?
> 
> Ask any Goan Muslims who are co existing  here for generations  peacefully 
> with other communities  if anyone has  prevented them from practicing their 
> religion  throughout  their life.  A stray incident in Curtorim/Chinchinim 
> can not be set as an paradigm for above topic unless proven in depth the 
> ground realities. 

The problem is precisely that there is a pattern, not only in Goa, but
elsewhere as well. Whenever Muslims try to build a mosque or madrasa,
they are greeted with suspicion and hostility, and attempts are made to
block them. There are invariably 'objections' raised by various people.
Even a legitimate demand for a kabrastan in Goa has yielded nothing.

Apart from the incidents that I have mentioned, many others have also
been recorded, see for example the 'Broken Peace' report on the
Sanvordem violence, available at
http://www.sacw.net/DC/CommunalismCollection/ArticlesArchive/brpeace.pdf

> It does not require anyone to tell that killing is inhuman in he name of 
> relegion. The madrassas which are funded by Jehadis and ISI are finding to 
> sprawl its wings in usually serene Goa. These madrassas are the breeding 
> ground for terrorist in the name of imparting religious education they  sow 
> seeds of hatred towards other religions in the young minds. 

Of course all religions oppose killing -- and that includes Islam. But
there are people who use religion for political ends -- like Osama bin
Laden, Pravin Togadia, Narendra Modi, etc. Religion is only a cloak for
their activities. These are not 'religious' people, they are the enemies
of true religion.

Here you have once again come out with the hoary equation 'Madrasa =
Jehadis = ISI = terror'. It is this kind of thinking that causes the
problem. There is no evidence for any of this. Which are these
"madrassas funded by Jehadis and ISI" which are coming up in Goa? Be
specific, a general statement like this is meaningless; without any
evidence, it is just malicious rumour-mongering, and part of an attempt
to deny basic rights to Muslims by creating a fear psychosis.

> It is important for  perverted notions of secularism for majority community 
> to learn. So long as Hindu politics were divided on caste and region 
> secularism was ‘safe’. Appeasement of Catholics communalism was a matter of 
> fact, conceived  by cunning, corrupt Congress party to conceal their 
> gluttony and questioned by none without inviting the stigma of communalism. 
> This brand of secularism is practiced unabashedly and indeed is a passport 
> to secularism or to put it more appropriately, pseudo-secularism.

This is the stale and discredited 'psuedo-secularism' mantra chanted by
the RSS and L.K. Advani. Standing up for minority rights is
'psuedo-secularism' according to such people.

India is an overwhelmingly Hindu-majority country, and the religious
rights of Hindus are rarely threatened. But the religious minorities
face such problems on a regular basis, and secular persons naturally
stand up for their rights. If that makes them 'psuedo-secular' in your
view, it is your perspective that is at fault.

Look at the data on communal violence in India. The overwhelming
majority of those killed in such violence have been Muslims. Then again,
look at what happens after such violence. Those who have been involved
in killing Hindus are generally brought to book, whereas those involved
in killing members of minority communities go off scot-free. Take the
case of the Mumbai riots and the Mumbai blasts. The Mumbai blasts case
has been concluded and those guilty have been punished. But what has
happened to the Shrikrishna report, which identified those involved in
the killing of Muslims? No action has been taken. Madhukar Sarpotdar,
the Shiv Sena chappie who was caught red-handed by the army transporting
arms, was,far from being punished, rewarded by being made a minister.

It is in this assymetrical and unjust situation, where minority rights
are trampled upon and justice denied, that secularists stand up for the
rights of minorities.

> callous. The Hindus are taken for granted in the name of secularism The 
> politicized secularism did not provide for any room for consideration of 
> Hindu majority  which largely remained inarticulate, disorganized and lacked 
> the political value for the secular political leadership to take cognizance 
> of inspite of being in the majority, the Hindus are lacking  a political 
> constitu

Re: [Goanet] LINKS: Amazing story from colonial times... with a Goa link

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

* G * O * A * N * E * T  C * L * A * S * S * I * F * I * E * D * S *

 GARCA BRANCA
VACATION ACCOMMODATION
 LOUTULIM, SOUTH GOA.
 For R&R; modern/clean amenities; serene, healthy and wholesome location

Visit http://www.garcabranca.com for details/booking/confirmation.

> Subject: [Goanet] LINKS: Amazing story from colonial times... with a
>   Goa link
> To: 
> 
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Huyghen_van_Linschoten
> 
> Jan Huyghen van Linschoten
>>From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Some time back I had uploaded a map of Goa by Linschoten dating from the
late 16th century. The image is available at
http://www.flickr.com/photos/vgad/367017030/

Teotonio had posted some information about Linschoten some time ago on
Goa Research Net.

-- 
Question everything -- Karl Marx

[Goanet] No freedom of religion for Muslims in Goa?

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

* G * O * A * N * E * T  C * L * A * S * S * I * F * I * E * D * S *

 GARCA BRANCA
VACATION ACCOMMODATION
 LOUTULIM, SOUTH GOA.
 For R&R; modern/clean amenities; serene, healthy and wholesome location

Visit http://www.garcabranca.com for details/booking/confirmation.

Gomantak Times, 21/09/07

No freedom of religion for Muslims in Goa?

Vidyadhar Gadgil

The Constitution of India has enshrined the Right to Freedom of Religion
as one of the fundamental rights. This right, covered in Articles 25-28,
provides religious freedom to all citizens of India. All religions are
equal before the state and citizens are free to preach, practice and
propagate any religion of their choice.

Do we have genuine freedom of religion in Goa today? An objective look
would show even the least discerning observer that this fundamental
right is indeed available to the citizens in Goa -- if they are Hindus
or Christians! If they are Muslims, on the other hand, this right is
being systematically denied to them. This pattern has become
particularly obvious in South Goa, where in numerous cases the right of
Muslims to practice their faith is sought to be denied to them. The
attempts to thwart the fundamental rights of Muslims have included cases
where they have been denied the permission for a burial ground, those
where they are prevented from praying in their own premises, and others
where they are not allowed to build structures for religious education.

The most notorious case, in Guddemol, led to the first organised
communal violence in Goa in March 2006. The Muslim community in Guddemol
had built a structure to be used as a madrasa where religious education
could be imparted to the children of the community. It was alleged that
this structure was illegal, and that it was actually meant to be a
masjid. The Sanvordem panchayat ordered that it be demolished, in
response to which the Muslim community obtained a stay order from the
Director of Panchayats. Despite this, the structure was attacked and
damaged. A rightful and perfectly legal protest by the Muslims of Goa at
this act was construed as 'provocation', and communal violence was
instigated by means of systematic rumour-mongering.

The whole issue was sought to be diverted into an argument on the
legality of the structure. There has been no protest about the 'illegal'
temple within a stone's throw of the 'disputed structure'  -- after all
this temple is a place of worship of Hindus. Goa is dotted with legally
dubious religious structures of all religious communities, but it is
only the Muslim structures that are targeted.

