Goa's Unity - The Need of the Hour

Let languages
Posted on 2008-11-18
and scripts flourish, but let us not open the floodgates to non-Goans with the inclusion of Marathi, defeating the very purpose of so many agitations aimed at protecting Goans.
GOA is passing through a very difficult phase, and we Goans need to sit and discuss issues that will impact our state, our people and particularly future generations.
We have now two burning issues – the Romi script and Mopa – which are bound to divide us. The reference to the script in the Official Language Act could have been avoided, particularly because the Romi script has been used for ages and is used by a large segment of our population. But if an amendment to the Act is going to be at the cost of Konkani losing the status of sole official language of Goa, then the issue needs some serious thinking.
Let languages and scripts flourish, but let us not open the floodgates to non-Goans with the inclusion of Marathi, defeating the very purpose of so many agitations aimed at protecting Goans.
The other issue is Mopa. It does not require a prophet to predict that if Mopa comes, Dabolim will go. The Congress wants us to believe the assurances of Dr Manmohan Singh, when in essence the Centre does not care about Goa at all.
Hence, the urgent need for us to demand a special status for Goa to protect us from onslaughts either from the Centre or other states. Our Legislative Assembly ought to have asked the Navy to quit Dabolim and also get back Angediva. The handing over of both these to the Navy was never approved by our Legislative Assembly.
In such a case, Mopa could definitely be considered, if it would really benefit Goans around that area. But, in my humble view it is the non-Goans, who will derive most of the benefits from Mopa airport. The airport is also bound to increase the influx of migrants into the state.
Have Goans benefited by way of employment from the Konkan Railway? How can we ensure that Goans will be employed at Mopa and how can we stop ancillary or other units coming from outside the state and employing non-Goans, moreover when it is so close to the Maharashtra border?
Let us not be naïve enough to believe politicians and their promises. The type of development we need is one that will provide employment and business opportunities to the local people. Projects and industries that will mainly cater to outsiders need to be rejected outright, but we need to be united on these issues. Let outsiders not take advantage of our division.
For our own sake, for the sake of our land and for the sake of our future generations, let us forge a strong unity among ourselves, shedding our emotions and reasoning out what is good for our state and for our people.
-JOSE MARIA MIRANDA, The writer is a social activist from Borda, Margao