Bouncers Beyond Bounds

We are indeed facing socially turbulent times in Goa. It has a lot to do with law and order, or rather the lack of it. It is an acknowledged fact that our children are not safe on the roads, specially the girls. Even the boy students are not safe. Parents live in fear of sending their children out. They can become the victims of child abuse anytime anywhere. Not a day goes by without some report or the other of child abuse, molestation, rape, kidnapping, suicide or murder. And mind you, I’m writing only about assaults on the human body, not property.

The alleged assault on eminent social activist and physician Dr Oscar Rebello by five bouncers was shocking news last Tuesday. The bouncers were hired by a film shooting unit to keep away pedestrians from using parts of some city roads in Panaji.  Dr Rebello was crossing a public road in the capital city of Goa, when he was assaulted by bouncers. The brave doctor not only withstood them but made it a public issue.

We know that bouncers are hired during public events in private places or for private functions. How can bouncers be used against the public in public places? Do such odious practices take place in other states of India? Can we dare to misbehave in public in other provinces? Citizens of Goa will dare not indulge in disrespecting the natives of other states which they visit. But our state is for sale and its citizens can be manhandled if you have paid some price somewhere. We citizens respect our Chief Minister even when we disagree with him on particular issues. But some companies that come to do business in beautiful Goa do not have respect for our citizens, not even for our Chief Minister. One of the bouncers dared to tell Dr Rebello in Konkani: “You can call Parrikar if you like. We have paid for this road.” It is a presumption that if one has paid one can do anything in Goa. What natural beauty are they trying to capture in Goa if they lack a sense of decency? Is it possible to have a sense of aesthetics without simple human decency?

Many others may have faced similar problems during this film shooting event, and walked away quietly either because of fear or lack of time to confront the organizers. People have to rush to their place of work or keep with appointments or go back home where children or sick family members are awaiting them. Teachers and students have to reach their schools and colleges. Patients have to reach the medical clinics, and some may have been going to Dr Rebello’s own clinic in the vicinity. Do we expect them to take on bouncers on the streets? Do they have the time and energy? Even the traffic police were bystanders when the doctor was harassed by the bouncers, who are also alleged to have behaved rudely with a young lady carrying a baby. 

The bold bouncers miscalculated when they confronted the even bolder and charismatic Oscar Rebello, the man who led the Goa Bachao Abhiyan successfully in 2006-07. The movement led by him was responsible for discarding of the Regional Plan 2011. The good doctor may have abdicated the leadership of the Abhiyan due to backbiting and crab mentality. But I can vouch for him that he is a born leader. He has stood out to be counted when it mattered most and has always been outspoken whenever a pronouncement had to be made for the sake of Goa and its citizens. We need leaders like him in Goa and are proud of him. 

I like to look for possibilities from various angles. Could it be that the bouncers were deliberately taking on the doctor to humiliate him? I sincerely hope that the answer is negative. And I sincerely hope that the evil of physically abusing social activists has not entered Goa, and it  will not enter in the future. Social activists take up public causes at great risk for themselves and their families. They are the equivalent of freedom fighters for our times. They deserve our respect and support.

Dr Rebello has raised the right questions after the incident refusing to be cowed down. He has placed the common man’s interest vis-à-vis private profits. He has placed the issue of bouncers in the public square along with the disturbing loud music that is played at nights in various places causing nuisance to the neighborhood. He has also mentioned private encroachments on public roads. These and other issues have to be taken in the domain of public protest more vigorously. 

The ruling party in Goa had recently put up too many banners during the recently held national executive meeting of the BJP, some of them welcoming delegates to the land where the mind is without fear and the head held high, obviously quoting Rabindranath Tagore. Our independent minded doctor has now once again added his name to the list of many Goans who fearlessly hold their heads high.

Published in The Navhind Times, Panorama 30.06.2013  

Collective Leadership

We are living in politically turbulent times in India. We need to go back to the basics. The constitution of India is an ideal, comprehensive document with a preamble that embodies the best universal human values in evocative words. Our constitution was drafted by great leaders who themselves had been influenced by the long  freedom struggle they had participated in, which in turn had been inspired by the American and French revolutions among many other historical events. The fathers of the constitution had also experienced the devastating effects of fascism in the previous fifteen years of their lives. In fact, the last phase of our long independence movement had been shadowed by the global war against fascism. Over sixty years later, we can only be grateful to those who prepared for us the invaluable constitution of India.

Has the constitution failed us or have we failed the constitution? I am of the view that after sixty-six years of independence, we have lost touch both with the realities and the values of those times. The legacy has been corrupted over the years like so many other spheres in our country, from politics to cricket. The answer lies not in amending the constitution to suit our instant desires but in restraining our desires so as to channel them through the constitutional means. Let it not be forgotten that India has survived with its constitutionally determined political system while her immediate neighbors are still struggling with theirs.