Today the position in the Guddemol case is that the Director of
Panchayats has ruled in favour of the Muslim community, and ordered that
the structure be repaired at the cost of the respondents. But the
Muslims of Guddemol, living in an atmosphere of fear and intimidation,
are scared to pursue the matter, fearing reprisals.

Similar events have been unfolding all over Goa. Recently, there have
been two major disputes, one in Curtorim and one in Chinchinim. In
Curtorim, a Muslim garage owner and his Muslim employees were saying
their prayers in the garage, as the nearest mosque is a considerable
distance away. The MLA of Curtorim, Reginaldo Lourenco, saw fit to march
to the garage with fifty supporters in tow, alleging that an attempt was
being made to construct a mosque. After protracted negotiations, the
garage owner was forced to agree that only his workers would be allowed
to say their prayers in the garage, and that no 'outsiders' would be
permitted.

Nearly every Hindu and Christian house in Goa has a shrine or altar of
some kind where prayers are said. The owner of the house can, of course,
pray there with whomsoever he wants. But when Muslims do the same thing,
there is a furore and the Muslims are forced into a patently unfair
agreement.

In Chinchinim, prayers were being said in a house owned by a Muslim
organisation. It did not take long for various allegations to surface,
and tension began to rise. The issue is hanging fire at this very
moment, and politicians are rushing to fish in these troubled waters.

In another outrageous case, the legitimate demand of the Muslims of
Margao and South Goa for a burial ground, in addition to the current one
(which is grossly inadequate to meet the demand), is being denied. There
can hardly be a more basic right than disposal of the dead according to
the tenets of one's faith. But bad luck -- these are Muslims! The CM of
Goa, Digambar Kamat, had even promised in his 2004 election manifesto
that he would provide a burial ground to the Muslim community. They h

Re: [Goanet] GOANS OPINION & LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

* G * O * A * N * E * T  C * L * A * S * S * I * F * I * E * D * S *

 GARCA BRANCA
VACATION ACCOMMODATION
 LOUTULIM, SOUTH GOA.
 For R&R; modern/clean amenities; serene, healthy and wholesome location

Visit http://www.garcabranca.com for details/booking/confirmation.

> From: Sanny Vaz <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Subject: [Goanet] GOANS OPINION & LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Dear Sanny,

Thanks a lot for the effort you take over this. But such long and
detailed posts of news articles/letters tend to choke up our mailboxes.
The Goa News put out by Goanet is useful since it gives only headlines
and a few lines about some of the items.

The standard practice on Goanet has been for members to post articles of
their particular interest to Goanet, and for us to rely on the Goanet
Goa News digest otherwise.

If there is a lot interest in these detailed posts, maybe Goanet could
consider spinning it off as a separate mailing list, which could go to
those who want it?

Regards,
Vidyadhar

-- 
Question everything -- Karl Marx

Re: [Goanet] Calling All Goan Chauvinists

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

  http://www.GOANET.org 


 TRI Continental Film Festival - Dona Paula, Goa, Sep 28 - Oct 2, 2007
   http://www.moviesgoa.org/tricontinental/tricon.htm

   For public viewing
Registration at The International Centre Goa Ph: +91 (832) 2452805 to 10

  Online Media Partner:  http://www.GOANET.org

> From: "Rajan P. Parrikar" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Subject: Re: [Goanet] Calling All Goan Chauvinists

> To Goanet -
> 
> I have received an email asking if I advocate Shiv Sena type
> violent tactics to deal with the influx of immigrants into Goa.
> The answer to that is: No, I don't.

Great! And finally, we have some concrete suggestions on how to deal
with the problems that Goa is facing. Such concrete suggestions present
a set of issues for debate and enable the process of evolving a plan of
action. How nice it would be if we could stick to these rather than
engage in name-calling and stereotyping of individuals and communities.

> Already the government and its administrative machinery
> have at their disposal the devices necessary to immediately
> present a first line of defense: stop the ration card fraud,

What exactly is this ration card fraud? Are ration cards being issued to
fictitious people? It that is the case, of course it must be stopped.

In the past 20 years I have lived in 5 different towns in 4 Indian
states. In each of these places, within a year of moving to that place I
obtained a ration card and enrolled myself on the electoral roll, both
perfectly legitimately and legally. These are basic rights of all Indian
citizens.

Irregularities, illegalities and frauds in these matters must certainly
be acted against. But basic rights cannot be denied.

> slow down the pace of construction, 

I would most emphatically agree with this; it is probably the one single
step that can make the biggest difference. Freeze all land conversions
for a certain period, permanently scrap any plans for SEZs, allow
constructions only strictly as per the law and as per plans which are
made with people's participation. This is the kind of thing the GBA has
been talking about, and more power to them!

One should add here -- put strict controls on the growth of tourism.
While this industry is touted as bringing multiple benefits to Goa, it
is an unmitigated disaster. JGF was on the right track 20 years ago; it
is time to rise again and oppose the kind of tourism we are seeing in Goa.

> demolish the illegal slums

Yes, there are proper procedures and laws to establish the illegality of
slums, and once these are followed and the case made, and rehabilitation
provided as per the law, certainly slums can be demolished. The problem
with the demolitions in Baina, to take one example, was not the
demolition per se, but that the agreed-upon rehabilitation measures have
not materialised to date (as was confessed recently by the Chairperson
of the Goa State Women's Commission), resulting in a problem worse than
they claimed to solve.

> tighten enforcement of civic laws, order the police
> to do its job honestly, and so on.

Most certainly. I would add that honestly also means fairly, i.e.,
applying the law equally to all, not selectively targeting particular
groups or communities while sparing others, as our politicians and the
police are wont to do.

As you say, there are many things that can, and should, be done.

Unfortunately, after one short paragraph devoted to meaningful
suggestions, the rest of the post again descends into the now-familiar
and sickening abuse, prejudice and bigotry, effectively putting a
stopper on further discussion.

-- 
Question everything -- Karl Marx

Re: [Goanet] Chauvinists

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

  http://www.GOANET.org 


 TRI Continental Film Festival - Dona Paula, Goa, Sep 28 - Oct 2, 2007
   http://www.moviesgoa.org/tricontinental/tricon.htm

   For public viewing
Registration at The International Centre Goa Ph: +91 (832) 2452805 to 10

  Online Media Partner:  http://www.GOANET.org

> Date: Fri, 14 Sep 2007 11:49:14 -0700 (PDT)
> From: Bhandare <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Subject: [Goanet] Chauvinists
> 
> I would rather have UPwallahs and  Biharis come to Goa
> rather than muslim fanatics from dharwad and hubli
> should a need arise in goa to "liberate" a few shrines
> we would not need to call people from outside
> then...the "ram bhakts" would all be localy
> available..

First Bhandare wanted people to 'take the law into their own hands a la
Curchorem' (is this a confession of sorts?). Now come the threatening
noises about "liberating a few shrines". Which shrines are currently or
in future going to be in need of 'liberation' in Goa, may we know? The
big 'liberation' of a shrine that took place in India in 1992 employed
demolition as a strategy of 'liberation'. In Goa, a few years ago, what
was claimed to be a 'Shiv Lingam' was 'liberated' from the Archbishop's
Palace by the RSS while their dutiful pupil Manohar Parrikar was in
occupation of the CM's residence right opposite (see
http://www.goanet.org/post.php?name=News&list=goanet&info=2004-January/thread&post_id=008961).

