I’d like to address the issue of whether Goa needs Special Economic Zones (SEZ). For those who have not yet heard the news, there are a good number of SEZ planned for Goa. As of now we know for a fact that the Goa State has leased over 900 acres of land to four companies who have been approved as developers of SEZ. Let us concern ourselves with the extent of land as of now, even though there are other as important issues as well. For example that this amount of land, is even more than what the Central Board of Approval for SEZ had approved, and that much of the acquisition of land precedes even the approval of the SEZ.
What is the logic of the SEZ formula? The logic simply put is that India- and by that implication Goa- is a developing country and needs to catch up with the industrialized and developed west. Since it does not have the resources to invest in infrastructure all over the country, it provides a special area for a few industries, which then operate as the push factor, pulling up the surrounding regions along with them. India even before Independence has been imagined as this vast country, full of starving illiterate farmers, a country with little or no basic infrastructure. This is a serious national self-image problem, and one that has been internalized by its leaders and policy-makers. This allows then for the country to create such schemes that are designed to bring pieces of the West into India, to operate by their own laws, so that we can then emulate these islands of prosperity and be pushed into development. That this idea is wholly disrespectful of the intelligence and desires of the people we shall leave be for the moment. What I would like to draw attention to are the facts of Goa. Goa has a decent infrastructure and a rather high standard of living, even though there are pockets within it that need more attention. Goa in no way measures up to the image of a starving, infrastructure-less land. Quite clearly the economic and policy remedy for Goa is not the SEZ but something that is tailored to the local conditions.
The SEZ policy also rests on another logic; that the citizens are stupid and illiterate, have no idea of modernity and need the wisdom of some enlightened bureaucrat to help them get out of poverty and into modernity. Now quite clearly Goa does not fall into this category at all. If anything, Goa has the most vibrant civil society and political sphere in the country, where every issue is subjected to the minutest public analysis. Goa has had a system of Panchayat Raj (however restricted it may have been) since before the Constitution of India was in force. This has laid the foundation for the noisy and contested Gram Sabhas which though we may dislike them, are indicators of a conscious citizenry. In such is the case, why then do we need to have these Special Zones set up which disrespect entirely the demands of the Indian constitution that the local self Governments have a larger say in the administration of the country? The SEZ legislation envisages a single window clearance system for industries within these zones. What this translates to is a bureaucratic office over-eager to please and willing to disregard every law and regulation that has been set in place. The SEZ are also exempt for local taxes and fees. Take a look at the wealthy Panchayat of Sancoale. The source of its income is the industrial estate located on the hill above it. In the case of Sancoale, the Panchayat can take up matters of concern and also benefit economically from the location of industries within its jurisdiction. All of this because it has control over the land on which the estate is located. In the case of villages whose land will be annexed for the SEZ however, they can kiss any dreams of wealth from rightfully owed taxes goodbye. All they can hope for is the possibility of jobs that may or may not come to them.
And this is another issue that we need to address. The SEZ does not cater to existing local problems of unemployment or lack of industry. It caters to the interests of big capital and profit-making. As such, it is not going to be a carefully tailored solution to local crises, but create huge amount of jobs, that will require labour from outside the State. Goa and Goans are not closing the doors of their State, but surely we need to realize that what the SEZ policy is doing is merely displacing problems from one part of the country to another. This smacks of another type of internal colonialism, one of the country, by the country, for the interests of global capital.
No sir, Goa does not require the SEZ. While it requires more industry and employment opportunities t the method of achieving this must be one that respects not just the Goan citizen, but also the local dynamics of the problem. We already have a thriving tourist industry how do we internally regulate it to make it yield more to Goans so that they have a desirable job option within the State? How can we improve the local transport system so that we can have people move frequently within the State, creating not only jobs in transportation, but job options within the State? How can we invest in infrastructure that will improve quality of life for the local, and also have the local service this infrastructure? The solution to all of these lies not in the ill-conceived idea of the SEZ, but in a developmental policy that is genuinely dialogical and respectful of the local and one that can emerge out of the Panchayati Raj system which is perfectly suited to this objective.
(Published in the Gomantak Times, 17 Jan 2007)
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Travelling Bangalore...
Ok...so I'm in shock.
Ever the do-gooder I chanced upon a colleague who lives at the absolute other end of town and thought I'd be cute and give her a travel tip. "Do you know that there is a Volvo bus that leaves from Chandra Layout and goes right up to Indiranagar?" I beamed!
Uma, for that is her name, brought me right down to earth..."Yes" she smiles "but its very expensive..from Richmond Road to HAL it would cost me 25 rupees".
25 rupees! Now thats a lot of money, if she travelled on this bus everyday to work the poor woman would loose a good chunk of her salary.
My colleague Priya and I have been raving about the Volvo buses in Bangalore for a while now,
on how neat and efficient they are, how bright and beautiful, and how wonderful it would be if the entire fleet of public transport buses in Bangalore were Volva. Apparently however, this is not going to be very possible, since if we converted the entire fleet to Volvo's we would only have the rich and upper middle class travelling in these buses!
