Remembering Goa’s struggle for Konkani, statehood

Beautiful beaches, water sports, music, old bars and sundowners — Goa has the perfect recipe to be the cynosure of every visitor’s eye. One of the young states in the country, Goa is also among the fastest-growing states. However, not many are aware of the struggle for identity that Goa witnessed in the middle of the last century.

Luizinho Faleiro, one of the prominent figures during Goa’s statehood movement, has documented the state’s struggle for identity in his book, The Battle for Konkani and Statehood of Goa, which was released earlier this year. In fact, “the battle for Konkani and Statehood has been the most passionate of movements Goa has ever seen or that Goans will ever witness”, writes Faleiro, who became the 13th chief minister of the state in 1999.

Goa became free from Portuguese dominance in 1961 after violent protests. This liberation only strengthened the locals’ expectations to break all shackles and become a self-sufficient entity. Goa, then a Union Territory, had its first Assembly elections in 1963. The Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party came to power with an agenda to make Goa a part of Maharashtra. But Goans rejected the merger proposal in an opinion poll held in January 1967.

“That result of the Opinion Poll was seen by many as having consigned the idea of merger to the garbage bins, where it rightly belonged. Yet, the ensuing elections returned the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party to power,” writes Faleiro.

This would be the beginning of a two-decade movement for Konkani language and statehood. Faleiro, then a young politician, was undeterred by the ruling party’s high-handedness. The first step was to gain official language status for Konkani.

In 1980, Faleiro tabled a resolution in the State Assembly seeking official language status to Konkani. In January 1983, he moved another resolution urging the Centre to grant statehood to Goa.

“From the Liberation of Goa in 1961 to the passage of the Bill granting Official Language status to Konkani, followed almost immediately by Statehood for Goa in 1987, was a period of over 25 long years. My role in the Opinion Poll was minimal, a teenager finding his way in a land that had just been liberated from colonial rule. The role I played in the Konkani movement was significant but success is entirely due to the people,” writes Faleiro.

The new book is a recollection of the struggle and a reminder for the present generation that Goa what it is today was the dream of many visionaries who wanted the state to be self-sufficient and its people to prosper. The book is also for present-day leaders to understand that mindless development is not the way forward and a sustainable way is the need of the hour.

According to Faleiro, “protection of agricultural land within the jurisdictional realm is important, as sans regulatory and prohibitory measures governing the acquisition of title, sale and conveyance of property by and to non-Goans, is posing a challenge for the sustenance of Goan agricultural land”. However, it is this agricultural land that is being affected by the sudden spurt in tourism and tourism-related business.

A vivid documentation of the history of modern Goa, the book is important at multiple levels. Goa’s movement and the leaders’ resilience are an example for Meghalaya that is fighting its case for the inclusion of Khasi and Garo languages in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution.

The cover illustrations by the legendary Mario Miranda make the book endearing for those who are keen on knowing and understanding the place beyond its dazzling façade.

Book: The Battle for Konkani and Statehood of Goa; Author: Luizinho Faleiro; Publisher: Dr Francisco Luis Gomes Memorial Trust; Pages: 118; Price: Rs 599

~ Team Sunday Monitor

(Cover Image by MM)