The Goa Opinion Poll day on January 16 brings memories afresh of the referendum held in the State on this day in 1967. A poll that decided the future of the Union Territory of Goa, Daman and Diu. A poll that offered the people of Goa a choice between continuing as a union territory and merging with Maharashtra. It is on this day that the people voted against the merger and chose to continue as a Union territory, only to get the status of a State in 1987.
After 51 long years, our political class has woken up to the fact that there should be due recognition to those who fought tirelessly against the merger. Demands by the Goa Forward to include a chapter in the school curriculum on Opinion Poll, and GFP president Vijai Sardesai’s plan to install a statue of Jack de Sequeira, nicknamed ‘Father of Opinion Poll’ besides naming of the Old Market circle to Ravindra Bhavan as Opinion Poll Square are positive moves. However, this cannot be used as a platform to score political brownie points. Blaming the Congress over the party’s failure to recognize Opinion Poll day is unwarranted.
True commemoration of the Opinion Poll Day doesn’t only lie in the cosmetics. It goes beyond installing statues and bestowing recognition. It rests in issues that Goa is synonymous with, where the Goan identity is the focal point and there lies bigger challenges ahead if Goa has to maintain the very identity it was fighting for.
Over the past decade, the State has seen a huge wave of migration happening. Goans have been moving out of their land, some of them for greener pastures while a few in pursuit of a new home and a better living. While this exodus continues even now, there is a huge influx of migrant population that has made Goa their home. You cannot find that sussegad Goan lazing on the benches of our Margao municipal garden and many other idyllic spots whiling away time. Presumably, there won’t be many Goan takers too to the signature-style ambience created at the Opinion Poll Square. There is an urgent need to fix this imbalance. This is where the Goan identity is losing its foothold.
Secondly, there are huge chunks of properties that are being bought by land developers and real estate lobbies from outside, and affording a piece of this pie is beyond the reach of the common Goan. The Goan is reduced to a mute bystander in his own State. This is where the Goan identity is suffering.
Thirdly, Goa’s history needs to be brought in the school curriculum which is currently British-centric. Pages of Goan civilization and the history-making chapters including the Opinion Poll, Language agitation, Cuncolim revolt, etc and key phases of the pre-Portuguese era should find a place in the school curriculum. A lot needs to be done if the Goan identity is to be retained, much more than soaking into political nostalgia.