This entire episode has only confirmed a fear that I have had about the possibilities of a public transport system for India's urban spaces. One, there is no interest in such a system since hte rich and the upper middle class, and the middle class in busy imitation need to assert their difference from the rest of the population. Two, where efforts are made at public transportation, it will operate in a manner as to exclude the poor and the working class from its operation, reserving the swanky additions for the middle class. And so it will go on, India's pernicious caste system, taking new forms every day. While I was a student in Bangalore, you had the Pushpak buses which promised, thanks to a higher fare, that you did not have to stand with the stinky and smelly folk, and could travel in relative comfort. From the Pushpak to the Volvo not much has changed at all...
There have already been fears expressed that Bangalore's proposed Metro will be way to expensive for the working class who do not earn the fancy salaries that the techies do...but then perhaps thats what the Metro is intended for...the working class sods...let them find their own way!
Ever the do-gooder I chanced upon a colleague who lives at the absolute other end of town and thought I'd be cute and give her a travel tip. "Do you know that there is a Volvo bus that leaves from Chandra Layout and goes right up to Indiranagar?" I beamed!
Uma, for that is her name, brought me right down to earth..."Yes" she smiles "but its very expensive..from Richmond Road to HAL it would cost me 25 rupees".
25 rupees! Now thats a lot of money, if she travelled on this bus everyday to work the poor woman would loose a good chunk of her salary.
My colleague Priya and I have been raving about the Volvo buses in Bangalore for a while now,
on how neat and efficient they are, how bright and beautiful, and how wonderful it would be if the entire fleet of public transport buses in Bangalore were Volva. Apparently however, this is not going to be very possible, since if we converted the entire fleet to Volvo's we would only have the rich and upper middle class travelling in these buses!
This entire episode has only confirmed a fear that I have had about the possibilities of a public transport system for India's urban spaces. One, there is no interest in such a system since hte rich and the upper middle class, and the middle class in busy imitation need to assert their difference from the rest of the population. Two, where efforts are made at public transportation, it will operate in a manner as to exclude the poor and the working class from its operation, reserving the swanky additions for the middle class. And so it will go on, India's pernicious caste system, taking new forms every day. While I was a student in Bangalore, you had the Pushpak buses which promised, thanks to a higher fare, that you did not have to stand with the stinky and smelly folk, and could travel in relative comfort. From the Pushpak to the Volvo not much has changed at all...
There have already been fears expressed that Bangalore's proposed Metro will be way to expensive for the working class who do not earn the fancy salaries that the techies do...but then perhaps thats what the Metro is intended for...the working class sods...let them find their own way!
Monday, January 8, 2007
Middle Class Activism: Spadework for Paradise?
Thankfully for Goa, the pogrom in Sanvordem resulted in a whole lot of soul searching as citizen groups around the state inquired why exactly the events transpired and what was it that we could do to make sure it never happens again. One of the issues that emerged and received some amount of support was that this was a good opportunity to make sure that we went on a demolition drive of all ‘illegal’ shrines across the state.
This suggestion and the manner it was attempted to be brought into action is indicative of a common malaise in our vibrant democracy; the danger of middle class activism. The example cited is perhaps not the most appropriate since it forces us to get into a debate on secularism and the space of religion in the public space, but we should perhaps risk that so as to ground this discussion in an immediate and personal context.
What makes this suggestion so typical of middle class activism is that it reflects so clearly the position of some of the liberal middle class’s opposition to religion in the public sphere. A position that is not shared by a good amount of the population. A population that sees religion as being appropriately celebrated in the communal space. A population that possibly sees these shrines not as markers of their religion alone, but as concessions to realms that we cannot see but nonetheless have an impact on us. These sensibilities do not find space in the law as is currently contained in the law books, but nonetheless is tolerated in practice because of the support that it contains. Nonetheless if one chooses to implement this letter of the law, the shrines go, since they are, according to the letter of the law, illegal.
And yet, why did we choose to focus only on illegal religious structures? Why not on the many illegal structures that are growing rapidly all over Goa? The class bias is pretty much obvious, the more humble of Goan folk erect religious structures as they relate to their land and community, while the Gulf (and otherwise) rich Goan (and recent immigrant) erect buildings that will allow to indulge themselves in the consumerist paradise that awaits those who can pay. This is where we need to focus on the manner in which the law is implemented to make our world a better place. All too often, middle class activism uses the law as a tool to push its interest without creating a space for other groups to articulate their opinion.
There can be no other description of this process than the tyranny of the middle class. The tyranny was visible in Delhi when the Supreme Court legislated, without concern for the men who made a livelihood through autorickshaws and taxis, the need to switch from diesel to CNG. The fact that Delhi is visibly less polluted is not reason enough to condone the act. What we have to be more mindful of is the destruction that pursuing solely the middle class interest caused for those few months. Men who barely got a few hours sleep as they waited in line for barely available CNG. Or men who had to cease work (and the growling of their stomachs) to re-equip themselves with new technology. The upper middle classes barely felt the pinch, the industries that supplied them their transport, were poised to make the switch, or they used petrol anyways!
In Goa we saw this sort of middle class activism when the gaddos in Panjim were shifted from various parts of the city into defined zones. In doing so we refused to recognise that the gaddo operates best as the corner store, rather than just another shop in a long line of shops. The reason for their banishment was their scattered presence violated the upper middle class’s vision of what the picture perfect city should look like. It also violated their right to use the sidewalks. What is surprising is that this group of people rarely walk the streets; they move from point to point using their own private vehicles.
