Congress plays hide and seek to form an alliance to defeat the communal forces in Goa -- By Nisser Dias

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi conveyed a mixed message to its Goa unit. He recently advised the Goan MLAs who had visited him not to close doors on an alliance with secular parties to be followed by another message urging all the blocks in Goa to gear up to face elections. This has left it workers in confused state of mind. How the buzz at the ground level in Goa seems to be different as sources in the Congress indicated that the doors seems to have been sealed on a ‘mahagatbandhan or alliance’.

And the likely reason being the other parties are asking for too many seats which is likely to leave the Congress with just the 9 seats they currently have in their kitty in the Assembly.

This equation personifies in the Salcete taluka, which the Congress always considered it as its bastion but during the 2012 election had to contend with only two seats.

Salcete taluka consists of eight constituencies

namely Nuvem, Fatorda, Benaulim, Navelim, Velim, Curtorim, Cuncolim, Margao. At the 2012 Assembly hustings it managed to secure only two namely Margao and Curtorim, while Nuvem and Benaulim were won by Goa Vikas Party (GVP), Fatorda, Navelim, Velim and Benaulim went to the independents and BJP bagged Cuncolim.

In the present scenario NCP Goa president Jose Philip D’souza says, besides Benaulim they would want Navelim as they have a strong presence there in case of alliance with the Congress and other secular minded parties.

Presently Navelim is being represented by independent MLA and Fisheries Minister Avertano Furtado who had defeated Churchill Alemao in 2012. The Congress as of now does not have a leader and rumours of GPCC Luizinho Faleiro’s wanting to contest doing the round has muddied the waters further.

In Benaulim, NCP has already declared Churchill as their candidate but the Congress though had one nomination from the block president Edwin Barreto, is yet to declare their candidate giving a head start to AAP and NCP who have already started a vigorous campaign. The current MLA Caitu D’silva is also in the fray but is said to be contesting independently.

Goa Forward also wants to extend its tentacles to Velim constituency in Salcete  through its candidate Anthony Rodrigues, which is being represented by an independent Benjamin D’silva.

Goa Forward party symbol

Cuncolim is currently BJP’s seat. The Congress is a fix as its former MLA Joaquim Alemao has threatened to contest on People’s ticket if denied his party ticket. To add to the confusion ex-civil servant Elvis Gomes who has a sizeable following being son of the soil has thrown his hat in the ring and have bagged the AAP ticket.

So that leaves Congress with Curtorim and Margao in case of an alliance. Goa Forward mentor Vijay Sardessai when was asked if his party has closed doors on an alliance with the Congress he said, “I am giving due weightage to public sentiments and according to a survey 70 percent of Goa does not want BJP to come back to, power, but majority of people still feel BJP will form the government”. “Respecting people’s sentiments I am open for an alliance with everybody and anybody to send BJP home, but this has been mis-construed as a weakness on my side and I do not need Congress to win in Fatorda”. “What I’m asking for is the unity of forces in the opposition to get rid of the BJP to save Goem, Goemkar and Goemkponn”.

Congress party spokesperson advocate Pratima Coutinho said, “most of the blocks in Goa have opposed alliance as our people have been working for five years and we have 3 to 4 candidates in the block and if alliance takes place these people will be sidelined and it will affect the grassroot workers, but decision of an alliance solely depends on the high command including the GPCC president”.

 

 

Chandor – a village rich in history, heritage and culture -- By Nisser Dias

Surrounded by hills and fields with Kushavati river passing through one end of it, lies a very historical village, rich in history, heritage and culture which is the reminder of both our original roots, the Portuguese era and modern day. This village which is today called Chandor was earlier known as Chandrapur the erstwhile capital of the Kadamba rule in the 6^th to 11^th century.

Lies about 15 kms East of Margao. Chandor has seven panchayat wards.

Kadamba dynasty had made Chandor as their capital until 1054, when the rulers moved to Govepuri now known as Goa Velha. When Muslims invade them in 1312, the Kadambas returned back to Chandrapur only to be driven away by the Portuguese.

To this date there are tell-tale signs of their presence and the village has become an archaeological site because of the foundation of an 11^th century temple, mud fort and a headless monument of Nandi bull which is believed to be the mode of transport of Lord Shiva being preserved at the site.

Besides another reminder of the Kadamba presence is a stone where the queen before committing suicide had cursed the villagers for not helping the king at the time of his defeat by the Portuguese

The ancient Chandor was once a port of international repute and a great capital where trade and commerce flourished through the Kushavati river and was known as a port town.