So which shrines in Goa are in your firing line (present or future),
Bhandare?

All this sounds ever so ominous...and familiar...

As to the ridiculous stereotyping of communities above...oh well, let it
pass, Bhandare seems to have a sour and embittered view of the world
wherein everybody but him and people pretty much like him is beyond the
pale. Such a narrow-minded and depressing worldview must be something
pretty terrible to live with, and is probably more deserving of pity
than censure.

-- 
Question everything -- Karl Marx

Re: [Goanet] Calling All Goan Chauvinists

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

  http://www.GOANET.org 


 TRI Continental Film Festival - Dona Paula, Goa, Sep 28 - Oct 2, 2007
   http://www.moviesgoa.org/tricontinental/tricon.htm

   For public viewing
Registration at The International Centre Goa Ph: +91 (832) 2452805 to 10

  Online Media Partner:  http://www.GOANET.org

> From: "Rajan P. Parrikar" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Subject: [Goanet] Calling All Goan Chauvinists

As an unabashed display of bigotry, this post scales new heights. What
to say, I am beyond words. I have just one query.

> pps:  Ganesh Chathurthi greetings to everyone.  All are invited
> to partake in nevryo at my place in Miramar. 

Ghatis too? I would have assumed not, but it's a little confusing, since
your mail is addressed 'To Goanet' and the Goanet admin has been lax
enough to allow many of us to subscribe to this mailgroup.

Anyway, if we horrible creatures are invited, I would like to say thanks
-- but no, thanks. The dish of intemperate abuse we have just been
served is quite enough to be getting along with.

-- 
Question everything -- Karl Marx

Re: [Goanet] IS CONSENSUAL SEX OKAY

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

  http://www.GOANET.org 


 TRI Continental Film Festival - Dona Paula, Goa, Sep 28 - Oct 2, 2007
   http://www.moviesgoa.org/tricontinental/tricon.htm

  Online Media Partner:  http://www.goanet.org

> From: Bhandare <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Subject: [Goanet] IS CONSENSUAL SEX OKAY
> 
> 
> Averthanus' homophobic rants ,motivated by his
> fundamentalist catholic beliefs is no surprise. Such
> outbursts also elicit support from fellow
> fundamentalists who otherwise spare no words n
> denouncin the "communal" "funamentalist" RSS and
> others..

This is very mixed up. If you read the various posts on this subject,
you will find that most of those who 'spare no words' in denouncing the
communal fundamentalist RSS are also those who have criticised
Averthanus' attitude.

And before you try to score cheap points against 'fundamentalist
Catholic beliefs', do check up what the RSS and co. think about
alternative sexualities. There is more in common between fundamentalists
of all stripes than any fundamentalist has with his co-religionists. All
religious fundamentalists (and that of course includes the RSS) condemn
anything that does not fit in with their narrow moralistic vision.

Maybe all fundamentalists from all religions should be collected in one
big group and left to relate to each other. It would be one big love
feast (platonic, of course, since anything else is immoral). And then
the rest of us would be left in peace while all the fundamentalists
compare the finer nuances of their moralistic posturing and pick up tips
from each other.

-- 
Question everything -- Karl Marx

Re: [Goanet] IS CONSENSUAL SEX OKAY ? - Response from Wendell Rodricks

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

* G * O * A * N * E * T  C * L * A * S * S * I * F * I * E * D * S *

 GARCA BRANCA
VACATION ACCOMMODATION
 LOUTULIM, SOUTH GOA.
 For R&R; modern/clean amenities; serene, healthy and wholesome location

Visit http://www.garcabranca.com for details/booking/confirmation.


> Subject: Re: [Goanet] IS CONSENSUAL SEX OKAY ? - Response from Wendell
>   Rodricks

> On a more serious note though, I applaud Mr Rodricks
> for living the truth of his own convictions. Not many
> people have the courage to do so. For every one
> Averthanus that write disparagingly about
> homosexuality, there are a lot of us Goans who are
> fully supportive of your choices.

And so are lots and lots of 'non-Goans' -- let's not make a parochial
issue out of it :-)

-- 
Question everything -- Karl Marx

---
 http://www.GOANET.org 
---

 ECAP 2007 - Computer Society of India - Goa Chapter inaugurates its 15th
Exhibition of Computers & Allied Products at Hotel Mandovi, Panaji
at 9:30am on Sep 8, 2007 at the hands of Mr. M. N. Rao - Advisor & Director
  (IT) Department of Computer Science - Government of Goa.

   All are cordially Invited
---

Re: [Goanet] Teaching pigs to sing

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

  http://www.GOANET.org 


   International Cuisine Conference on Traditional Asian Diet 
Panaji, Goa, September 2-5, 2007  -  http://www.indologygoa.in
  Online Media Partner:  http://www.goanet.org

> From: George Pinto <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Subject: Re: [Goanet] Teaching pigs to sing To: "Goa's premiere
> mailing list, estb. 1994!"  Message-ID:
> <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Content-Type:
> text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1

> Tomorrow's report will be on pigs who fly.

I can hardly wait. Maybe George should file a daily report on pigs of 
all varieties.

I was once asked in an interview, "From where did P.G. Wodehouse get the 
title 'Pigs Have Wings' for one of his novels?" I looked blank, and the 
interviewer decided that I was bs-ing him when I said I was a PGW fan. I 
didn't get the job.

Some research (these were the days before internet, which has made this 
very easy, where do you think Cecil gets his instant wisdom and Heinlein 
quotes from?) :-) led me to Carroll's "Walrus and the Carpenter" which 
has a verse which goes:

"The time has come," the Walrus said,
"To talk of many things:
Of shoes -- and ships -- and sealing-wax --
Of cabbages -- and kings --
And why the sea is boiling hot --
And whether pigs have wings."


-- 
Question everything -- Karl Marx

Re: [Goanet] Aryans- response to shrikant

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

---
 http://www.GOANET.org 
---

Follow the online presence of the Museum of Christian Art, Old Goa
 Contacts: Tel: +91 832 2285299  Email:[EMAIL PROTECTED]

http://christianartmuseum.goa-india.org/

---

> From: C Bhandare <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Subject: [Goanet] Aryans- response to shrikant
> 
> the facts are indeed lost in history..it only depends
> on which historian you want to believe..nothing is
> proved beyond doubt ..

Well, it's clear which 'historians' you want to believe -- the Murli 
Manohar Joshi school of historiography!

Not a single respectable historian opines that the Aryans originated in 
India. And now we have DNA mapping, which has pretty conclusively 
settled the issue. But obviously not for those who are into 'believing' 
as against examining evidence.

> just because some so called upper castes and europeans
> share some dna doesnt mean they came here..we might
> have indeed gone there...