Panjim is currently attempting to drill into its residents a system of waste management. If this measure adopts as its guiding principle the fact that it is being implemented to ensure a decent working environment for the municipality workers, then we ensure it does not degenerate into middle class activism. What we have to keep in mind, especially in a socially stratified society like ours, is that the end cannot ever justify the means. To be an effective democracy we need to ensure that the means are as laudable as the ends. To ignore this fact would be to lay the framework for a repressive system of laws that soon enough could be used against us, just as we use it against those whose point of view we do not deem important.
(published earlier in the Gomantak Times, 2006)
This suggestion and the manner it was attempted to be brought into action is indicative of a common malaise in our vibrant democracy; the danger of middle class activism. The example cited is perhaps not the most appropriate since it forces us to get into a debate on secularism and the space of religion in the public space, but we should perhaps risk that so as to ground this discussion in an immediate and personal context.
What makes this suggestion so typical of middle class activism is that it reflects so clearly the position of some of the liberal middle class’s opposition to religion in the public sphere. A position that is not shared by a good amount of the population. A population that sees religion as being appropriately celebrated in the communal space. A population that possibly sees these shrines not as markers of their religion alone, but as concessions to realms that we cannot see but nonetheless have an impact on us. These sensibilities do not find space in the law as is currently contained in the law books, but nonetheless is tolerated in practice because of the support that it contains. Nonetheless if one chooses to implement this letter of the law, the shrines go, since they are, according to the letter of the law, illegal.
And yet, why did we choose to focus only on illegal religious structures? Why not on the many illegal structures that are growing rapidly all over Goa? The class bias is pretty much obvious, the more humble of Goan folk erect religious structures as they relate to their land and community, while the Gulf (and otherwise) rich Goan (and recent immigrant) erect buildings that will allow to indulge themselves in the consumerist paradise that awaits those who can pay. This is where we need to focus on the manner in which the law is implemented to make our world a better place. All too often, middle class activism uses the law as a tool to push its interest without creating a space for other groups to articulate their opinion.
There can be no other description of this process than the tyranny of the middle class. The tyranny was visible in Delhi when the Supreme Court legislated, without concern for the men who made a livelihood through autorickshaws and taxis, the need to switch from diesel to CNG. The fact that Delhi is visibly less polluted is not reason enough to condone the act. What we have to be more mindful of is the destruction that pursuing solely the middle class interest caused for those few months. Men who barely got a few hours sleep as they waited in line for barely available CNG. Or men who had to cease work (and the growling of their stomachs) to re-equip themselves with new technology. The upper middle classes barely felt the pinch, the industries that supplied them their transport, were poised to make the switch, or they used petrol anyways!
In Goa we saw this sort of middle class activism when the gaddos in Panjim were shifted from various parts of the city into defined zones. In doing so we refused to recognise that the gaddo operates best as the corner store, rather than just another shop in a long line of shops. The reason for their banishment was their scattered presence violated the upper middle class’s vision of what the picture perfect city should look like. It also violated their right to use the sidewalks. What is surprising is that this group of people rarely walk the streets; they move from point to point using their own private vehicles.
Panjim is currently attempting to drill into its residents a system of waste management. If this measure adopts as its guiding principle the fact that it is being implemented to ensure a decent working environment for the municipality workers, then we ensure it does not degenerate into middle class activism. What we have to keep in mind, especially in a socially stratified society like ours, is that the end cannot ever justify the means. To be an effective democracy we need to ensure that the means are as laudable as the ends. To ignore this fact would be to lay the framework for a repressive system of laws that soon enough could be used against us, just as we use it against those whose point of view we do not deem important.
(published earlier in the Gomantak Times, 2006)
Land and Goa: The politics of Exclusion
There is much that can and needs to be said with regard to the cry of “Goa for Goans”. I had earlier expressed the view that we should be wary of dismissing this cry as one made by common folk, on the instigation of a disgruntled elite, and manipulated by unscrupulous politicians. I would like to reiterate this point. The cry to privilege the local in Goa is not, in this day and age, a uniquely Goan experience. On the contrary this cry seems to resound in many parts of the globe, be it Europe in the xenophobic cries of Haider of Austria and Le Pen of France, in the ‘tribal’ wars of Africa, or even the Kannada movement in the metropolis of Bangalore.
If it is not just a phenomenon of Goa, then there must be something to this cry and it would be best if we addressed ourselves to it now, rather than later. Perhaps we would be better placed to understand what is happening in Goa if we looked at the situation in Bangalore. A few months ago, as Goa was peacefully commemorating Christ’s Last Supper, Bangalore was mourning the loss of one of its greatest film-stars, Dr. Raj Kumar. However while Bangalore mourned there was a deathly silence through the city, as it waited in bated breath for violence to break out. And break out it did when persons who gathered to pay respects to the actor broke out into violent rioting. In the process a good amount of property was damaged and a few policemen lost their lives.
