COMPENSATION FOR RAPE VICTIMS AND TIATRISTS TOO by A. Veronica Fernandes

Dear Agnelo Gomes Bab,

Your write up on Yesterday subject created some more interest in me. Your campaign against those guilty of committing atrocities against our females deserves strong support. You and people like you are in much-much more better position than many others to tackle such issues.

You and few other living souls who witnessed the hara-kiri committed on innocent Goans in 1961 December during the march of Bharati troops over Goa are the only Goans who can do something to enlighten the present and future generations of the destructive events took place in 1961 in the name of forced liberation. I am sure you need more of Agnelo Gomes to further your campaign and hope more of Agnelo Gomes will join you. Please do what you can to ask justice and compensation for the rape victims. Sardarjis were the worst culprits, even Pakistanis say during the partition time Sardarjis committed worst cruelties against Muslim women.

Alfred D’Cruz was a renowned Goan journalist from Bombay, after working for 40 years at Times of India he retired and now leading a retired life at his Bombay Bandra Home, near Linking Road. Hailing from Saligao Bardez and coming from an aristocratic family he as a boarder at Arpora finished his Matriculation and completed his double graduation in Bombay and soon joined Times under the British Editor. While in Bombay he involved in Goa’s liberation movement and because of which he was banned by the Portuguese Government in Goa from entering Goa. Even when his dearest mother died he could not attend to her funeral though he tried his level best to cast his last glance on his dead mother. Soon after Goa was grabbed by Bharat, Nehru was in Bombay addressing a press conference. During this conference Nehru spotted D’Cruz and asked him thus “Mr. D’Cruz! Are you satisfied that your beloved Goa is now liberated by our troops?” For this Alfred D’Cruz retorted thus “Mr. Prime Minister, it hurts me very much to ask you that - have you sent your troops to Goa to liberate my Goa or to rape our innocent women and loot my Goa?” For this Nehru was totally embarrassed, so too others. The rapes, pillage and loot done by Indian Military personnel in 1961 was not a fake argument but a truth and REAL TRUTH. Indian Military is a shameless Military as far as rapes are concerned. This is because most of the Military personnel are having scrap character, coming from third class background, they look like people coming from “zapadpatti” and only from this class of people are capable to commit such heinous crimes against innocent women as Iraqi Military did in Kuwait during the invasion of Kuwait. And by the way, haven’t we heard of such rapes committed by Indian Military personnel in Bangladesh after the defeat of Pakistan in East Pakistan?

While demanding compensation for our rape victims, kindly add compensation for our the then great Goa lover tiatrists who openly opposed grabbing of Goa by Bharati Army sent by Nehru’s Congress thru the chicanery of Malyali Krishna Menon. The tiatrists that I am referring to are Jacinto Vaz, Young Menezes, M. Dod de Verna, Dioginho de Mello, Ansu Rodrigues, Jeorgina Jacques, Baldino Araujo, Johny Sylvester, Alen Decosta, Reginaldo Fernandes, Kid Boxer and others whose names I cannot remember. Some of these Tiatrists are dead and gone after highlighting their demand even from the stage. But nobody cared for their voice. They were working for the then Emissora de Goa and as employees of Emissora de Goa owned by the then Goa Government (India Portuguesa) their task was to air Konkani programme in support of the Portuguese Government in Goa. It is but natural to follow these lines. To please the British Government and its Monarch, even the National Anthem of India was composed as per the likes of the then British Government by its composer whom we call the greatest patriot of India – Rabindranath Tagore. Still we are adoring and singing this as our National Anthem and yet no body call Tagore a British chamcha when Indians suffered so much from the hands of British – in fact worst of brutalities were suffered by Indians from the hands of Britsh than what the so called freedom fighters suffered from the hands of Portuguese. The above named Tiatrists and artistes of Emissora de Goa were not paid their (3) months salaries prior to the 19th December 1961. Since they were not paid their salaries by Portuguese Goa Government it was natural for the Indian Government to pay the same as it was done in other cases. But as a punishment for their airing of programmes on Emissora de Goa against Indian military action their salaries were not paid. Jacinto Vaz after December 1961 and till his death at least 5 to 6 times raised this topic from the stage and put All India Radio Goa authorities into shame. In one of his comedy songs Jacinto Vas moans thus “Ah – Ah – Ah, Ah, Amcho adlo Pagamento Kon Dita-ah-ah-ah? Chor amcho pagament kiteak khata-ah-ah ah? etc”. As a further punishment against this campaign for justice and compensation Jacinto Vaz was further castigated by the All India Radio Goa manned by a Ghantti Chief by boycotting all the songs of Jacinto Vaz from airing on All India Radio Panjim.

These issues are to be highlited and fought for if we want justice for our brothers and sisters whom we call our Goans