BELAGAVI
It was a historic day for Gaonkars from Aldona when 87-year-old Shahu (Shavier) D’Cruz from Ajara, a hamlet in Kolhapur district, paid a visit his ancestral village of Aldona on Tuesday to affirm his right as a Gaonkar of the village.
D’Cruz, who along with many others is now identified as a Bardeskar, was overjoyed when fellow Gaonkars extended him a warm welcome and hospitality.
D’Cruz represents a generation of scores of deprived and neglected Gaonkars in the Upper Ghats region who were either unwanted by fellow Goans back in Goa or were given discourteous treatment during their visit to their respective comunidade, a common situation across many comunidades in North Goa.
When contacted, Shahu D’Sruz, whose son is a well-known Jesuit Fr Matthew Bardeskar, said he was touched by the warm welcome he had received on his arrival in Aldona.
“Many Gaonkars like my across the upper ghats are delighted and looking forward to exercise their right to vote for the first, ever time since their ancestors left Goa about four centuries ago,” said D’Cruz.
Over 4,000 Gaoncars of the Comunidade Fraternal de Aldona live in Upper Ghats region and elsewhere. They comprise families with surnames like Monteiro, D’Souza, Andrade, Carvalho.
Scores of Gaoncars, now living in parts of Ajara, Gadhinglaj and Chandgad talukas and other parts of Maharashtra and Karnataka, will for the first time take part in elections to the Comunidade Fraternal de Aldona on May 29.
“Like-minded gaunkars have come forward to ensure that new faces come into the managing committee so that there is total transparency and to save the land that is being sold indiscriminately to outsiders,” said another member of Comunidade Fraternal de Aldona.
Floyd D’Souza, who along with others has been fighting against alleged malpractices in the Comunidade Fraternal de Aldona told The Goan that they were delighted to receive a fellow gaoncar, who travelled all the way from Ajara with his son out of love and affection for his ancestral land.
“As we are fighting rampant corrupt practices in practice for over four to five decades, we are delighted to know the strong presence of our fellow gaoncars who are living in large numbers in the towns and villages across the upper ghats region,” said D’Souza.
Clyde Castelino, who also gladly received Mr D’Cruz, said his team was delighted to know that there are more Gaoncars outside who will now help to save the valuable comunidade lands that are being sold to outsiders.
“For 40 years, a few families ruled our comunidade, who pleased themselves and cared little about the rest of the local gaunkars and those settled outside Goa for years. It was a great feeling to meet one of our own elderly gaonkar Shahu D’Cruz, who travelled all the way from Azra to profess his rights and show all of us that our land is precious.”
“More importantly, to ascertain that they too are sons of this soil. Surely, our ancestors will bless us all and today will be the happiest moment for them to see us reunited to save our lands and also safeguard it for our generations to come,” Castelino said.