The violence was not entirely unexpected. Raj Kumar had been used by the Karnataka/Bangalore for Kannadigas for a long time, as various groups claimed the city of Bangalore as the exclusive space for Kannadigas and Kannada. The English press has had a field day displaying this as some sort of a bizarre claim and entirely without cause. However, this is not entirely true. These demands for Kannada have emerged out of a number of reasons. Primary among them is the manner in which the English speaking corporate world has sought to refashion Bangalore into its exclusive playground, and the impact of big money that has recently been pouring into Bangalore. What this has resulted in is a feeling of powerlessness among Kannadigas in Bangalore, a sense of frustration at the inability to gain access to the kinds of consumption engaged in by the members of this corporate world. And furthermore a slowly building rage at constantly being portrayed as dull, stupid, lacking initiative and good for nothing.
From my point of view I see this as similar to what is happening to and in Goa. Goa is being converted slowly but surely, not into a place where people live and try to make ends meet, but a huge property market for people from all over the world. A good number of these people can enjoy ridiculously comfortable lives while living in Goa, or use it only as a holiday home. This is not to say that they are not entitled to comfortable lives or their holiday homes. However when all of this adds up, it only results in a situation where the local (be it ethnic Goan or hard working outsider) feels deprived and frustrated at their lot. Finally one has the social relations between this propertied class and the local. How often have you heard Goans being called lazy, lacking initiative and good for nothing? Or perhaps you have heard the more positive side of this trio, happy-go-lucky, laid back and jovial. Which ever way you look at it, they both stem from a definite way of looking at the Goan. Not to mention that this propertied class looks on the locals not as neighbours and members of the community one belongs to, but more as a source of domestic employment.
What Goa and Bangalore have in common is that they are places where the forces of globalization are having a field day, where there is nothing that cannot be bought. A good amount of this is happening in both places through the cooperation of local brokers- be they politicians, local businesspersons or compradors. What is resulting is a good amount of frustration and powerlessness with the situation that one does not seem to be able to change, and seeing an old world, which was predictable and known slip by. This is not to say that globalization is bad and must be done away with. On the contrary, globalization seems here to stay, the question is how do we deal with this growing rage? For surely if we do not address it, it will consume us all. The Raj Kumar riots in Bangalore have shown us as much.
The solution is not simple, nor one for me to suggest, but one for us to collectively (and it is obvious that we don’t seem to be operating as a collective) arrive at. It would help if we moved in this direction rather than dismissing these signals as manipulations of stupid common folk by wily politicians, or the hypocrisy of a society that has made its money through migration. Once again it should be stressed, the issue is not about Goans and non-Goans, the issue is about the politics of exclusion and deprivation.
(published in the Gomantak Times, 2006)
If it is not just a phenomenon of Goa, then there must be something to this cry and it would be best if we addressed ourselves to it now, rather than later. Perhaps we would be better placed to understand what is happening in Goa if we looked at the situation in Bangalore. A few months ago, as Goa was peacefully commemorating Christ’s Last Supper, Bangalore was mourning the loss of one of its greatest film-stars, Dr. Raj Kumar. However while Bangalore mourned there was a deathly silence through the city, as it waited in bated breath for violence to break out. And break out it did when persons who gathered to pay respects to the actor broke out into violent rioting. In the process a good amount of property was damaged and a few policemen lost their lives.
The violence was not entirely unexpected. Raj Kumar had been used by the Karnataka/Bangalore for Kannadigas for a long time, as various groups claimed the city of Bangalore as the exclusive space for Kannadigas and Kannada. The English press has had a field day displaying this as some sort of a bizarre claim and entirely without cause. However, this is not entirely true. These demands for Kannada have emerged out of a number of reasons. Primary among them is the manner in which the English speaking corporate world has sought to refashion Bangalore into its exclusive playground, and the impact of big money that has recently been pouring into Bangalore. What this has resulted in is a feeling of powerlessness among Kannadigas in Bangalore, a sense of frustration at the inability to gain access to the kinds of consumption engaged in by the members of this corporate world. And furthermore a slowly building rage at constantly being portrayed as dull, stupid, lacking initiative and good for nothing.
From my point of view I see this as similar to what is happening to and in Goa. Goa is being converted slowly but surely, not into a place where people live and try to make ends meet, but a huge property market for people from all over the world. A good number of these people can enjoy ridiculously comfortable lives while living in Goa, or use it only as a holiday home. This is not to say that they are not entitled to comfortable lives or their holiday homes. However when all of this adds up, it only results in a situation where the local (be it ethnic Goan or hard working outsider) feels deprived and frustrated at their lot. Finally one has the social relations between this propertied class and the local. How often have you heard Goans being called lazy, lacking initiative and good for nothing? Or perhaps you have heard the more positive side of this trio, happy-go-lucky, laid back and jovial. Which ever way you look at it, they both stem from a definite way of looking at the Goan. Not to mention that this propertied class looks on the locals not as neighbours and members of the community one belongs to, but more as a source of domestic employment.