After the Portuguese invaded Goa in 1510 they defeated and killed the Kadamba king Harihar and imposed their rule and Chandrapur became Chandor along with conversion to Christianity. During this period many Portuguese mansions were built. Though many are being maintained today there are lots others in dilapidated conditions. The village boast of the famous heritage house the Braganza house.

Jesuit priest Fr. Heras on his discovery of Chandrapur in 1929, found a very old and shattered image of Nandi, Shiva’s bull, believed to be affected adversely by the 13th century

Muslim raids on various temples of Goa. It dates back to the 7th century indicating that there was a temple at the site. According to a book ‘Village Goa authored by Dr. Olivinho Gomes he mentions that the Nandi bull is, said to be the second biggest in India after that of Mysore. It also mention that the Muslims after their invasion of the Kadambas cut out a large part of its stomach to see if it contained diamonds, pearls, or other precious stones, broke its mouth to see if there was any treasure hidden in it, chopped off the tail to see if they could find any precious stones in its arms. Seeing that it did not have anything in it, they broke its legs, dislodged it from the seat of stone and turned it up-side-down, to see if there was something underneath it, but without success.

This monument has been declared to be of national importance under the ancient monuments and Archaeological sites. Remnants of the only mud fort built by the Kadambas is situated in the Chandor but it is in bad shape.

Chandor is one of the three villages in Goa which celebrates the feast of Epiphany (The Three Kings Feast) the other two being Cansaulim and Verem.

Chandor is the home of many prominent teachers, doctors, advocates, bankers and businessmen.

Bragança house

Braganca house is synonymous with Chandor. It was built in the 17th century with all the grandeur, grace and elegance. The artefacts show-cased by the family members are a feast to the eyes, besides

The great Salon, a large ballroom with the floor made of Italian marble, antique chandeliers from Europe adorning the ceiling, ornate teak and rosewood furniture carved out by Goan carpenters of that era.

Apart from its exquisite furniture and Chinese porcelain from Macau, it also houses a collection of family portraits, dating back to the 17th and 18th centuries. The library is believed to be the first private library in Goa. It has almost 5,000 leather bound books in Portuguese.

Curse of Chandor

There is perculiar belief in Chandor because of which neighbouring villages do not give their daughters in marriage to a boy from Cotta ward.

The story goes like this: When the Portuguese invaded Chandrapur it had a Kadamba King Harihar as its ruler. The people of Chandrapur did not defend him in the battle against the Portuguese and the king was killed.

The queen was furious at her people and committed suicide but not before cursing the villagers. “She is said to have beat her feet on a stone outside the temple  and pronounced that henceforth every woman of this village will become a widow” The stone with her foot print is still maintained.

Mussoll

Another tradition that the Goankars ‘Kshatriya’ of Chandor has passed on to its generation is the Mussoll dance. The basic theme of the performance is to celebrate the victory of the Hindu King of Vijaynagar, Harihar, over the Cholas in the early 14^th century.

On the second day of carnival 10 Catholic males of the upper caste, decked in traditional attire - a dhoti, a jacket, a colourful turban, ghungroos (ankle bells) on the left foot- and carrying a musoll (pestle), gather at the mandda khuris. Before starting the dance at the chapel bells of the chapel are peeled.

After lighting candles and reciting a Christian prayer before the cross, the mussoll dance is performed by pounding pestles into the ground. The entourage then march in procession holding lit torches to the San Tiago chapel, where the sequence is repeated. From here, they march to each and every house belonging only to the Gaonkar families performing the mussoll dance.

The lyrics hail the king “Hari haracho khel khelayta,  Khel durgabhayr shivo dita” and then goes on to recount the glorious times of King Harihar of Vijaynagar and his magnificent fort and how the fort was eventually captured. Finally it passes on message about the destruction of the town of Chandrapur and its people. Incidentally, Portuguese defeated the King and people refused to help or defend him but for centuries now they will allow the tragic past fade.

The Alma Khuris

This was just a cross in the olden days. In the 80s there were lot of desecration and vandalism of crosses and small chapels. In the year 1982 on the eve of ‘All souls Day’ a Hindu Krishna Gabo Bandodkar began building this cross and was joined by late Fidelis and other villagers in the dead of the night. Krishna’s effort is today proclaimed as the ‘true secular attempt to break the then trend of mischief perpetuated on this day’. These words are engraved on the stone on the compound of the cross.