Just love this! It's on par with claims that nuclear weapons were used 
in the Mahabharata war and that some of the weapons used by Rama were 
actually ICBMs, and the recent claim about the Ram Setu, which once the 
'scientific' evidence was shown to be bunkum became a matter of faith 
and belief.

Welcome to the RSS section of the school of faith-based reality 
perception! Other sections house those who believe in literalist 
interpretations of the Bible, those who are against evolution and for 
'intelligent design', and so on and so forth for every faith under the sun.

-- 
Question everything -- Karl Marx

Re: [Goanet] Terrorism: Myths and Facts -response to mervyn

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

---
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---

Follow the online presence of the Museum of Christian Art, Old Goa
 Contacts: Tel: +91 832 2285299  Email:[EMAIL PROTECTED]

http://christianartmuseum.goa-india.org/

---

> From: "joe dias" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Subject: [Goanet] Terrorism: Myths and Facts -response to mervyn

> Hinduism is NOT an organised religion, believing in snakes and
> planets; is it organised?  if so, BY WHO? by snakes or by the planets?

What does this mean? It appears to be mocking a religion, in which case 
it is very objectionable. Maybe Joe Dias can clarify just what he means 
by this remark.


-- 
Question everything -- Karl Marx

Re: [Goanet] Terrorism: Myths and Facts" Mapusa, 18 August

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

---
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---

Follow the online presence of the Museum of Christian Art, Old Goa
 Contacts: Tel: +91 832 2285299  Email:[EMAIL PROTECTED]

http://christianartmuseum.goa-india.org/

---

> From: "Rajan P. Parrikar" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Subject: Re: [Goanet] Terrorism: Myths and Facts" Mapusa, 18 August,
> 
> That would be the sound of the toilet flush.  I have
> known of comrade Puniyani and his bile-spilling breed
> perhaps before you first saw a computer on your desk,
> and have a comprehensive understanding of the pathetica
> he represents.
> 
> This Perfusser with a Hindu-sounding name is a darling
> of you Catholics because he will say exactly what
> the Christian community wants to hear (namely, a catalogue
> of Hindu misdeeds against the minorities in India) cleverly
> disguised with 'balance.'

This thread -- as is the case with many in which Rajan Parrikar is 
involved -- appears to have irretrievably deteriorated into name-calling 
and abuse.

Rajan Parrikar seems to consider Prof. Puniyani the spokesperson of a 
certain kind of ideology. Best to see what the man writes (now that the 
chance to hear him live in Mapusa on the 18th is gone :-) Many of Prof. 
Puniyani's articles and writings are available at the website 
www.pluralindia.com. That's one side of the debate.

On the other side, while defending his views, Rajan appears to be 
defending the RSS/BJP/Bajrang Dal -- Sangh Parivar, Hindutva -- 
ideology. M.S. Golwalkar's "We or Our Nationhood Defined" is available 
on the net or from many booksellers -- just google for it. Since the 
Sangh Parivar is in a state of chronic denial about this seminal book by 
its most influential sarsanghchalak ever, one could read Golwalkar's 
"Bunch of Thoughts" instead, which is also easily available online as 
well as in print.

The Sangh Parivar journal, Organiser, is available online at 
www.organiser.org. This has lots of stuff by/about modern Indian heroes 
like Narendra Modi and Pravin Togadia. One of its past editors was L.K. 
Advani of Rath Yatra fame.

Of course, Rajan may want to amend/add/subtract from this brief list. Or 
he may wish to state that his bigotry and anti-minorityism is not bound 
to any specific ideology or organisational set-up, but is a generalised 
malaise. Or he may choose to restrict himself to his usual invective, 
abuse and name-calling. Or he may have some other response...

In any case, the above references may be a start for Goanetters wanting 
to make up their own minds on the issue.

Regards,
Vidyadhar

-- 
Question everything -- Karl Marx

[Goanet] Small state, large nation

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

* G * O * A * N * E * T  C * L * A * S * S * I * F * I * E * D * S *

 GARCA BRANCA
VACATION ACCOMMODATION
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 For R&R; modern/clean amenities; serene, healthy and wholesome location

Visit http://www.garcabranca.com for details/booking/confirmation.


The Hindu, 19 August 2007

Past & Present

Small state, large nation

RAMACHANDRA GUHA

The youngest State in India has an identity that is uniquely Goan and 
typically Indian at the same time.

Photo: R. Ragu

Portuguese legacy: The Basilica of Bom Jesus at Panaji.

Goa is the youngest part of India, having joined the Union only in 
December 1961. It is the smallest State in the country; one can drive 
across it in less than a day. It is one of the least populous, having 
less than two million people. And it is one of the most interesting.
Complex and rich

The culture of Goa is rich, and complex: Hindus rubbing shoulders with 
Christians, Konkani speakers with Marathi ones. The ecology is diverse, 
too — a glorious coastline at one end, the Western Ghats at the other, 
rivers and rich green paddy fields in between. The Portuguese were here 
twice as long as the British in the rest of India, and their long 
residence has left its mark in the way the houses and offices and 
(especially) churches look, and in the way the people speak, dress, sing 
and (especially) cook.

I first visited Goa in December 1984, 23 years after it was “liberated” 
from Portuguese rule. I was back there earlier this month, a further 23 
years later. In this time, Goa appears to have become more solidly part 
of India.

One sign of this is the declining influence of Portuguese. In the first 
house I visited on my first trip, the family spoke to me in English but 
to one another in Portuguese. Now, I was told, the language had all but 
disappeared. Back in 1984, many of the shop signs in Panaji were in 
Portuguese. I particularly remember one that read “Typografia Prafulla”. 
If the business still exists, it probably goes under the name of 
“Prafulla Printers”.

The languages that Goans themselves speak are Konkani and Marathi. But 
since this is a State very heavily visited by outsiders —Indian and 
foreign — these are supplemented in everyday discourse by English and 
Hindi. I was struck, on this visit, by the proliferation of slogans in 
Devanagari, painted on billboards and boundary walls, and advertising 
all manner of products, from mobile phones to motor bikes. These being 
commercials, the words were often accompanied by faces, usually of Hindi 
film stars.
Signs of integration

There were other signs of Goa’s integration with the nation. I saw a 
“Brahmakumari Yoga Ashram”, which must advocate a physical regimen which 
not many would associate, culturally and historically, as being 
compatible with being Goan. More substantially, in Panaji itself I came 
across a large and well appointed park named after B.R. Ambedkar. In the 
middle of the garden was a statue of the great man, holding a copy of 
the Constitution.

That Constitution that Ambedkar helped draft gave every adult Indian the 
vote. However, when India became a Republic, on January 26, 1950, Goa 
was still a Portuguese colony. Twelve years later, the Indian army 
walked into the territory and, after the garrison there surrendered, 
announced that it had been reunited with the motherland.Shortly 
afterwards, the Goans were allowed to vote for the first time in their 
very long history. As in other parts of India, they took to the 
franchise as a duck to water. In the most recent Assembly elections, 
held in May this year, almost 70 per cent of the electorate cast their vote.

