According to Technology Writer: Nick Barney (2022):
Leadership involves the ability of an individual or a group of people to influence and guide followers or members of an organization, society or team.
Statesmanship, another closely related concept which the Cambridge Dictionary classifies as a noun and which has been defined as:
“the behaviour and actions of an experienced and respected politician or member of a particular profession”
The Cambridge dictionary further clarifies that:
“the quality of being a statesman (= an experienced politician, especially one who is respected for making good judgments) or of being like a statesman”
In the opinion of British historian, Professor John Tosh in his book entitled: “Why History Matters”, he opines:
“History matters because it can form the basis of informed leadership. A lack of historical understanding can also contribute to poor decisions. It is not that the past is a direct guide to the present, or that we can use history to avoid the mistakes of the past. New situations are always unique. Political leaders, however, are often too eager to see only the elements of the past which suit their present day views and ignore the full and complex picture which a really good understanding of the past can provide.”
Resultantly, according to John T. Seaman Jr. and George David Smith of the Harvard Law Review:
“Great leaders respect and honor that basic truth. They don’t ignore history until the time comes to plan their organization’s next anniversary. And though they may not view themselves as historians, they find it useful to think and talk about the past”in the present and in living color.”
Then what does leadership, statesmanship and respect for history have in common?
Based on the slew of comments and political promises rendered by the constitutional head of the Cabinet of Ministers in the State of Goa, the controversy surrounds the endeavour of wiping out remnants of the Portuguese Colonial Regime in the State.
From the point of view of normative prudence, would it be politically justified to reinvograte the oppression of the Colonial regime more than 70 years post liberation?
Take for instance, the Communal Violence currently ensuing in Kolhapur, Maharashtra which had been allegedly incited upon an indirect reference to Aurangzeb on a Social Media Post by a minor.
At least in Goa, by virtue of the Doctrine of Legitimate Expectation the electorate can reasonably or legitimately expect administrative action to be meted out amidst a governmental narrative that is premised on the principles of fairness and non-arbitrariness.
In ascribing to the logic propounded by the honourable Supreme Court of India in State of Jharkhand and others v Brahmaputra Metallics Ltd Ranchi & Ors. (2020):
The observations in paragraph 37 of the judgment enunciates:
“Representations by public authorities need to be held to scrupulous standards, since citizens continue to live their lives based on the trust they repose in the State. In the commercial world also, certainty and consistency are essential to planning the affairs of business. When public authorities fail to adhere to their representations without providing an adequate reason to the citizens for this failure, it violates the trust reposed by citizens in the State…”
But from an evaluative standpoint, the Portuguese Colonial rule which was prevalent in Goa for the past four and a half centuries prior to liberation has not been entirely oppressive as it introduced forms of legal administration within the social fabric of the State of Goa that the rest of India has still been grappling in providing its citizens with,
Take for instance, the Portuguese Civil Code of 1867 and the subsequent Portuguese Civil Code of 1939 both of which envisaged equity amongst successors of both the male and female genders in succeeding to the right of inheritance of the estate leavers. The procedural laws in the Codigo Civil provided for complementary administration of inheritance rights that were devoid of the discrimination based on gender.
Contradictorily, the Indian Personal Laws have failed to ensure this basic form of equanimity between the male and female heirs of an estate leavers.
And from the point of view of a Legal Draftsman, it would be rather astounding to come across social evils in the larger Indian society that requisitioned laws to be enacted to prohibit and mitigate inhumane practices from being propagated in the name of religion.
Take for instance the ‘Commission of Sati (Prevention) Act, 1987’ which was a law that had to be enacted to prevent the self-immolation of widowed women by jumping into the burning pyre of their dead husband.
Such drastic ceremonial practices were atleast not prevalent during the colonial regime prevalent in Goa.
Hence, from a suggestive standpoint it would be apt to incorporate a line of reasoning that is conciliatory and equanimous with the past differences and sensitive towards the future sensitivities culminated into a spirit of societal, religious and political tolerance in tandem with a mutuality for the state that we live in.
With all due respect, what the present Government could really benefit from has been neatly elucidated by Jamie Wise (2020) in his Article titled:
“History Education and Reconciliation in (Post)Conflict Societies”:
Jamie Wise (2020) observes:
“History education can contribute to reconciliation by helping to acknowledge difficult truths about the past, while also reforming intergroup perceptions and ideas about possibilities for cooperation with former enemies in the future. These retrospective and prospective orientations produce both opportunities and obstacles for teaching history in (post)conflict settings.”