What Goa and Bangalore have in common is that they are places where the forces of globalization are having a field day, where there is nothing that cannot be bought. A good amount of this is happening in both places through the cooperation of local brokers- be they politicians, local businesspersons or compradors. What is resulting is a good amount of frustration and powerlessness with the situation that one does not seem to be able to change, and seeing an old world, which was predictable and known slip by. This is not to say that globalization is bad and must be done away with. On the contrary, globalization seems here to stay, the question is how do we deal with this growing rage? For surely if we do not address it, it will consume us all. The Raj Kumar riots in Bangalore have shown us as much.
The solution is not simple, nor one for me to suggest, but one for us to collectively (and it is obvious that we don’t seem to be operating as a collective) arrive at. It would help if we moved in this direction rather than dismissing these signals as manipulations of stupid common folk by wily politicians, or the hypocrisy of a society that has made its money through migration. Once again it should be stressed, the issue is not about Goans and non-Goans, the issue is about the politics of exclusion and deprivation.
(published in the Gomantak Times, 2006)
On why incorporating Karwar into Goa is not a good idea
“Imagine a situation where Goa has 13 talukas, hydroelectric and nuclear power projects, two major ports and an added coastline. This is not wishful thinking or an academic debate, but a social movement in operation for nearly 15 years.” This extract is from a report that appeared in the Herald a few days ago. A report informing us of the existence of a movement in Karnataka’s Karwar district which seeks to merge with Goa. The reasons they give are that they do not wish to exist as a part of Karnataka, since the Karnataka government has ignored the development of Karwar. Also, they argue that around 60% of the people of Karwar speak Konkani, and it is only natural that they should be part of a Konkani speaking State. Finally, there are religious links between the people of Karwar and Goa, with family deities on both sides of the current border.
The tenor of the report seemed to suggest that this movement was something that we should be glad for and welcome with open arms, since it would create a larger Goa with more economic opportunity and secondly it would buttress the claim of Konkani within Goa. However, I am not so sure that for these reasons we should automatically support this claim. On the contrary it is exactly this sort of a promise that we should be wary of since there is more than meets the eye in this case.
The mere support for Konkani does not translate into the support for what the Language Agitation and the struggle against merger with Maharashtra was all about. Both movements sought to protect a Goan identity and local concerns that were only superficially connected with the names we have given to these movements. What was the issue of merger with Maharashtra all about? On the one hand the Catholics very rightly did not want to get swamped in a Hindu Maharashtra, the Saraswats did not want to loose dominant status in a Maratha Maharashtra, and the Goan bahujan samaj wanted to escape Brahmin domination by creating an option in a Maratha Maharashtra. Similar the support for and against Konkani was on similar lines, the Catholics wished to secure their identity, and the pro-Marathi lobby by and large identified the Konkani movement with their greatest fear, Brahmin dominance in Goa.
Perhaps the Bahujan samaj in Goa were the most far-sighted of us all who saw in the pro-Konkani movement, the contours of a design to ensure Brahmanical and Hindutva dominance. The Catholics woke up a little late in the day and realized that in supporting Konkani without securing the protection of the script that guarantees their uniqueness, they laid the foundations for their own demise from cultural and political life.
To put things in context now, let us recollect that it was in Karwar, in 1939 that a decision was taken to recognize Devnagari as the natural – and hence only- script for Konkani. A reading of Indian history will point us toward the fact the recognition of Devanagari as the natural Indian script was the tool used by Hindu right wing groups to cast India as essentially Hindu. This recognition refuses to recognize the multiple strands that have played their part in constituting India, and delegitimizes them. Similar to the manner in which Romi, the only script that supports a living and vibrant Konkani, is currently being delegitimized. That the mention of family deities comes up when there is talk of incorporating Karwar into Goa should instantly alert us to the fact that the argument is also playing to a Hindutva lobby which would seek to create a Goa on the basis of religious markers.
We need to develop a politically savvy understanding of what exactly is afoot here. The mere reference to Konkani and a greater Goa does not work to the advantage of Goa, Konkani or the communities that speak Konkani or live in Goa. Let us once again refer to modern Indian history to understand that what appears to be progressive may in fact not be so. Rightist forces have always managed to secure their agenda by riding piggy back on overtly secular and progressive agendas. Until the 80’s the women’s movement protesting obscenity found support from the BJP, until the Fire episode when it realized that what the BJP was supporting was the suppression of female sexuality in the name of Indian values. Similarly the women’s movement did not realize that the BJP’s support for a Uniform Civil Code was not their pro-women stance, but an anti-Muslim stance.
Currently as the protagonists of the Romi script seek to secure allies, there seems to be opposition to recognize the claim of Marathi as an official language in Goa. We need to figure out where this demand for Marathi is coming from. It is the demand of a minority that fears domination. A fear similar to what the protagonists of Romi experience. They seek recognition of Marathi in its Goan form, and as a Goan language, as an alternative to the brahmanical hegemony that will persecute both Catholics and the Bahujan samaj. The threat of Maharashtra is now dead. A new threat has emerged now, the threat of a brahmanical Hindutva, and it seeks to use Konkani and the idea of a larger Goa to get its way. We need to realize this. The addition of Karwar to Goa is not in Goa or Konkani’s larger interests. On the contrary, acknowledging Marathi as a Goan language may do more to further the interests of Goans in Goa. But more about this some other time…
(published in the Gomantak Times, 2006)
The tenor of the report seemed to suggest that this movement was something that we should be glad for and welcome with open arms, since it would create a larger Goa with more economic opportunity and secondly it would buttress the claim of Konkani within Goa. However, I am not so sure that for these reasons we should automatically support this claim. On the contrary it is exactly this sort of a promise that we should be wary of since there is more than meets the eye in this case.
