VELINGKAR @75

At the outset let me be clear, that I do not subscribe in any way to the RSS exclusivit, hindu supremacist ideology. 
I consider myself as a centrist- liberal ( whatever that means ) 
But I do not believe I cannot have a conversation or break bread with RSS guys , I may strongly disagree with, on matters of principle or ideology.
Prof Subash Velingkar was one such individual i could agree to disagree with and we could still leave one another's company smiling.
You may dislike prof velingkar for his strident hindutva rhetoric but you must admire his tenacity and courage to always walk the talk.
Even if it meant going against his protege Manohar parrikar publicly on the issue of the medium of instruction , an issue close to his heart , he never once flinched , suffering the brute force of power , simply because he dared to stand his ground.
To talk to prof velingkar you get to admire some of the philosophies of THE RSS , that you are indoctrinated to hate but on quiet reflection make a lot of sense .
Let me illustrate a few to bolster my argument 

1. That every geographic location on the planet has its own civilizational imprimatur 
And undoubtedly ours is predominantly a Hindu civilization with all its erstwhile glory , philosophy and wisdom .
The Greeks though predominantly Christian orthodox are proud of their Iliad and odyssey and their multitude of ancient Gods and Plato and Pythagoras 
THE RSS philosophy is much the same 
We , whatever religious, denomination must own our classics the Mahabharat and the Ramayan not because its Hindu but because it is quintessentially Indian.
So too our music and arts and literature 
Yes there are Islamic and Christian influences on our culture but much as regular hindus accept these cultures as their own
So too must Islam and Christianity who with their Abrahamic strait jacket refuse to acknowledge any other God as the true one , learn to accept imbibe and absorb Hindu influences in their lives .
The biggest shortcoming of Prof velingkar and indeed the RSS is their inability to discipline some of their followers who resort to systemic violence against minorities just like the virulent islamists and evangelical white supremacists and never pay for their acts of terror.

2 .The non negotiable boundary of india as a nation state 
Thats the second invaluable lesson learnt.
Kashmir is not going to be surrendered , so too the north east or the resurgent khalistan 
For a nation to be resilient there can be no scope for the mind set to carve it up , whatever the grievances. 
Spain gives no quarter to the basque separatist movement , the UK to northern Ireland or Turkey to the kurds. 
Sure one can address all issues pertaining to kashmiri problems but not one inch gets detached from the mother state 
No way 

3. Discipline. 
Whatever other faults of the RSS Discipline is their sine qua non.
That's why their resolute silence on these despicable operation lotus , which seek to decimate the popular mandate and bring in the worst from the congress into the bjp , sidelining all their loyal workers is staggering.
There will be a long term price to be paid for this short term chicanery 
Prof velingkar has been a thorn in the flesh of this bjp dispensation because of his insistence on discipline .
Power today is about just that Power 
No ethics 
No values 
No morals 
And there is a huge mass of folk on the left , centre and indeed the Right ( RSS) who are reeling from shock at the brazen hollowing out of these values in the body politic
Still nimble, still sharp , still focused prof velingkar has many more years in the service of Goa .
You may love him or hate him
He frankly gives a damn
He does what he thinks is right, for Goa and does not flinch from his position. 
I may not agree with everything in his vision for Goa, but I admire his capacity to hold his ground and never once flinch from his position 
Ad multos anos velingkar bab or if that is too foreign for you 
Sattar ani panch varshachi shubh kamna aap ke liye