Opinion poll day: Empty talk amid fading identity

| JANUARY 17, 2019, 03:34 AM IST

Is Opinion Poll day all about statues? It’s that day in the year where politicos take the podium and reassure the people of Goa about Goem, Goemkar, Goemkarponn. It’s a day where the otherwise forgotten Dr Jack Sequeira, popularly known as Father of Opinion Poll takes centrestage. It’s a day when ‘milestones’ like Opinion Poll Square are opened and new statues of Dr Sequeira unveiled. And it’s a day which reminds us of forgotten promises, including those of installing another statue at the Secretariat. The feel good factor however is that historic 1967 Opinion Poll is headed to the school syllabus.  

While politicos go about focusing on statues, the essence and relevance of Opinion Poll day is relegated to a sheer display of showmanship. A clarion calls to re-dedicate ourselves to preserving Goan identity is a matter of routine every January 16. The avowed objective of Goemkarponn is not visible on the ground and it would make sense to define Goa’s identity first, before going any further.  

Calls for re-dedication mean nothing. January 16 should in fact be a day of introspection. It is a time to raise questions on how far the Goan identity has been secured. It’s time to reassess if the government policies are in sync with the objectives of Goemkarponn and in the true spirit of the referendum. Goa is going through a change and development is happening at its own pace. The question remains if this growth is in sync with its people. Or are we doing only lip service and going through the motions with yearly commemorations? How does one explain the fast-changing landscape and the population ratio?   

There are far more serious and worrisome factors which are detrimental to Goa’s identity. Goa is headed for a major topographical change. The State is beginning to lose its orchards, farm lands and greens. With the new CRZ notification, the once pristine Goa coastline threatens to be now a hub of commercial activity. The government has failed to treat the unemployment scenario with the seriousness it deserves leaving people with no other option but to migrate in search of greener pastures. The industrial clearances and the greenfield Mopa airport hold promise of jobs, but Goans don’t figure prominently in the scheme of things.  

Goans are migrating in search of jobs and better livelihoods to the United Kingdom, and the serpentine queues at the Portuguese consulate cut a sorry picture for Goa. Worse still is the influx of migrants who have preferred to make Goa their permanent home. The chest-thumping by politicians that is witnessed on January 16 is a surreal show of solidarity and will not do any good to protect the Goan identity which Dr Sequeira and many others had envisaged and rooted for.   

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