As a Lok Sabha member, and a two-time Rajya Sabha member spanning 17 years, Shantaram was the potent voice of Goans in the Indian parliament
In today’s world, an honest, loyal and clean politician is a rarity. Anything for power is the mantra for politicians and the political parties they belong to. However, the late Shantaram Naik belonged to that classes of Goan politicians like Purshotam Kakodkar, Priolkar and others when regionalism and regional politics dominated the Goan electoral scenario.
Since the early 70s, the Congress house was seemingly deserted and the only Congress man I can recollect was John Fernandes, former RS member, who was then the Secretary of the Youth Congress, who ushered in the entire Congress (Urs) elected members of the Goa Assembly into the Congress in 1980 and saw the Congress in Goa gather weight in this tiny territory, which Nehruji called “Ajeeb hai eh Goa ke log.”
If India today is not a theocratic state, with its Constitution fully committed to preserve the secular fabric of the society, it is entirely due to majority of our Hindu brethren, who have vowed to respect the cultural, sociological and religious diversity of this nation.
We see secular leaders right from Mahatma Gandhi to Jawaharlal Nehru and now Rahul Gandhi in charge of the Congress Party at the national level.
However, there is a belief amongst fundamentalists consisting of the Hindutva brigade that INC ruled India for over 60 years, primarily due to minority appeasement and vote bank engineering on casteist lines.
The Indian population consists of 80% Hindus and about 17% Muslims with Christians, Sikhs, Jains, Zoroastrians, etc. constituting the rest of the 3%. It is the handful of those in the saffron brigade that are spreading hatred, violence, terror which has annoyed and angered the majority of the “secular Hindus” who endeavor to ensure “India’s unity amidst diversity” is firmly footed in our country.
I write this article as a tribute to my late friend Shantaram Naik, a loyal Congress man, fully wedded to maintain the secular fabric of India and who passed away suddenly on June 9, 2018.
Shantaram Naik, like myself, was born in 1946. During this time neither free India or Goa existed. We, in India and Goa, were under British/Portuguese colonial rule.
We met at Flora Fountain in Mumbai in the early seventies when he came to Bombay University to pursue his post-graduation in law at the Siddarth College.
Dhobitalao is a hot spot for Goans, even now and a melting pot of Goans, who stayed in “kudds” there.
From mid-seventies to date, Shantaram was politically a very active person, working tirelessly, not only endeavoring to give Konkani language national recognition but ensuring Goa gets “statehood”, as he was extremely close to central Congress leaders and India’s then Prime Minister including late Indira Gandhi as well as late Rajiv Gandhi.
Shantaram, as a member of the Lok Sabha, and a two time Rajya Sabha member spanning a period of 17 years was the potent voice of Goans in the national decision making bodies at the center.
He was the voice of Goans in the Indian parliament. Due to Shantaram, Goa frequently featured during question hour and debates in the Indian parliament.
I, being an academic person and a freelance journalist, my articles in the field of environment and even political essays were eagerly read by him and my research on Goa biodiversity and environment used in his scheme of political discourse.
Be it river pollution, contamination of ground water or marine pollution, Shantaram saw that Goa’s problems received national attention and my scientific papers were meticulously used in the greater Goan interest.
The last, I met Shantaram was about 10 days before he expired.
As I had written an essay, which portrayed Congress in Goa as a dormant opposition, he requested me to be a bit soft on Congress in Goa as BJP was at the center and the Goan MLAs could do little to unsettle the BJP dispensation in Goa.
He felt that the Goan press by and large was under BJP control and without Congress governance in Goa, minorities could foresee distress as expressed by the Bishop of Goa Rev Filipe Neri Ferrao.
However, Shantaram Naik was committed to stand by the Bishops, and the fight against minority bashing by the Hindu fundamentalists in India.
He wanted the way laid Catholic MLAs, the so-called “altar boys” in the BJP government to understand and leave the BJP and join the secular movement.
Will Shantaram’s dream come true? Will the Indian Constitution survive? Will the turbulent times for the minorities subside? Only time will tell.