Important distinction

There is a distinction to be made between “integration” and 
“assimilation”. The Goans, by and large, are comfortable with the 
former; what they really fear is the latter. In the first decade after 
Liberation, the most serious threat to Goan identity came from the 
neighbouring State of Maharashtra. The main political force in the 
territory, the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party, vigorously campaigned for 
Goa to be merged into that State. The danger was linguistic as much as 
it was territorial — for, with the argument that Goa was really part of 
Maharashtra went the sub-text that Konkani was really a dialect of Marathi.
Revival of identity

In a referendum held in the late 1960s, the Goans chose not to join 
Maharashtra. In subsequent decades, there was a vigorous revival of a 
Konkani identity. After Goa was elevated from Union Territory status to 
full Statehood in 1987, Konkani was bestowed with the title of 
“official” language.

But now a fresh challenge presented itself — this posed not by Marathi 

[Goanet] “Terrorism: Myths and Facts” Mapu sa, 18 August, 5.30 pm

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

* G * O * A * N * E * T  C * L * A * S * S * I * F * I * E * D * S *

 GARCA BRANCA
VACATION ACCOMMODATION
 LOUTULIM, SOUTH GOA.
 For R&R; modern/clean amenities; serene, healthy and wholesome location

Visit http://www.garcabranca.com for details/booking/confirmation.


Citizens’ Initiatives for Communal Harmony

cordially invites you to
A Public Talk on the subject

“Terrorism: Myths and Facts”
by
Prof. Ram Puniyani

Municipal Hall, Mapusa, 18 August 2007, 5.30 pm

The talk will be followed by a question-answer session.

Ramesh Gauns/Albertina Almeida  
Conveners, CICH (9270085105/9326137682) 


The current times are full of insane acts of terror. All over the globe
and also in India acts of violence by political groups seeking justice
or revenge are a dime a dozen. Not a month passes when one does not hear
about the death of innocents in one more such act in one or the other
corner of the globe. It is not that these are only terrorist groups
which are wreaking havoc. There are several States that are adding up to
the problem by getting some such acts stage-managed to defame the terror
outfits. Many suspicions have been raised about the truth behind various
incidents of terrorism, both in India and elsewhere.

In the name of fighting terror, we have become accustomed to curtailment
of our civil liberties and violations of human rights. In this scenario,
no clear universally applicable definition of terrorism is provided. All
that is available to most of us is a set of theories in which facts and
myths are mixed up. It is vital that we disentangle these theories and
separate the myths from the facts if we are to effectively counter
terrorism in a sensitive and effective manner.

The speaker, Prof. Ram Puniyani, was Professor in Biomedical Engineering
at the Indian Institute of Technology and has worked for many years on
issues pertaining to the preservation of a democratic and secular ethos.
He is a member of the Committee for Communal Amity, Mumbai. He is a
noted speaker and writer, and has conducted numerous workshops and
trainings all over India, including in Goa, where he has received an
overwhelming response.

*-*

Citizens’ Initiatives for Communal Harmony is an independent citizens’
group, set up after the Sanvordem-Curchorem communal violence of 2006.
It aims to build a secular consciousness in society, and to ensure that
the rights of all citizens are safeguarded, irrespective of gender,
caste, creed, community, faith, ethnic background and regional affiliation.



---
 http://www.GOANET.org 
---

Follow the online presence of the Museum of Christian Art, Old Goa
 Contacts: Tel: +91 832 2285299  Email:[EMAIL PROTECTED]

http://christianartmuseum.goa-india.org/

---

Re: [Goanet] RSS rescued 80 christian missionaries in orissa

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

  http://www.GOANET.org 


   International Cuisine Conference on Traditional Asian Diet 
Panaji, Goa, September 2-5, 2007  -  http://www.indologygoa.in
  Online Media Partner:  http://www.goanet.org


> From: "Roland Francis" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> 
> The name of Bishop Samal does not exist anywhere in the list of 219
> active and retired bishops in India. There are 4 bishops in the entire
> state of Orissa, one of them in Sambalpur. Here are their names:

It has been quite entertaining following the exchange on this subject 
from the sidelines.

The only source that is presented for this story is Organiser, the RSS 
mouthpiece, which is hardly a epitome of accurate journalism. (The 
newindpress story whose URL is supplied credits no source other than 
Organise. No other mediaperson or media organisation has corrobarated 
this story. That, of course, is because they ALL belong to the "secular 
lobby".

This is the same outfit that discovered scientific evidence for the Ram 
Setu between India and Sri Lanka. When the  scientist was shown to be a 
fraud, the issue has become one of 'faith', beyond scientific questioning.

Treat this claim similarly. Soon it will be 'a question of faith', 
beyond questioning.

[Maybe I should change my email signature to "Question everything but 
'matters of faith'" :-)]

-- 
Question everything -- Karl Marx
---
 http://www.GOANET.org 
---

 Enjoy Goa cartoonist, Alexyz Fernandes, daily take on contemporary issues

 www.alexyztoons.com

---

Re: [Goanet] Have hose, will pee (all over Panjim)

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

  http://www.GOANET.org 


   International Cuisine Conference on Traditional Asian Diet 
Panaji, Goa, September 2-5, 2007  -  http://www.indologygoa.in
  Online Media Partner:  http://www.goanet.org


> From: "Rajan P. Parrikar" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> 
> Vidyadhar Gadgil wrote:
> 
>> >Such labelling is not helpful in discussions.
> 
> An Indian Marxist expecting others to refrain
> from name-calling - how cute is that, eh?  A
> few more of these bromides and some may come
> to believe that you have something to say.
> 
>> >Such juvenilia, while amusing enough, scarcely
>> >merits a response.
> 
> Let not juvenilia stand in the way of you and
> your ordure.  Follow the doo-doo trail left by
> Mommy Teesta, Perfusser Punyani, or any other
> skunk from the desi Marxist bordello.

I found Rajan Parrikar's prejudices (as expressed in the mail that began 
this thread) quite offensive, and tried to point out the dangers 
inherent in them. This was followed by substance-less invective from 
him. A second attempt to explain my view has resulted in the offensive 
outpourings seen above, which remind me of a spoilt brat who sticks his 
tongue out and descends to abuse instead of sticking to civilised 
discussion.

There seems to me to be no purpose in continuing a conversation with a 
person who cannot respect the basic decencies of civilised debate (and 
yet talks of other people's s***). I will therefore refrain from 
replying to any of his mails in future until he learns better manners. 
If he considers this to be a victory for his frankly bigoted social 
attitudes, so be it!

If other Goanetters wish to continue with the issues raised in this 
thread, I shall be happy to respond to them if required.