The mere support for Konkani does not translate into the support for what the Language Agitation and the struggle against merger with Maharashtra was all about. Both movements sought to protect a Goan identity and local concerns that were only superficially connected with the names we have given to these movements. What was the issue of merger with Maharashtra all about? On the one hand the Catholics very rightly did not want to get swamped in a Hindu Maharashtra, the Saraswats did not want to loose dominant status in a Maratha Maharashtra, and the Goan bahujan samaj wanted to escape Brahmin domination by creating an option in a Maratha Maharashtra. Similar the support for and against Konkani was on similar lines, the Catholics wished to secure their identity, and the pro-Marathi lobby by and large identified the Konkani movement with their greatest fear, Brahmin dominance in Goa.
Perhaps the Bahujan samaj in Goa were the most far-sighted of us all who saw in the pro-Konkani movement, the contours of a design to ensure Brahmanical and Hindutva dominance. The Catholics woke up a little late in the day and realized that in supporting Konkani without securing the protection of the script that guarantees their uniqueness, they laid the foundations for their own demise from cultural and political life.
To put things in context now, let us recollect that it was in Karwar, in 1939 that a decision was taken to recognize Devnagari as the natural – and hence only- script for Konkani. A reading of Indian history will point us toward the fact the recognition of Devanagari as the natural Indian script was the tool used by Hindu right wing groups to cast India as essentially Hindu. This recognition refuses to recognize the multiple strands that have played their part in constituting India, and delegitimizes them. Similar to the manner in which Romi, the only script that supports a living and vibrant Konkani, is currently being delegitimized. That the mention of family deities comes up when there is talk of incorporating Karwar into Goa should instantly alert us to the fact that the argument is also playing to a Hindutva lobby which would seek to create a Goa on the basis of religious markers.
We need to develop a politically savvy understanding of what exactly is afoot here. The mere reference to Konkani and a greater Goa does not work to the advantage of Goa, Konkani or the communities that speak Konkani or live in Goa. Let us once again refer to modern Indian history to understand that what appears to be progressive may in fact not be so. Rightist forces have always managed to secure their agenda by riding piggy back on overtly secular and progressive agendas. Until the 80’s the women’s movement protesting obscenity found support from the BJP, until the Fire episode when it realized that what the BJP was supporting was the suppression of female sexuality in the name of Indian values. Similarly the women’s movement did not realize that the BJP’s support for a Uniform Civil Code was not their pro-women stance, but an anti-Muslim stance.
Currently as the protagonists of the Romi script seek to secure allies, there seems to be opposition to recognize the claim of Marathi as an official language in Goa. We need to figure out where this demand for Marathi is coming from. It is the demand of a minority that fears domination. A fear similar to what the protagonists of Romi experience. They seek recognition of Marathi in its Goan form, and as a Goan language, as an alternative to the brahmanical hegemony that will persecute both Catholics and the Bahujan samaj. The threat of Maharashtra is now dead. A new threat has emerged now, the threat of a brahmanical Hindutva, and it seeks to use Konkani and the idea of a larger Goa to get its way. We need to realize this. The addition of Karwar to Goa is not in Goa or Konkani’s larger interests. On the contrary, acknowledging Marathi as a Goan language may do more to further the interests of Goans in Goa. But more about this some other time…
(published in the Gomantak Times, 2006)
Get Your Facts Straight: These are Hate Crimes, Not Communal Violence
In a time when pitched battles are being fought to create a single Konkani language for a single Konkani people, it would not be out of place to focus our attention on Mangalore. An area occupied by a good amount of Konkani speaking people, Goans, or at least some Goans, share a very strange relationship with the Konkani speakers of Mangalore. It’s a relationship that is imbued with some amount of fascination and some amount of dread. In passing one could hazard a guess, that this fascination and dread emerges probably because they represent the Other to us, what we are not, or have not become, and should not. But the dynamics of this relationship is not the focus of this essay at all it is the happenings in Mangalore that should be of greater interest to us.
Mangalore is at most times a sleepy little town. Despite the huge amount of industry and building that has overtaken it in the past few years it just can’t seem to get rid of that sleepy town image. Perhaps it’s all that humidity which simply weighs down their spirit! It is because Mangalore is otherwise such a sleepy and peaceful place that the horrific events over the past few weeks have come to most as a surprise. A surprise, even though a good number of civil society activists in Bangalore have been warning us for sometime now that Mangalore was tethering on the brink of large scale communal violence.
To begin with, we need to find another word to describe the kind of violence that we see erupting with alarming frequency all over the country and often at the most unlikely places. The phrase ‘Communal violence’ is too rooted in a past which suggested that there was some sort of mutual animosity between members of communities that were seen as naturally constituted by religion. The ‘communal violence’ that we see today is nothing of that sort. (Whether the communal violence of the past was in fact constituted in this manner is another question that we should perhaps leave for historians to answer). The ‘communal violence’ we see today are unprovoked attacks by violent and hate-filled members of Hindu rightist organizations against any one who does not toe their arbitrarily drawn lines. You could be Muslim, Dalit, Christian or woman. Refuse to abide by their arbitrary diktat and heaven help you. Heaven alone can help, since the police and state administration often refuse to.
