POLITICIANS MISGUIDING PEOPLE by Freddy Agnelo Fernandes, Dubai

It’s been a week since Goa witnessed the darkest day in it’s history, a supposedly peaceful rally turned into a war zone where two vibrant young men lost their lives. In a week that followed, we saw one aging bureaucrat knocked off his perch and assurances that the guilty will be punished. Assurances from politicians and more so from the CM do not mean anything to Goans nor do they trill Goans anymore.

We can only hope that some day the guilty will be convicted, but looking at the track record of the Goan administration, it looks highly unlikely but still we can only hope and pray.

It is about 65 years since India gained it’s freedom from the British and about 50 years since Goa’s so called liberation but still we have not freed ourselves of the “taboos” of caste, creed and religious fundamentalism. It makes me wonder if we will ever be able to get rid of these social stigmas and dogmas.

All over the world people have gained equality in all spheres of life, so much so that even the much prevailing gender biases have been wiped off in most western and eastern countries, but in India we are totally in a deferent time zone, even today we are fighting hard to be declared unprivileged or underprivileged so that we can take advantage of the pathetic draconian system that is more apartheid than what prevailed in South Africa.

Prakash Velip’s bio-data is really impressive, from a panch to educationist to MLA to minister to chairman of a whole lot of bodies and institutions. It’s amazing what this person has achieved with his sheer dedication and hard work and today he is fighting for the cause of his fellow underprivileged tribal brethren, demanding more representation, better education, more jobs and better social privileges for his people. All fair demands for the downtrodden but what really astonishes me is, what can Prakash Velip achieve now, when he is no more in power, that he could not achieve when he was a power house, during the MGP and the BJP rule, he was a member of the ruling party for three to four terms ? He was a minister and he was and is the president of the underprivileged community body. Couldn’t he have done all this when he was in power but why now?

Now with the elections round the corner every aspiring and out of power veteran politician will be pumping and thumping, instigating the poor and the gullible Goans, misguiding them to further their own personal agendas. The two youngsters have been sacrificed in a political game. In all probability it looks like the two youngsters being activists were targeted and attacked when an opportunity was created or provided at the rally, as both were also anti mining activists. A lot of people from that area are involved in mining directly or indirectly. The tribal people have already lost to young vibrant men and at what cost?

Goa prides it’s self of being one of the most tolerant and literate state in India, but we fail to justify that claim as we have fallen prey to our manipulative conniving politicians communal agendas and sold our precious votes to hoodlums, gangsters, drug dealers, molesters, murders and “scamsters” who have destroyed Goa for personal gains.

I pray to every Goan, literate or otherwise, please do not fall prey to the gruesome agendas of our corrupt conniving politicians, present or ex, let us value our lives and not let these loathsome politicians use us to further their own repressive agendas. Let not our greed sacrifice our wisdom and our heart at the alter of the ballot. There is absolutely no difference between wisdom and folly, if it’s not utilized befittingly for the good of our land and our fellow brethren. It is said that God helps those who help themselves if not we are a lost cause. Let’s use our wisdom and elect worthy people in future.

God bless Goa