Goa’s liberation and special status ref http://www.epaperoheraldo.in/Details.aspx?id=8154&boxid=33840515&uid&dat=12%2f5%2f2012 Goa’s liberation and special status Lawrence Fernandes Recently there have been wide ranging talks, discussions and debates on Goa’s past and future. Most Goans will remember very well the sequence of events that occurred in Goa on the two fateful days of December 18- 19, 1961. In fact, the reason for writing this article is to enlighten the generations of Goans who were born after 1961, as I don’t think they ever learnt this in Goan history books. India’s armed forces took control of Goa by force much against the wishes of the United Nations Organisation ( UNO). The USA’s official reaction to the invasion of Goa was delivered by Adlai Stevenson in the UN Security Council, where he condemned the armed action of the Indian government and demanded that, “ all Indian forces be unconditionally withdrawn from Goan soil.” To express its displeasure with the Indian action in Goa, the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee even attempted, over the objections of then President John F. Kennedy, to cut the 1962 foreign aid appropriation to India by 25 per cent. Kennedy even went to the extent of telling the Indian Ambassador to the US, “ You spend the last 15 years preaching morality to us, and then you go ahead and act the way any normal country would behave…. People are saying the preacher has been caught coming out of the brothel.” That was not all. In an article titled India, the Aggressor, The New York Times in its edition on December 19, 1961, stated that “ With his invasion of Goa, Prime Minister Nehru has done irreparable damage to India’s good name and to the principles of international morality.” Many things happened thereafter. When Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was attacked by sensible nations on all sides, as some consolation, he promised that Goa would retain its “ distinct identity” and that the people of Goa would be consulted on any decision about their territory and future. Again, in 1963, he promised that Goa would remain a Union Territory for ten years after which the future of Goa would be decided in “ accordance with the wishes of the people of Goa.” However, MGP was unwilling to wait for that long hence the Opinion Poll was held on January 16, 1967. The reason for the MGP being so keen on merging Goa into Maharashtra was not very clear but one of the reasons they cited was the language~ that Konkani is a “ dialect” of Marathi and the most people spoke it! Maharashtra is now trying to pull Belgaum into its net on same grounds. The MGP further lost its cause when in 1975 the Sahitya Akademi recognized Konkani as an independent language and in 1992 Konkani was included in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution of India. We do hope that the Nehru- Gandhi dynasty will remember the promises made by its patriarch, and that very soon Goa will at least get Special Status if not autonomy, so that Nehru’s soul will rest in eternal peace. Goans need this primarily to: a) to safeguard their interests, customary law and procedure, its language, culture and ethos, b) ownership and transfer of land and exploitation of the resources and the preservation of its natural and architectural heritage, c) protection of age- old traditional institutions such as Gaunkaris ( Comunidades and their assets) d) protection of the original SCs, STs, gauddes and dhangars belonging to the State.

Frustated Goan Mining Magnates

Subject: Frustrated Goan Mining Magnates Ref. http://www.epaperoheraldo.in/Details.aspx?id=7565&boxid=34040906&uid&dat=10%2F27%2F2012 With reference to the recent reports where the arrogant mining lobby made outbursts as far as Portugal, it only shows their extreme desperation. After years of looting Goa's resources in tacit illegitimate alliance with various highly Goan Corrupt Politicians and with usage of their huge stacks of cash, these miners were living in false illusion that they were untouchable, in their pursuit of destruction of Goa for selfish gains for themselves and their fattened families. ... Thank God for the Supreme Court order filed via a strong case put forward by the Goa Foundation. The mining lobby instead of returning the loot is instead involved in arrogant games like these desperate international outbursts, calling for reducing buffer zone around wild life sanctuaries to 0 KM, instigating the people earning a pittance from the mining industry to fight their proxy war, so as to enable themselves to continue with their illegitimate amassing of Goa's scarce resources. If they care so much for the mining dependent people, why don't these mining lords start giving away their illegitimately acquired loot, so as to rehabilitate genuine Goans affected by stoppage in mining. The World is aware that we need to go "Green" else we will not have a World very soon, but the mining kingpins appear extremely short sighted and least interested in preserving the environment; in their greed for amassing as much as wealth for themselves. It is projected that India/Goa will face a severe water crisis very soon and mining in Goa has seriously reduced/polluted water resources. Today many NRI's including myself were forced to go abroad due to lack of opportunities back home, simply because Goa's resources were used instead to feed the greed of few mining families and their corrupt political partners. One can only image of what Goa would have been today if the +35,000 crores (and it's increasing interest) were used for the benefit of Goa and Goans !! Arwin Mesquita, UAE.

Pseudo Religious Goans

I find it quite outrageous to see frequent mention of known Anti Goans as Hindu/Catholic/Muslim Politicians. Today these respected religions are actually being insulted, by so many MLA's tagging themselves to either of these great faiths.These Anti Goans, many of whom today have Senior Positions in the Goa Government are evil to the core i.e. Drug Lords, Smugglers, Prostitution, Criminals, Scamsters, Destruction of the Environment, High levels of corruption etc. As a Catholic myself, I am disgusted with the names of Prominent "Catholic in name" Ministers who are involved in so many horrific/corrupt activities, which is destroying our beautiful state of Goa. It is high time we examine our conscience and see if we (Local & Non Resident Goans) are actually in some manner, supporting these Pseudo Religious Ministers/MLA's who use religion as a tool for political mileage; which allows them to continue in power for their destructive activities in Goa. If we (Hindus/Catholic/Muslim) do, then we are also pseudo religious people, living in sheer balant hypocrisy, of the true teachings of our respective great faiths!!

Goa's Flawed Justice

Crores of scams are being reported in Goa and sometimes one hope's that the Ministers involved will face appropriate action. But the strange thing is mostly nothing happens to these Corrupt Anti Goan Politicians, who appear assured that nothing will happen to them. So is there really true/good justice in India/Goa? And because of the state of Flawed Justice in Goa, these politicians do what they want with even more arrogance. I feel that the Investigative Agencies have no credibility and are actually tools of the Central Government to keep MLA's in check, via blackmail. For Instance we know well that Goan MLA's were recently investigated by Central agencies but then these very MLA's were given Party tickets; so what is the Hypocrisy here? Why is it that many Goan MLA's have suddenly become so wealthy in a matter of some years and their source of funds are not investigated? Goans need to think of this when they go out to vote on March 3rd 2012, on how Governments is fooling us in their greed for Power; so that they can continue with the destruction of Goa's Land, Environment and Identity!!

Arwin Mesquita, UAE.