What was the provocation in Mangalore? As per the saffron ruffians (and given that they aim to kill, this word is too mild for them) they object to the slaughter of cows. It is time we called halt to the manner in which an entire nation is being held hostage to the whims of a few. A good proportion of this country eats meat, and they eat beef with relish. And, they have a right to. There can be no arguments on that front. To call for a ban on cow slaughter is similar to asking that there be a ban on idol worship in India since it is, textually atleast, an obnoxious practice to the Christian and Muslim citizens of this country. Put this way the illogical nature of the call to ban cow slaughter becomes obvious does it not?
There have been a number of calls by organizations from around Karnataka to write to the President and Prime Minister to take notice of the situation. And this is necessary, urgent and important. What is troubling though is that in keeping with the understanding of the episode in Mangalore as ‘communal violence’, the episode has been constructed as violence by Hindu rightists against the Muslim community. This is only a partial view of the situation. It is violence by Hindu rightists alright, but not solely against the Muslim community alone, even though they have borne the brunt of this round of attacks. There have been, in the recent past, attacks on Catholic restaurants that serve beef. Attacks on churches as well. Let us get it straight then; this is not violence that stems from mutual animosity. This violence is unprovoked violence, hate crimes against those that are different. The Muslims are just the first and favourite target, the rest will follow, surely but steadily.
When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.
When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.
When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.
When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out.
--Pastor Martin Niemöller (1892-1984)
(published in the Gomantak Times, 2006)
Mangalore is at most times a sleepy little town. Despite the huge amount of industry and building that has overtaken it in the past few years it just can’t seem to get rid of that sleepy town image. Perhaps it’s all that humidity which simply weighs down their spirit! It is because Mangalore is otherwise such a sleepy and peaceful place that the horrific events over the past few weeks have come to most as a surprise. A surprise, even though a good number of civil society activists in Bangalore have been warning us for sometime now that Mangalore was tethering on the brink of large scale communal violence.
To begin with, we need to find another word to describe the kind of violence that we see erupting with alarming frequency all over the country and often at the most unlikely places. The phrase ‘Communal violence’ is too rooted in a past which suggested that there was some sort of mutual animosity between members of communities that were seen as naturally constituted by religion. The ‘communal violence’ that we see today is nothing of that sort. (Whether the communal violence of the past was in fact constituted in this manner is another question that we should perhaps leave for historians to answer). The ‘communal violence’ we see today are unprovoked attacks by violent and hate-filled members of Hindu rightist organizations against any one who does not toe their arbitrarily drawn lines. You could be Muslim, Dalit, Christian or woman. Refuse to abide by their arbitrary diktat and heaven help you. Heaven alone can help, since the police and state administration often refuse to.
What was the provocation in Mangalore? As per the saffron ruffians (and given that they aim to kill, this word is too mild for them) they object to the slaughter of cows. It is time we called halt to the manner in which an entire nation is being held hostage to the whims of a few. A good proportion of this country eats meat, and they eat beef with relish. And, they have a right to. There can be no arguments on that front. To call for a ban on cow slaughter is similar to asking that there be a ban on idol worship in India since it is, textually atleast, an obnoxious practice to the Christian and Muslim citizens of this country. Put this way the illogical nature of the call to ban cow slaughter becomes obvious does it not?
There have been a number of calls by organizations from around Karnataka to write to the President and Prime Minister to take notice of the situation. And this is necessary, urgent and important. What is troubling though is that in keeping with the understanding of the episode in Mangalore as ‘communal violence’, the episode has been constructed as violence by Hindu rightists against the Muslim community. This is only a partial view of the situation. It is violence by Hindu rightists alright, but not solely against the Muslim community alone, even though they have borne the brunt of this round of attacks. There have been, in the recent past, attacks on Catholic restaurants that serve beef. Attacks on churches as well. Let us get it straight then; this is not violence that stems from mutual animosity. This violence is unprovoked violence, hate crimes against those that are different. The Muslims are just the first and favourite target, the rest will follow, surely but steadily.
When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.
When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.
When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.
When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out.
--Pastor Martin Niemöller (1892-1984)
(published in the Gomantak Times, 2006)
Thinking about the IFFI
I wish they’d shut up about ‘Film culture’. They’ve gone on enough about it, and its about time we put an end to that nonsense. Fact is the term probably emerged in the flurry of reactions following the announcement of Goa as a venue for the International Film Festival of India. At that point of time, there were arguments made by other claimants for the venue, notably the Bengalis who argued that Goa was hardly the place to locate a film festival, since it did not have a ‘film culture’ as they enjoyed in Bengal. On a lighter note, you can expect the Bongs to make such a statement, they can’t get over themselves! But more seriously, there was probably good reason to make such a statement, there is an entire culture that does revolve around films, viewing them, discussing them, contemplating the many messages that a film projects out toward the viewer, the making of film etc. However, take a look at the rolls of the film festival since it migrated to Goa and one will realize how the Goan has been quick to realize that there is a lot to gather from the film festival. The presence of the local Goan in the festival has visibly increased since the first year the film festival was hosted in Goa.
