"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way..." This was how Charles Dickens started his marvelous book, 'The Tale of Two Cities'. The reference was to Paris and London, two cities caught in the tumultuous time of the French Revolution.
On Sunday Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Oscar Rebello used a similar theme to point to two Goa's, separated by culture, geography, economic well-being and aspiration. The contrasts are no different from that depicted by Dickens in his novel. For instance you would support the Mopa airport if you were standing in Pernem and oppose it if you were sitting in Salcete; you would favour mining if you were a resident of a village in the interiors and want it stopped if you were located along the coast. The divisions over language run even deeper and the debate on MoI can at times be acrimonious. Another instance is that of Salvador do Mundo where owners of private forests are divided over the status of their lands.
It would seem that the argumentative Goan revels in argument and shuns solutions because they take away the fun and entertainment of having an argument. That is why it took Goa five years of debate, discussion, legal wrangling and political strife to build a garbage treatment plant at Sonsoddo. That is why it took us five more years to set up one at the Saligao-Calangute plateau. If the MoI issue is taking equally long to be completely resolved it is on account of the divide that Rebello referred to in his speech in Benaulim.
There are two Goas and they used to live in mutual harmony. This harmony is based on respect for each others space and pursuit of aspirations. However, this is breaking down and one Goa is trying to impose its views on the other and this is resulting in political strife and a lack of understanding of what the other side wants to say or do. Hard positions are taken early in the resolution process and this erodes the possibility of a mutual agreement based on each others needs.
In the case of mining, this contrast was well articulated by Sanvordem Sarpanch Sanjay Naik who said, people living in the cities do not understand the condition on villages affected by the stoppage of mining, and it is not right for them to raise objections without understanding the ground reality. In contrast, it is easy for MLAs elected from urban areas to seek a ban on mining.
There are two Goas, but the bridge between the two cannot be built with rhetoric alone. Opposition parties must start articulating economic policies, because this is the hardest part. All political parties must explain to the people how they plans to raise revenue and expand the tax base because no development can take place without sufficient investment by the government. The two Goas can be united, but only through dialogue and not by raising an imaginary enemy.