-- 
Question everything -- Karl Marx
---
 http://www.GOANET.org 
---

 Enjoy Goa cartoonist, Alexyz Fernandes, daily take on contemporary issues

 www.alexyztoons.com

---

[Goanet] Commualism posing danger to democracy: Puniyani

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

---
 http://www.GOANET.org 
---
   The First Konkani E-Cinema

  BLACK Nhesop Atanchem Fashion

  Premiers at Masrah, Hawalli Auditorium, Kuwait on Aug 10, 2007

http://lists.goanet.org/pipermail/goanet-goanet.org/2007-August/060201.html
---

Gomantak Times, 2/08/07

Commualism posing danger to democracy: Puniyani

Margao: "Communalism is a very serious political infringement on 
democracy of a country. Communal violence is a supreficial manifestation 
of a danger called communal politics that can come from any religion in 
the world," remarked Prof Ram Puniyani at the N.D. Naik hall, Margao on 
Wednesday.

Speaking on the topic "Communal Threats to Secular Democracy in India" 
organised by the Citizens' Initiatives for Communal Harmony (CICH), Prof 
Ram Puniyani stated, "Religion should not be mixed with politics.

Politics should be fought to strengthen the human rights of those 
deprived sections of society. But religion has been seen as a dividing 
force by the communalists, whilst Mahatma Gandhi used it to unite the 
people that led to his assassination by fundamentalist elements in society."

Cautioning Goans to be wary of such violence taking place in their 
state, he requested them to prevent it by promoting the values of 
humanism that according to him was far greater than any religion. 
"Religious identities have been fragmented by various castes and sects. 
We have to see all as a part of the same fraternity," he quipped.

Narrating various examples in history throughout his over 30 minute 
speech that also highlighted various communal incidents that occurred in 
the country, the IIT professor in the field of bio-medical engineering 
was extremely critical of what he called 'selective historiography' that 
had been used to further the process of communalism.

And claimed that the British historians had introduced it as part of 
their "Divide and Rule" policy so as to prevent the emergence of another 
superpower (India) in Asia by ensuring the birth of Pakistan, which saw 
the breakaway of Bangladesh. And was of the opinion that the destruction 
of holy places of worship by various rulers in ancient times was not to 
propogate their faith as is widely believed but due to the status these 
religious symbols held as places of political significance and the 
wealth lying within that was to be appropriated.

Referring to the recent sentence that has been passed on film actor 
Sanjay Dutt, Prof. Puniyani surmised that "in a democracy, punish the 
guilty, protect the innocent, should be the norm."

But in communal violence, this norm is forgotten since innocents get 
killed during communal violence, whilst the perpetrators can easily 
escape without being punished. He also stated that it is not correct to 
take revenge for past atrocities committted."

Making a fervent appeal to the audience gathered to maintain secularism, 
Prof. Puniyani further claimed that "equality and social justice is 
under threat from communalism, both majority and minority. Violence is 
the end of communal harmony and national integration. No country can 
survive without a feeling of fraternity."

Sangodd, the monthly magazine of the CICH was also released on the 
occasion in the presence of the CICH convenor Ramesh Gauns, Adv 
Albertina Almeida, Gurunath Kelekar of Movement for Amity Towards Roads 
in Goa (MARG) and the chairman of All-India Milli Council, Iqbal 
Mohidin, who were seated on the dias.

The talk was followed by a highly interactive question-answer session 
that saw plenty of participation from an attentive audience.

-- 
Question everything -- Karl Marx

Re: [Goanet] [goanet] Re: Have hose, will pee (all over Panjim)

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

---
 http://www.GOANET.org 
---
   The First Konkani E-Cinema

  BLACK Nhesop Atanchem Fashion

  Premiers at Masrah, Hawalli Auditorium, Kuwait on Aug 10, 2007

http://lists.goanet.org/pipermail/goanet-goanet.org/2007-August/060201.html
---

This thread is essentially a reflection of a discussion taking place on 
the goaheritage group. But since I have strong views on the subject and 
since the stuff is appearing here as well, I am posting my response with 
minor changes. Both discussions will probably go their own separate 
paths as others jump in, should be fun. And the issues at the core of it 
are dead serious...

---

Dear Rajan,

Rajan P. Parrikar wrote:

> It is not jingoism.  It is pure intolerance of non-Goan
> trash that has pilfered into Goa.

Now that I have been so firmly shown my place, what more can I say?

> Stirring passions is exactly
> what I strive for, the more dangerous the better.  There's
> absolutely nothin' you or your 'comrades' can do about it.  

Such labelling is not helpful in discussions.

> Gadgil, how can you be wrong on virtually every count in 
> the space of such a short message? 

Was I? Will not belabour the point by listing wg the points I was trying 
to make, as they are fairly obvious. Whether I was right or wrong -- let 
others decide.

We are also informed in a subsequent post of yours that I have been
rubbished. Well, that's appropriate treatment for trash!

>> Oh well ... Samuel Butler had it right: "To each man his own ordure doth
>> smell well."
>> Question everything -- Karl Marx
> 
> 
> Wow.  Demolition by quoting.  You win, Gadgil, you win!  Bwahahaha.

This quote was just too apposite to resist :-)

> PS: Although I occasionally post here, I don't read Goanet.  Gadgil's
> drivel was forwarded to me and I almost didn't spank him.  But then
> 
> came my evening chai without the samosa.

Such juvenilia, while amusing enough, scarcely merits a response.

-- 
Question everything -- Karl Marx

Re: [Goanet] Have hose, will pee (all over Panjim)

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

---
 http://www.GOANET.org 
---
   The First Konkani E-Cinema

  BLACK Nhesop Atanchem Fashion

  Premiers at Masrah, Hawalli Auditorium, Kuwait on Aug 10, 2007

http://lists.goanet.org/pipermail/goanet-goanet.org/2007-August/060201.html
---


I find Rajan Parrikar's passion on the issue of anti-people development
in Goa admirable, and his photos are usually superb. The photo-essay on
his website is near perfect.

But the stuff below defies description.

Rajan P. Parrikar wrote:
> I spent over an hour this morning on the sidewalk along 
> the river near the Panjim market.  The score: 12 pissers,
> 2 shitters.  The breakdown: 6 UP/Bihar, 6 Kannadiga,
> 2 Oriya (1 shitter each contributed by UP and Karnataka).

You administered them a questionnaire? Or went by your perception of
their external appearance?

Why were these people (whoever they were) doing these activities on the
roadside? Unlikely to be because they prefer it, or because savages from
horrible places like UP/Bihar, Karnataka and Orissa prefer performing
their ablutions in the open.

> This must be a regular everyday occurence.  What are
> the citizens doing?  (we know the law&order machinery 
> is useless).

Asking for more public toilets might be a useful first step. Asking
employers to provide better facilities to their labour might be a second.

Of course, the law and order machinery could arrest them and incarcerate
them indefinitely, hopefully in establishments which have toilet
facilities. That would be one way for this much derided machinery to
become "useful".

> I see this as a metaphor for Goa - everyone is shitting
> on us now.

This is pure jingoism, meaning absolutely nothing (or whatever you want
it to mean), yet stirring up dangerous emotions and passions.

Oh well ... Samuel Butler had it right: "To each man his own ordure doth
smell well."


-- 
Question everything -- Karl Marx

[Goanet] Reminder: Talk by Prof. Puniyani

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

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This is to remind you that CICH will be organising a talk on 1st August 
by Prof. Ram Puniyani, titled "Communal Threats to Secular Democracy in 
India". The talk is at 5.30 pm, at Adarsh Hall, Margao.

