Postcolonial Goa: 50 Years On

G
historical explorations

TEOTONIO R. DE SOUZA

As any fumetional democracy, Coa is ever more acuse tomes to dissenting voices from within its multicultured society. This is surely a sign of democratic maturity after 50 years of postcolonial selfgovernance.

oans and non-Goans have been taking stock of what Goa has achieved during past half a century. The opinions surely vary as rnuch as the individuais involved in this exercise, depending obviously upon the individual expectations. Unfortunately, for many there are no expectations, only expectorations. These have no real interest in the coilective well-being of Coans, even if that collectivity be not even as wide-embracing as desirable. Coinciding as the Liberation of Goa did svith the eve of Christmas, it could have a special message for the Goan Christians and Christians everywhere in the post-Vatican II era: Christ is not a rnonopoly good of any privileged marketing agent, even though the Porh.iguese may still feel proud of having brought their westernised brand of Christianity to Indi a, contributing thereby to the Goan Christian heritage. This justified largely the participation of several Portuguese scholars in the recent seminar held at the Goa University on

"Goa: 1961 and beyond". Chie wishes many of those academic presentations did not confine thernselves to factual data, however interesting and more relevant for some other occasion, rather than for the event that was commemoratcd. No foreign wisdom was also required to tell the Goans that decolonisation and recolonisation are Iong-term processes, and do not apply only to the territories recently freed from the European colonial clutches. As any functiona] democracy, Goa is ever more acustorned to dissenting voices frorn within its multicultured society. This is surely a sign of democratic maturity after 50 years of postcolonial self-governance. Some of there dissenting voices classify the others as two-tone, while failing to see themseives as bla.nd uni-tonem, within the rich and colourful social rainbow. It is not surprising if some dissenting elernents end up frustrated and beg for foreign sympathy, lowering nacional pride and endangering the common good and hard earned free-

dom gained by parent-generations. In any democratic society there is a give-artd-take of interests, No single group can ever claim everything for itself, while pretencling to serve ali. This is nowhere dose to recolonisation where only a small group of native collaborators serve foreign, supra-regional, or supranational colonial interests. 11 is never sufficient to darify the nature and objectives of postcolonial discourses. They are never the sare for the former colonialists and the former colonised whatever the ingredients of germine mutual syrnpathy on either lide. That is one of the features that anyone going through the presentations at the above cited seminar can discover for oneself. In either case they contain overt and covert extensions of colonial feelings, interests and desinterests carried over into the postcolonial times. This is not surprising bccausc memories and oral traditions passed from one generation to another are still alive and touch the nervos. The postcolonial discourses of the future genera-

tions are likely to be significantly diferent. There is much interest among the younger Portuguese scholars to visit Coa and study their cornmon heritage. It is a welcome developrnent, but they should not make it only a means of fostering their personal career ar benefitting frorn scholarships provided by some Portuguese Foundations. Do they care to learn Konkani to prove their honest interest? That could be test of postcolonial change of hearts. To conclude this Golden lubilee Year of Coa's Liberation, it is urgerit that Goans focus their attention upon saving "ironchested Goa" (ioknnachatiechern Gy] and its ecological backbone, the biodiversity of its Chat forests. While Goa's children, bom or adopted, move in and out, Goa described by the poet as "Fulamlan tiechem, tarnbddematiechem, loknna-chatiechern Gy" is being sois out by the self-interested Goan mine-owners. If we do not put an end to this, there will be no Goa to welcome us ali and at all times.