The snoot would still argue that the local has not yet developed the ability to contemplate films at an esoteric or philosophical level. That all they are heading for are slapstick and light cinema. This however is no crime; to each his own, and if light cinema and laughs are your cup of tea, then you have a right to it. And yet, if these laughs come from a world entirely different from your own, surely you have gained an insight into humour and context of an alien environment? There is learning in that, and learning piled on learning, leads eventually to that cosmopolitan society which probably hosts that as yet elusive ‘film culture’.
There can be no doubt that the location of the film festival in Goa can benefit the local population, simply because we will have access to the world, literally in our own backyard. But this does not mean we need to ignore the nonsense that goes on in the name of the film festival. Why in heaven’s name do we have to screen regular Bollywood hits on beaches around Goa? I would like to argue that these screening represent the manner in which a certain lumpen mass is being actively created by the Government. If the argument of the Government is that the ‘masses’ are not interested in serious film, the counter would be, don’t show serious film. But show light cinema from different parts of the world and expose us to concerns and contexts different from our own! Would it not be possible to similarly work out a system where theatre halls around the state show movies from the festival so that we don’t necessarily need to travel to Panjim to see the films? In such basic moves would we be laying the ground work for a knowledge society in Goa. It is honestly tragic that all talk about knowledge society always revolves around the incorporation of computer technology into institutions. This understanding of a knowledge society is delusional since it is actively disprivileges forms of knowledge that cannot be translated into computer technology and also those segments of society that cannot have access to computers and the internet. A great example would be the building of the IT park in Dona Paula, where in the name of IT and knowledge society, a good number of the residents of Taligao have had their fields, grazing lands and crematorium snatched away. Is there any talk of compensation or livelihood provision for these people? One has not heard a whisper of it so far. Forget a film culture, in time these people are going to be scrambling just to have two square meals a day.
There has been a good amount of local opposition to the continued hosting of the Film festival in Goa. Given that the State is not listening to the rightful demands of the citizens at all, it is only natural that they would want to use the IFFI as a way of getting the attention of the State. Unfortunately the State persists in its appalling behaviour, cutting out the local from meaningful participation in the festival and instead pushing them further into ignorance in the name of the festival. It continues to treat the IFFI as a personal fiefdom, another cow whose udders are milked for personal benefit. In the end, why is it always that the local is the one who looses out? Why must we be forced to oppose an event that can only add depth to our lives? There are no answers unfortunately, only more questions and more angst.
(published in the Gomantak Times, 2006)
The snoot would still argue that the local has not yet developed the ability to contemplate films at an esoteric or philosophical level. That all they are heading for are slapstick and light cinema. This however is no crime; to each his own, and if light cinema and laughs are your cup of tea, then you have a right to it. And yet, if these laughs come from a world entirely different from your own, surely you have gained an insight into humour and context of an alien environment? There is learning in that, and learning piled on learning, leads eventually to that cosmopolitan society which probably hosts that as yet elusive ‘film culture’.
There can be no doubt that the location of the film festival in Goa can benefit the local population, simply because we will have access to the world, literally in our own backyard. But this does not mean we need to ignore the nonsense that goes on in the name of the film festival. Why in heaven’s name do we have to screen regular Bollywood hits on beaches around Goa? I would like to argue that these screening represent the manner in which a certain lumpen mass is being actively created by the Government. If the argument of the Government is that the ‘masses’ are not interested in serious film, the counter would be, don’t show serious film. But show light cinema from different parts of the world and expose us to concerns and contexts different from our own! Would it not be possible to similarly work out a system where theatre halls around the state show movies from the festival so that we don’t necessarily need to travel to Panjim to see the films? In such basic moves would we be laying the ground work for a knowledge society in Goa. It is honestly tragic that all talk about knowledge society always revolves around the incorporation of computer technology into institutions. This understanding of a knowledge society is delusional since it is actively disprivileges forms of knowledge that cannot be translated into computer technology and also those segments of society that cannot have access to computers and the internet. A great example would be the building of the IT park in Dona Paula, where in the name of IT and knowledge society, a good number of the residents of Taligao have had their fields, grazing lands and crematorium snatched away. Is there any talk of compensation or livelihood provision for these people? One has not heard a whisper of it so far. Forget a film culture, in time these people are going to be scrambling just to have two square meals a day.
There has been a good amount of local opposition to the continued hosting of the Film festival in Goa. Given that the State is not listening to the rightful demands of the citizens at all, it is only natural that they would want to use the IFFI as a way of getting the attention of the State. Unfortunately the State persists in its appalling behaviour, cutting out the local from meaningful participation in the festival and instead pushing them further into ignorance in the name of the festival. It continues to treat the IFFI as a personal fiefdom, another cow whose udders are milked for personal benefit. In the end, why is it always that the local is the one who looses out? Why must we be forced to oppose an event that can only add depth to our lives? There are no answers unfortunately, only more questions and more angst.
(published in the Gomantak Times, 2006)
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