This is the talk that had to be cancelled earlier due to an order from 
the SDM, Margao, which was made on the basis of a flimsy complaint 
without any substance. The ADM, Margao, subsequently reversed this 
decision, permitting CICH to hold its programmes as required.

Accordingly, CICH is now organising this talk. Do attend to express 
solidarity with secular ideals and with freedom of expression.

Directions to Adarsh Hall:

Narcinva Damodar Naik Hall is best known as Adarsh Hall.  It is next to
Adarsh School. Once you are in Margao, pass the Collectorate, then Grace 
Church, and take the road that leads you to Pajifond. You cross a row of 
shops and then reach IDBI bank. You then reach Hari Mandir and turn left 
immediately. At the end of the street is the Adarsh Hall.

Most people will know Hari Mandir very well. Adarsh Hall is also well 
known, as is the school of the same name.

-- 
Question everything -- Karl Marx

[Goanet] Tyranny of the Representatives

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

 WWW.GOANET.ORG ***  A N N O U N C E M E N T 

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A very perceptive analysis of what ails politics in Goa



Indian Express 31/07/07

Tyranny of the Representatives

Peter Ronald deSouza

Posted online: Tuesday, July 31, 2007 at  hrs IST

If one were to think about the federal democracy of India, in the spirit 
of Tocqueville, then the current political happenings in Goa are an 
opportunity for us to examine our democratic practices. Goan politics is 
exposing once again the limits of our institutional order. By asking 
hard questions of what is happening, and by taking harder decisions, we 
may be able to use this phase to strengthen our democracy.

The first question is, of course, to ask why is Goa so often plagued by 
political instability? Why are parties unable to work out stable 
coalitions? Is this because of the weakness of the moral culture of the 
people (as Nehru reportedly said in another context, “Yeh Goa ke lok 
ajeeb hain”)? How can the political leaders shift sides with such 
impunity, without significant public protest? And how can they be made 
more accountable for their behaviour?

To explain this instability brought about by politicians regularly 
shifting sides in Goa for the last 18 years, we need to recognise that 
politics today provides the biggest opportunity for rent-taking, to a 
rising class. Democracy creates a new class of political entrepreneurs 
for whom rent-taking becomes possible. Through control of the state, 
these elected representatives are able to enter an informal process of 
accumulation of capital where their discretionary power, over the 
structure of rules, gives them the means of accumulation. This is true 
in all democracies. But in liberal democracies, some checks are in place 
to limit such activity.

This is a big challenge in India since the checks are weak and all 
politicians are implicated. There is little political courage to make 
the checks more forceful, although initiatives such as right to 
information are slowly moving the polity in this direction. In Goa the 
situation is particularly pernicious since it has become the investment 
destination for the surplus capital of the class that today belongs to 
India Shining. This investment is primarily in land as a result of which 
a land mafia has emerged. The stakes are high — so high that public 
morality has ceased to be an issue. The political economy of land is 
clearly distorting the institutions and practices of democracy.

The first such distortion relates to the tyranny of the representatives. 
Through the politics of defection, that Goa has witnessed these 18 
years, a tyranny of the representatives has emerged where, irrespective 
of the outcome of elections, representatives from different groups make 
and change governments at will. The villains are the same. The electoral 
verdict is of no consequence. In 1989 Churchill Alemao’s defection 
reduced the Congress to a minority. Yet he continued in and out of the 
Congress. In 2005 Atanasio Monseratte brought down the BJP government of 
Parrikar. At that time L.K. Advani called it the ‘murder of democracy’. 
In 2007 the same Monseratte has joined hands with the same Parrikar! In 
all these shenanigans the people can only vote, shut up, and obey, as 
Schumpeter suggested in his magisterial work, Capitalism, Socialism and 
Democracy.

In spite of the 52nd and 91st Amendments, the representatives display 
the same disregard for the electoral process. They focus, instead, on 
managing the process so that they can enter the zone of rent taking. 
When the stakes are high, the tyranny of the representatives reigns 
supreme, masked as it is by the illusion of parliamentary democracy. It 
is worth noting that the new coalition — BJP, MGP, UGDP, SGF, one 
independent and one dissenter — which gives itself the name Goa 
Democratic Front (Affront?) was on the losing side of the recently held 
elections.

We have in such politics the parting of ways between ‘the legal’ and 
‘the legitimate’, for what maybe legal is certainly not legitimate, 
since the changes of government through such ‘waka or canoe hopping’ (as 
they say in New Zealand), diminish the importance of elections in the 
formation of governments and in making representatives more accountable. 
The locus of instability has changed slightly in recent years from 
representatives shifting to now groups shifting to form new coalitions. 
But the logic remains the same. Acquire power by any means even if it 
goes against the poll v

Re: [Goanet] Of identities... on Goanet

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

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> From: " Frederick [FN] Noronha *   ??? " 
> <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [Goanet] Of identities... on
> Goanet
> 
> So what's the point I'm making here? While some of us bare our lives 
> in cyberspace, and tell you everything about our pet peeves, our 
> eccentricities and more, the arrival of some eloquent writers on 
> Goanet causes mistrust, distrust and suspicion for some.
> 
> In short, to avoid any fingers being pointed, why don't you guys just
>  introduce yourselves? Of course, if you don't, we can't force you
> to. But this is just a request.FN

Sorry, but I'm confused here. Wasn't this issue settled a long time ago,
w.r.t. the posts by 'vivek' that the Goanet rule should be followed: no
anonymous or psuedonymous posts? That all posters have to introduce
themselves the first time they post?

Or is this rule now cancelled? What's going on? Could moderators please
clarify.

In the "Rules" I see there is still a relevant rule.

> Use your real name as the sender, not an alias.
> 
> The Goanet Admin team reserves the right to ask members for proof of
> identity or contact details, if it has any reason to suspect their
> identity. Members suspected of using an alias may be suspended until
> satisfactory proof of identity is provided.




-- 
Question everything -- Karl Marx

[Goanet] All eyes on GBA

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

All eyes are on GBA now. While they are 'apolitical' and are unlikely to 
have any comment on the continuing political merry-go-round, it is 
essential that they intervene through a big mobilisation now. This is 
because the government that appears likely to come in has obviously made 
deals with the land sharks, and Babush will be given whatever he wants.


But what Babush wants is not what Goa wants. So the GBA needs to tell 
the new government that they can do all their political shenanigans and 
nonsense as usual, but certain things are unacceptable -- no land 
conversions, no more big constructions, and no return of the real estate 
mafia.


--
Question everything -- Karl Marx

[Goanet] Goa: Perpetrators desperate to revive RP2011: Lok Shakti

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

The latest Goan Observer has an entertaining take on this alliance of 
the most corrupt and the most communal, and Rajan Narayan's Stray 
Thoughts is ear to the ground, as usual. Will try and post excerpts in a 
few days


Perpetrators desperate to revive RP2011: Lok Shakti

BY HERALD REPORTER
MARGAO, JULY 27 - Lok Shakti has apprehended that attempts to 
destabilise the elected government are a conspiracy of the perpetrators 
of the infamous scrapped Regional Plan 2011 in a desperate bid to revive it.