There has been this talk going on for long of having a presidential form of government instead of the parliamentary form. A private member’s bill is in the offing to introduce the presidential form, moved by one general secretary of the BJP who is a member of parliament. Now there is also another version of the same theme in the air to elect the prime minister directly. This type of talk increases when the votaries of the personality cult increase. Obviously the two are connected. The connection is dangerous for the polity of our country with its realistic federal structure, and rich diversities of language, religion and culture. India, as our first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru often said, is unique for its unity in the midst of diversity. The parliamentary system of government at the centre and in the states is best suited for our country. Collective responsibility of the council of ministers led by the prime minister or chief minister is one of the salient features of this system. If collective responsibility is the requirement, then collective leadership is the imperative. How can there be one without the other? The prime or chief minister is the first among equals in the council of ministers or cabinet. S/he is the leader. S/he has the prerogative to choose the ministers and allot them the portfolios. S/he can change the portfolios or recommend dismissal of a particular minister to the President or Governor. The council of ministers is responsible to the parliament which in turn is responsible to the people. The system has worked well except for a few aberrations by authoritarian prime ministers or chief ministers, who have eventually been shown the door if not by the parliament then by the people. It is to be remembered that the mighty Indira Gandhi was defeated after the emergency in March 1977, and brought back to power in January 1980, and that Rajiv Gandhi won with a record two third majority in 1984 and was reduced to the position of the leader of opposition in 1989. In Goa the powerful Sashikala Kakodkar was defeated in December 1979 and never became chief minister again. These big political changes took place within our parliamentary system without destabilizing the country or state. There are examples galore in the history of India when personality cults have led to political disasters for the cult figures and the people as well but the country has survived and grown stronger.

Whoever may be the projected leader, Narendra Modi or Rahul Gandhi or any other, what matters is that we elect a party and its candidates for the program that is promised, the values that have been upheld in the course of the past or present tenure, and the number of credible leaders that are in the forefront of the party. These credible leaders are the backbone of a promising future. Not just one of them, but a group of them coming from various backgrounds and various regions. Collective responsibility of collective leadership. The wisdom that is obtained from the many in a council of equals has been and will be far superior to the plans of one single leader who may think only s/he has All The National Answers, or worse still, may think that s/he is The Only National Answer.

We are in the twenty-first century. It is important that we study the history of the twentieth century and learn from it, not be condemned to repeat it. The manmade disasters of the past could have been avoided if personality cults had not been promoted by popularity.

 


Published in The Navhind Times, Panorama 16.06.2013 

Proactive Greens

Are environmentalists the new opposition? Are they opposing anything and everything for the sake of opposing? Are they promoted by vested interests? Are they against development? What is development? Should development be the final and only criterion for anything and everything?  These are some of the questions that come to mind as we approach the World  Environment Day on 5^th June. 

The day dedicated to the environment has been celebrated the world over since 1972. It has grown in popularity over the years giving publicity and strength to the environmentalists. The movement has grown powerful without being monolithic. There is diversity within the movement.

Some, who are interested in saving the stray dogs, are so obsessed with dogs that there is no consideration for the human beings who become victims of the dogs on the streets and in the market places of our towns and villages. Everything has to be done in proportion. There has to be a hierarchy of values. Dogs do need to be protected but protection of human life should be the first priority.

Species on the verge of extinction need special protection. If the mighty tiger has become an endangered species, it is not because of climate change but because of human beings who have gone on shooting sprees. We owe it to the tigers to do all we can to save their species. By saving the tiger we are in a way saving ourselves because the king of the forest is the prime protector of forests. And we need forests for our survival.

We have to protect our rivers from pollution and our hills from deforestation, both of which are taking place on a rapid scale. Our Khazan land is being destroyed on the pretext of false development by builders. If not high rise new buildings, it is the rubble of  old buildings that  is dumped in the khazans. It is a deliberate criminal activity that is carried out under the cover of darkness. When even the holy river Ganges has not been spared by polluters, can our Mandovi and Zuari be far behind?

Those who question and oppose this type of ugly activities are called anti-development people by those who indulge in anti-people development. Growth and development should be in sync with the people. As American writer Edward Abbey has put it, “growth for the sake of growth is the ideology of the cancer cell”.

The fight for environment is herculean. It will only get bigger in times to come because it is going to be a fight for our survival. However, it is a matter of happiness that there are new pro-environment activities on big and small scales that any common man can take up without having to confront powerful lobbies. These include planting and nurturing trees, cultivating kitchen gardens, and bringing about awareness among people with open minds.

Planting and nurturing by NGOs and others have been going on for over five decades; so also the activities to prevent cruelty to animals. The revival of kitchen gardens, which is promoted in villages and towns, is an encouraging sign. Growing vegetables and fruits in spaces under our domain is both environmentally sound and economically profitable. When environment and economy combine, the result can only be health and prosperity. It is our hope that this activity will bring environmental consciousness to greater heights.

We in Goa realized the importance of being self reliant in food when the transporters from the neighboring states decided to boycott Goa because of the entry tax imposed by our government. We realized how much we depend on other states for vegetables and fruits. The entry tax may have thus been a blessing in disguise for us. But did we also realize how much we have already deprived ourselves of fields to cultivate food products by turning our fertile fields into jungles of concrete? We have destroyed our green treasures to build concrete monstrosities!!!

As if to expedite this “Goa in Concrete” process, our resident and non-resident Goans are increasingly cementing and tiling whatever space is left within their compound walls.  

Excuses: monsoon grass is a problem; weeding is expensive. True, but these can be overcome with modern methods. But no, we want to be modern via shortcut. Our villages must be like cities. No problem if our rain water runs into rivers without being absorbed by the soil. No problem if our trees die early provided our immediate surroundings are clean. And the garbage can be thrown by the road side, wet and dry, if not in the river while crossing the bridge.

Our town people have become environmentally more aware. The talk of urban farming is gaining ground. Recently, some progressive citizens of Vasco-da-Gama have formed the “Goa Kitchen Garden Group” aiming to transform the space around houses, the balconies in flats, and the terraces of buildings into “green productive spaces”. 

Every citizen of Goa should take a pledge this Environment Day to keep Goa green and clean.  Everyone can play a proactive green role on a small or big scale depending on individual capacity and collective collaboration.

Published in The Navhind Times, Panorama 02.06.2013