 

Marginalization of Goans must not be tolerated – By Jose Maria Miranda

Jose Maria Miranda

Having watched helplessly our beloved land being destroyed and disfigured by our greedy and selfish rulers, past and present and their accomplices, some from outside but many from our own soil, Goans being overwhelmed by a heavy and uninterrupted inflow of migrants, the time has run out for us to unite and go all out to stop such attempts which are solely aimed at marginalizing Goans and making them irrelevant in the political and electoral scenario of the State.

Though belatedly, we may still manage in salvaging what is left of Goa if this last opportunity afforded to us, is availed of to send the crooks home and elect few good people, who truly love Goa. The process of disfiguring Goa and crushing its distinct identity was a well conceived plan of the Indian rulers, at the time of the so-called Liberation, carefully executed thereafter with active connivance of Goan politicians and mostly outside bureaucrats. Even the most preposterous movement of Goa’s merger with Maharashtra, with its own leaders realizing, in hindsight, what a blunder it would be, was part of this long-term plan. It goes without saying that if today Goa is a preferred tourist destination, it is not alone because of our beaches and the scenic beauty of this place but also because our culture is a fusion of East and West, of the people’s savoir faire and savoir vivre.

Freedom of the Press and expression was suppressed by the Portuguese in Goa. Perhaps, this made us highly submissive and docile. But many Goans of yesteryears stood up to the might of the Portuguese and yet, in a democracy, we have turned into a spineless, meek and cowardly lot, over-tolerant of the abuse of power and highhandedness of a highly authoritarian, despotic and fascist Government. The crude, insensitive and irresponsible way this government goes about giving orders and implementing works with least regard to environment and ecology and the sentiments and livelihood of the people of Goa, as if this State is its private property and Goans are some cattle, bound to follow its directions, is highly reprehensible.

It is not alone the police who were treated inhumanly by being served food unfit even for animals, during BRICS summit. Poor women coming all the way from Canacona, Quepem, Shiroda, etc. to Margao to sell their produce like vegetables, mashmelons, etc. were asked to stay away for four days when they squat nowhere close to the dignitaries’ route,

while handcarts were seen moving freely through the town. Who pays for their losses on the produce and livelihood as also of the fisherfolk prohibited from fishing during the period? Anyone with two inches of sense uses such opportunities to help the locals earn some additional income, but not so with selfish imbeciles who deprived our people of their daily bread. Though I hold no brief for our taxi drivers’ tantrums amounting to biting the hand that feeds them, it was grossly unfair to hire, for BRICS a Delhiite, who took only a few Goan taxis and apparently went back without settling some dues.

As it is, Goans are struggling to get jobs and are compelled to migrate, either to other States or abroad to earn a decent income. This sad exodus is a testimony to the impotency of this government in providing employment to locals. Yet, it is using the EC to delete names from electoral rolls of those who, for this sole reason, obtained Portuguese passports and are desirous of trying their luck abroad. One wonders whether the government and EC took similar pains to ensure that migrants, having voting rights elsewhere, are not enrolled here or whether bureaucrats were in fact instructed to ensure the contrary. Our rulers, being proponents of Hindutva, are averse to the West and their culture. Yet, the Central Govt. finds it expedient to seek support, aid and cooperation from the West. Millions of Indians also enjoy western hospitality and nationality, have made west their home and are unwilling to return because of the mess this country is in. Has the EC gone an extra mile, as it is doing in case of Goans, to ensure that they too have no voting rights in India?

No self-respecting individual will tolerate being discriminated and treated shabbily in his own land. I recall the protest in Margao in 60s when MG minister Tony Fernandes called Goans second-class citizens. Today, we are treated worse than that. Goans are too docile and decent to take up cudgels to fight the threat to our very existence posed by heavy influx of outsiders and preferential treatment given to them. This is bound to have serious repercussions, particularly when one’s identity and culture are in danger.

Razing of tribal huts in Nirankal

The anti-migrant agitation in Usgao and the incident of razing tribals’ huts in Nirankal are signs of things to come. It is not right that those who came here to earn a living be driven away. But, it is equally unfair that undue advantage be taken of Art. 19 of a Constitution dictatorially imposed on us, to import people to destroy the character of our land and the identity of our people. The farce of the BJP in demanding Special Status and the false promise of the PM were attempts at throwing dust in our eyes and eventually promoting the opposite. This government, while gifting us with some cosmetic development, is diverting our attention from their larger plan of destroying Goa and Goans, through marinas, port at Betul, nationalization of rivers, etc which will eventually kill our small communities, their trades and livelihood solely to satisfy their bosses in Delhi and their magnate acolytes. It is imperative that we destroy them and their plans before they destroy us.