The most dangerous thing that can happen in Goa is a politician to prey on the insecurities of either minority or majority communities. Neither Hinduism nor Catholicism is threatened in Goa.  Goa’s village societies are strong enough to resist any external attempt to divide the people. BY RAJDEEP SARDESAI.

W HAT I BELIEVE that Goan identity is? It has a complex identity. There are various reasons for this. One is that Goa is extremely small state. It’s a state with a very large minority population and a state with long experience in colonial rule. Since Goa is small and distant from the national capital Delhi, its relative geographical isolation means that there is lot of ignorance about Goa. There is general stereotype fad about Goa, particularly for the tourists. Goa has been converted into a postcard image of fish, fenny and football. It’s almost as if Goan identity is expected to cater more to the tourists than to itself. This does not mean that Goa should not be vibrant tourist destination. Goa should make every effort to attract outsiders, whether film festival or hotel industry. But Goan identity cannot be a prisoner of tourists alone. It’s a multi-religious society. Goan society faces challenges in shaping its identity for the future.

Catholics, A Majority

In fact right from the time Goa was liberated in 1961, it has faced various challenges to its identities. In 60’s and 70’s it was about merger; 80’s whether Konkani should be language or not and last 12 years growing challenge of Hindutva and how that will be reconciled with the Goan identity. Of course, from time to time there has been a questioning on Portuguese rule and whether it is beneficial or detrimental. Part of the problem is stereotyping because if you ask anyone from outside Goa, they have limited knowledge of Goan Hindu community. Many outsiders still see Goa as predominantly Catholic state and when I conducted a survey in my office I found that 7 out of 10 believed that Catholics were in majority in Goa.

Let us be honest that there are two distinct communities — Goan Catholics and Hindus. They have lived for centuries through a process of what I would call “civilized segregation” in the sense that there has been no open hostility between the communities but there has been limited interaction at a personal level. There have been attempts over the years to exploit these divisions. Particularly by the post independence politicians of Goa.

It is this kind of divisive politics, which is one of the biggest challenges before Goans today. Its not that the people of Goa have failed the state, its politicians who are failing the people of Goa.

Dangerous Thing

The most dangerous thing that can happen in Goa is a politician to prey on the insecurities of either minority or majority communities. Neither Hinduism nor Catholicism is threatened in Goa.  Goa’s village societies are strong enough to resist any external attempt to divide the people. I believe that the younger generations of Goans do not want to be caught in past prejudice and communal differences. They want a modern progressive identity for Goans. And identity is based essentially on economic progress, where they can live a better life than the previous generation did. The politicians of Goa need to recognize this urge amongst Goans for economic progress.

Unfortunately, Goan politicians are trapped in defections politics and Aya-D’Souza-gaya D’Souza kind of politics. The last thing a small state like Goa needs is instability and chaos.

Unfortunately, many of the wrongs committed by Goa’s politicians do not get highlighted in the national media. For instance when a hotel was attacked recently by people owing loyalty to Goa politicians it does not get highlighted in the national media. That is something Goa will have to live with.

The national  media only seems interested in Goa at Christmas and New Year and to a large extent is responsible for the negative stereotype of the Goans. This is a problem, which must be addressed by national media sooner or later. The national media needs to define Goan identity as Goans see it, not as some kind of tourist brochure. The politicians also need to see the Goan identity in the context of the 21st century. Whether Portuguese road names should be changed is not the way 21st century identity has to be shaped.

Investment Destination

Goa needs to harness its history make the younger generation aware of the past but do so in a manner that the future becomes a brighter place. As a small state Goa has the opportunity to become investment destination of the future.

Goa needs to attract the investment without allowing it to overwhelm the traditional Goan way of life. Goans need to take great pride in their environment and culture without being afraid of the challenges of globalization. The modern Goan identity must be global at one level but must be routed in the soil.

To some extent I am a bad Goan because I don’t know Konkani but I am proud to be a Goan and I believe that the pride must come from being conscious of my Goan identity .

This speech was delivered by Rajdeep, the Managing Editor of NDTV, at the 2nd Gomant Vishwa Sammelan held in Panaji, on 3rd January 2005, at a seminar on Goan Identity.

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