I am currently traveling to calm down my Goa-inflicted psychiatric trauma.
A condition all of us suffer from immensely.
Most respond by
Smiling though it,
Fighting against it,
Frothing about it on social media,
Or
Escaping for a while.
As a result, I have not been up close and personal with the controversies in Goa.
Interestingly enough though, l was on a train ride and bumped into a Goan.
He looked vaguely familiar, so I went to say Hi, I am a fellow Goan.
He promptly had a seizure and passed out.
Some people react to Goa, this way!!
And no, it wasn't Aires.
Nothing ruffles Aires!!
So, here’s my take on
the three incidents that rocked Goa in the last two weeks.
🙂 UDAY BHEMBRE
One of Goa's foremost public intellectuals, sprightly, alert and calm in the face of adversity.
He made his views known on Shivaji Maharaj having nothing to do with Goa’s novas conquestas, and stuck to his guns firmly and unapologetically.
Since then, a brilliant young historian, Sachin Madhge, has rebutted Uday Bab, with unwavering documents and sources.
Who is Sachin Madhge you ask?
Well he doesn't appear at wine and cheese literary conferences.
But he is from the novas conquestas so presumably he knows about the novas conquestas.
Thus far, the story of novas conquestas has been written from the velhas conquestas, and triumphantly so.
So one can disagree with Uday Bab and debate him.
But to have the temerity to descend upon his house in the dead of night by rowdies of the Bajrang Dal, must be a new bottomless pit that Goem has willingly plunged to.
Shivaji Maharaj, who Pramod Sawant claims to revere, would have backed the old defenceless man.
Not the wannabe mughals, who came posing as Shiv premis.
🙂 RAMA KANKONKAR
A young activist, whom I know well, is always ready to put up the good fight along with his comrades Xancar Polgi, Anthony D’silva and many others. They place their lives and the safety of their families on the line, when they go out into battle for Goa, for our environment, and for the future of us, cowardly Goans.
Many accuse them of self- aggrandising publicity seeking.
Wow!!
I suggest that many of these Voltaires, sitting on their broken Voltaires, furiously typing away and disparaging Rama and Co., do the same work that they do.
We will organise the media publicity for you.
All that Rama said, in a place of overwhelming emotion at Azad Maidan, was that the CM should bury his head in shame at the ravaging of Goa.
And promptly our Gestapo threw him in jail.
Frankly, any judge in any other country in the world, would throw out such flimsy charges against activists, and hurl the cops who do their master’s bidding over the coals.
Most self-respecting democracies do this.
They don't make the trial, which eventually proves the Activists’ innocence, more arduous than the charge itself.
Come on Pramod Bab, most of your supporters tell me you aren't as vindictive as many of your cabinet colleagues.
🙂 KASHINATH SHETYE
Now this is the unsung Rockstar of the Revolution.
From within the system not outside he has been a clever, uncomfortable and uncompromising thorn in many a government side.
His latest salvo, with all the legal requirements in place, has been to chase fraudulent cable operators who were tying their services into a knot around government electricity poles. They have a lot of explaining to do and fines to pay to untangle their Gordian knots.
Good for you Kashinath
Kator Re Bhaji!!
440 bijli ka jhatka de diya system ko.
Though was denying internet services to thousands of Goan homes a reasonably sensible course of action?? Could cases or even arrests of the internet providers be more effective and a better power play?? After all, the internet has become, like water and air, a complete essential for survival.
And therein lies the moral of the story folks.
The cops and the government have absolute power and can act quickly and mercilessly.
Uday Bab, Rama, Kashinath have zero power and yet they put up the good fight.
So when we say we support democracy and secularism and free speech and whatever other BS we spout at our tavernas and cocktail parties, it behoves upon us to stand resolutely by the powerless and give them our unflinching support.
Supporting the powerful, even when they are on this savage path of destruction, is plain and pure cowardice!!
End of argument.
POST SCRIPT
Just as an analogy:
Jesus Christ was powerless but Righteous.
The Pandavas were weaker than the Kauravas - just Five - but they were Righteous.
Moses was powerless but he was Righteous.
Gandhi was an apparent weakling against the mighty British, but he was Righteous.
No prizes for guessing who won those battles eventually!!
OSCAR REBELLO GOA