MARGAO
Social activist Dr Oscar Rebello on Saturday cautioned that unless urgent solutions are evolved to end the cynicism amongst the youth in a semi-democratic way, a time will come when the cynicism will turn into despair and engulf Goa in a fire which will be difficult to douse.
Saying the Goa Bachao Abhiyan agitation was successful because the Congress had to bow down before its supporters agitating against the Regional Plan, Rebello said the time has now come for the BJP supporters to mount pressure on their own government to save Goa and Goans and stem the irrevocable decimation and disintegration and destruction of Goa.
Delivering a lecture on Gomant Vidya Niketan’s lecture series, Rebello said there is no political solution to the problem Goa is facing, saying the colonization by Delhi of Goa is complete and is a fait accompli.
“Today, we have a cynical generation in Goa. Some of the youth have moved out of Goa with the Portuguese passports. But their cynicism turns into despair, it will become a tidal wave and submerge institutions such as trade and commerce. Before this despair hit the roads, you need to address the sentiment of Goan youth, which no political party is ready to address," he said.
He added: “From fighting battles of identity, we need to move forward to fight battles for the very existence of Goans. We need to mount public pressure. We need to fight battles keeping our environment and natural heritage and history alive and stop attempts to make the state a slum.”
Expressing concern over the unregulated flow of capital into the state, Rebello has suggested that the people of Goa should tie up with the people in the neighbouring districts of Sindudhurg in Maharashtra and Karwar in the South to keep the real estate and hotel sharks and the punters and gambles at bay so that the entire belt put up a wall of resistance to stop the unregulated capital into the belt. He said Goans are still fighting a culture war amongst themselves when the people of Goa are facing extinction.