“The nexus between communal, corrupt and the opportunist politicians, as 
feared by Lok Shakti during election campaign, has materialised and 
BJP’s mask of so-called high ethical standards in politics is fully 
exposed”, stated Lok Shakti President Dr Francisco Colaco.
He said it is obvious this lobby has been extremely agitated of the 
Assembly that all constructions violating the prevailing rules and 
carried out under the defunct RP 2011 would be frozen. “The fact that 
the architect of the RP 201 is the main player in the attempts to 
destabilise the government is enough proof of the role of that 
diabolical plan in this attempted coup”, he said.
Further, he said the role of the BJP in these nefarious machinations is 
more than evident, considering that they are now overtly and more than 
ever colluding with the “architect” of the scrapped RP 2011.
“The open admission by Calangute MLA, Agnelo Fernandes, that Rs 20 crore 
were offered to him to ditch the government, lends further credence that 
desperate attempts are underway to restore the monstrous RP 2011.
Dr Colaco called upon the people of Goa to resist any attempts to 
destabilise the government, which appears sincere in its resolve to bury 
the RP 2011 and to formulate, in consultation with the Goa Bachao 
Abhiyan and all stakeholders, a new plan that will safeguard the 
interests of Goa.
Lok Shakti has vowed that it will not remain silent at this renewed 
conspiracy to destroy Goa.
“It was the people of Goa who compelled the last government to withdraw 
the RP 2011. It is now up to the same people to be vigilant and prevent 
their MLAs, whichever party they may belong to, from joining the 
conspirators for the sake of power and lucre.


--
Question everything -- Karl Marx

Re: [Goanet] Mashall Mendonza Book References

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

Subject: [Goanet] Mashall Mendonza Book References Re: Vol 2, Issue
627

Thank you for these three references. I will try and see if I can hold
of at least the first one. Given the titles and authors, reading all
three would be even better time permitting.


A good short introduction is "Khaki Shorts and Saffron Flags" by Tapan 
Basu, Sumit Sarkar et al. There is "Fascism of the Sangh Parivar" by Ram 
Puniyani (copies of the latter are available with me, price Rs 100).


There are also a number of documentary films which document the 
activities and ideology of the RSS/Sangh Parivar, including "The Men in 
the Tree" by Lalit Vachani, and "Final Solution" by Rakesh Sharma. There 
are also video recordings of lectures by eminent historians on this 
subject, including Sumit Sarkar.


If you or anybody else is interested in copies of these books/films, 
please write to me off list.




1. ' We or our nationhood defined' by former Chief of the RSS , MS
Golwalkar. (Instructive for understanding  the view, attitude and
ideology of the RSS towards its Muslim and Christian minorities.)
2. The Brotherhood in Saffron: The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and
Hindu Revivalism by Walter K. Andersen and Shridhar D. Damle
3. Terrifying Vision: M.S. Golwalker, the RSS And India; Jyotirmaya
Sharma, Penguin, Rs. 295, .



--
Question everything -- Karl Marx

[Goanet] Talk by Prof. Ram Puniyani

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

Citizens' Initiatives for Communal Harmony (CICH)

cordially invites you to
A Public Talk on the subject

"Communal Threats to Secular Democracy in India"*

By Prof. Ram Puniyani

at Narcinva Damodar Naik Hall (Adarsh Hall), Margao

on Wednesday 1 August 2007, 5.30 pm

The talk will be followed by a question-answer session.

Ramesh Gauns/Albertina Almeida
(9270085105/9326137682)
Conveners, CICH

Ranjan Solomon, CICH
(9881181350)

* Note: This talk by Prof. Puniyani had earlier been scheduled to take
place on 24 May 2007. At the last minute, the SDM, Margao,in his 
capacity as Returning Officer for the Goa Assembly elections which were 
soon to follow, issued orders asking for the talk to be stopped, on the 
basis of a baseless complaint made to the police, alleging that this 
talk would cause communal disharmony! By the time a representation could 
be made to the SDM  explaining the actual position, the time for the 
talk had already passed, essentially sabotaging the talk.


The Chief Election Commissioner, N. Gopalaswami, who was in Goa soon
after, stated that the order of the SDM was not correct. The Additional
District Magistrate later hearing out CICH on the matter directed the
SDM Margao to give the necessary permission for the talk when required
and also to allow the organisers to hold their programmes. He also
exonerated Citizens' Initiatives for Communal Harmony (CICH) from the
charge by SDM Margao that they have 'quoted a particular community',
stating that 'the concept of "community" of SDM Margao is not correct', 
as they had misunderstood Hindutva to mean Hindu.


Accordingly, the talk by Prof. Puniyani earlier scheduled for 24 May is
now being organised on Wednesday, 1st August. The invitation for the
talk is given above. All are cordially invited.

Re: [Goanet] PARRIKAR: KEEP MIGRANTS OFF

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

On Thu, 2007-07-19 at 14:51 -0700, [EMAIL PROTECTED]
wrote:
> Subject: [Goanet] PARRIKAR: KEEP MIGRANTS OFF
> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED], goanet@lists.goanet.org,
> [EMAIL PROTECTED]

> Way to Go Manohar ! We do not need any "BHAILES" in Goa ! Send them
> to 
> Kerala ! Keep Goa for Goans Only !
> - Carmo D'Cruz 

Do they need "BHAILES" in Florida? I sure hope so, else they may send
them back wherever they came from -- and guess who'll be landing up in
Goa in that case...

 
-- 
Question everything -- Karl Marx

Re: [Goanet] Bhandare's Musings - response for Bosco

[Vidyadhar Gadgil]

On Mon, 2007-07-16 at 21:15 -0700, [EMAIL PROTECTED]
wrote:
> 
> WHy does Vidydhar Gadgil only forward articles about
> the alleged anti social activities of RSS while being
> silent about the activities of other antisocials who
> are not affiliated with RSS? i mean does that mean
> that vidhydhar is biased against only RSS? if he is
> why is he pretending to be secular? 

This is becoming repetitive and hence rather tedious, so I will have my
say on the matter one last time and then drop the matter.

I am against all types of communalism and fundamentalism (as various
posts of mine on this forum in the past will show, your protestations
notwithstanding). But given the situation as it stands in India today,
fundamentalist Hindutva as preached by the RSS and its front
organisations is the biggest threat to secular democracy in India today.
The harm that communal Muslim or Christian organisations can do is
limited in that sense, because they lack the numbers (this is not to
condone the harm they do). But with the overwhelmingly majority of the
Indian people being Hindu, if they fall prey to the RSS' fundamentalist
Brahminical ideology, there is a very real threat to the country as a
whole.

So given a group of organisations which preach communalism, the focus
tends to be the one that is the biggest danger -- which is why I often
focus on the RSS and the Sangh Parivar.


-- 
Question everything -- Karl Marx