THE GOAN VOICE, SATURDAY, JULY 6, 1963
Because at that time we still believed that the Heads of Governments paid great value to their promises and none among us would have doubted the sincerity of one on whom had fallen the mantle of Mahatma Gandhi.
TODAY, however, all joy has disappeared in the hearts of Goans. Do not be deceived by drums and by garlands of flowers with which the minority would try to suppress the sullen silence of the majority.
We were a small country, but full of high traditions. If there are traitors and collaborators among us (and which country does not have them) they were few. We do not lack honest and courageous men and women who in public and in the Press to military personnel and public servants, strongly protested against the humiliating manner in which we are treated by a government that boasts of being democratic. All in vain!
We, Goans, were a prosperous and happy people. We did not boast of gigantic dams or of big factories, but each peasant had a roof over his head and three meals a day, which is more than can be said of Indians across the Ghats. We lived in peace, order and sectarian harmony, which, again is more than can be said of those Indian citizens, split by sectarian conflicts and caste hatred.
To "liberate us" from this peaceful existence you sent your armed forces which, in the name of liberty, plundered our country and violated our women. From relative peace and prosperity we were plunged in no time into an abyss of illegality and sufferings.
If a semblance of peace and order was restored, all our prosperity went overboard. Nor is our much publicised liberty anything else but a liberty to do what your government enforces.
It is the height of cynicism to affirm that Goans have been liberated, when now are totally ruled by a handful of your administrators, whereas, formerly we used to rule ourselves. It is the height of cynicism to say that Goa is a burden, when formerly she enjoyed prosperity built up with her own means. It is the height of cynicism to assert that Goa does not have any economic possibilities, when your Government unceremoniously seizes our principal resources leaving some cents as alms in order to maintain the present administration. It is the height of cynicism to trumpet that Goans are free, when even their private correspondence is censored and their secular laws torn to tatters and replaced by Indian laws imposed without people's consent.
It is the height of cynicism to speak of preservation of individuality,of cultural institutions, and the distinct aspect of Goa, when everything that is dear to us is being systematically destroyed with iconoclastic fury and scandalous haste.
The peaceful "exploits" of your government during the last sixteen months, to subjugate and reduce to silence the people once happy and contented, would take many pages to narrate. No wonder that all this has created abroad the impression that Goa is an Indian colony.
It is time, Sir, that you should ponder about the numerous promises and guarantees you gave us before and after the occupation of Goa. The lively hopes that the promises raised, have now turned into bitter disillusionment. Never before, in the annals of the history, a head of a government made promises that he did not fulfil. However, in spite of all yor promises, your government is depriving Goa of everything that used to give our life its richness and its meaning.
Amidst the artificial joy with which you will be greeted, we request you to listen to the terrible silence which is more eloquent than all that we might say about the present condition of our unfortunate country.
We, Goans, were happy until in the name of liberty your armed forces despoiled our country
The following is the text of the message of welcome delivered to the Prime Minister of India, when he arrived in Goa on a three-day visit which, it is believed, is mainly to see Marmagoa port which Nehru wants to convert into a naval base.
It is a pity that your visit to this generous and beloved land of Goa did not take place during happier times. If your visit had preceded that of your armed forces, you would have found peace and prosperity which would have roused your admiration and you would have been received with our traditional popular songs and folk dances neither hired nor bought under the terror created by the presence of the conqueror, but spontaneous and unrehearsed.
"Goans in Goa"
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