It was hurting and humiliating too to know that the Goans who performed their 3 days campaign in Delhi to draw the attention of the Indian leaders including the Premier of India Modi stationed in Delhi, of their plight due to the closure of mining in Goa, were ignored and thus humiliated by not even enquiring of their plight. I am sure the whole world came to know of this strike of Goans but not Modi who surprisingly and ironically is the Prime Minister of India a shameless man who does not take interest in what is happening in his own compound. How such a careless man take interest of the country India that is surrounded by the worst enemies, namely China and Pakistan? No wonder, the infiltration of Pakistani marauders has been increased since Modi became Premier. The Goans went to Delhi inspite of their poor financial status with the hope that Delhi leaders would take interest in their plight and find out some solution. But the Delhi leaders of Indians and India acted like heartless Indians least bothered to know of what crisis have been happening to the great people of great land Goa which was robbed by India 57 years back on 19.12.1961.
Before this, the land of Goa was in the hands of very disciplined nation headed by the disciplined leader who used to take up the issue even of smallest person from Goa if that issue was brought to his notice instead of putting that issue under his Pillow like a ‘BEBDO” and sleep over it for 20 years like Rip van winkle. They were conducting their strike just in Delhi and too in the backyard of Prime Minister Mr. Modi. What a shame it is to ignore the plight of these poor Goans!! I strongly feel that even the late Portuguese dictator Salazar would not act thus the way the leaders of India acted now. And on top of it these Indian leaders are boasting of their leadership when they ignore the grievances of their own subjects. Who else now will solve the problems of the maintenance of livelihood of all the Goans dependent on the mining?
Coming back to Salazar and his discipline as an administrator, it was somewhere in 1960 one Professor of mine at Escola Primaria - Abade Faria in Candolim when I was studying Portuguese, was involved in one case of forgery. When he was caught by the authority and sentenced for imprisonment at Aguada, while in prison he sent a letter directly to the dictator of Portugal Dr. Antonio Oliveira Salazar pleading with Salazar to help him to get proper justice as he felt it has been denied to him and as such he was wrongly punished. Within a month the professor received a reply from Salazar acknowledging the plea of my Professor and assuring him of his attention to the plight of my professor with the comment saying “I will revert back to you”. This type of great discipline one acquires when one posseses the great family background – great learning – great interacting with great colleagues and friends and not in the Restaurant with Waiters.
By citing this incident of Salazar I am not glorifying the Portuguese rule in Goa and nor the dictatorship of Salazar though I still admit that Salazar was partly responsible for our state of affairs in Goa. Inspite of having knowledge that Bharat is all set to invade Goa he took things easy. He should have during that period only handed over our Goa into our hands and made Goa truly a REAL LIBERATED GOA instead of facing the invasion from where there is no easy way out for us for this reason our invaders or conquerors are treating us like slaves.
A.Veronica Fernandes.