Wheeling, Dealing, and Genocide
By AMITA KANEKAR
As Goans deal with the chaos, despair, and complete absence of governance of the present moment, a question comes to mind: what is the government for? (more…)
Category: Popular Essays
‘Work From Home’ equals Opportunity to Exploit Labour?
By ALBERTINA ALMEIDA
The pandemic seems to have accelerated a pre-existing trend of work from home, that seems to have gained very good press. What we broadly know is that ‘Work From Home’ involves working at home instead of at the physical premises of the office, and teleconnectivity to be able to work. And when one looks at it this way, one would think that working from home is something beneficial, and it was even heralded by some workers initially after work from home was started when partial lockdowns were in operation. But as the glamour wears thin, it is now increasingly obvious that while COVID19 situations could demand staying at home and consequently working from home, working from home can only be a temporary measure, or else it will stifle the working class. (more…)
The real problem at the heart of Goa’s Devasthan Regulation
By AMITA KANEKAR
The Regulamento das Mazanias, translated as Devasthan Regulation 1933, which regulates the functioning of more than 200 prominent Hindu temples in Goa, is in the news nowadays. A public interest petition has been filed against this law for violating Article 15 of the Constitution by allowing only males to become members of the mazania (the body of mahajans), i.e. administrators of the temples that fall within the purview of the Act. This gender issue is the nub of the petition filed by law student Shukr Sinai Usgaokar, who also quotes Vivekananda about how a nation would not march forward if the women are left behind. (more…)
Do it behind a tree, says ODF Goa
By AMITA KANEKAR
One more Women’s Day goes by, marked by the usual greetings from politicians, commercial hoopla, and celebrations of Indian women, especially ‘successful’ ones. All of this, when compared to the fact that India ranks among the worst countries in which to be born a woman, looks like schizophrenia. But it’s not. It’s just caste, which means one thing for you and another for me. (more…)
Tractors or Cattle?
By DALE LUIS MENEZES
No matter your feelings are regarding the farmer protests, one thing is certain, the tractor is the symbol and icon of the protests. Farmers marching from all over Punjab and other neighboring states first used their tractors to barge through the barricades erected by the police. Once camped at the borders of Delhi, farmers marched inside Delhi along with their tractors to assert their demands. This is the first time that tractors have been used in farmer protests. So, why did tractors become symbolic of the protests? (more…)
Due Process and the Rule of Law is not Enough
By ALBERTINA ALMEIDA
The case of M. J. Akbar v Priya Ramani has brought the two issues of lack of due process and rule of law in sharp focus. The judgement in the defamation case by Ravindra Kumar Pandey, the AC Metropolitan Magistrate 01, Rouse Avenue District Courts, Delhi, has highlighted the circumstances under which those who are sexually harassed by persons in power cannot access justice by putting the due process in motion. It can be due to lack of appropriate legislation that provides victims easy access to justice, or it can be due to social factors such as the stigmatization of those who come forward to complain. (more…)
Love in the time of love-laws
By ALBERTINA ALMEIDA
The potential of love to disrupt the status quo, in the interests of justice, is something that the courts of law, at the trial court level, need to explore, if we are to envision and bring into being an equitable world. This is all the more necessary in times, when laws are being enacted to retain the status quo, which affects the dispensation of justice. It is necessary to take stock of how love is being weaponised to maintain a stereotyping status quo, and to leverage the law and the Constitution to make sure that love becomes a medium to disrupt the conservative and unjust status quo. (more…)
300 crore…Whose money? Who’s celebrating?
By AMITA KANEKAR
So the Centre has given the Goa government 300 crore rupees to celebrate 60 years of “Liberation”. This generous gift, apparently three times what the state government had requested, throws up some questions. (more…)
Election Wins are not Votes for Development
By DALE LUIS MENEZES
The cancellation of the IIT project in Melaulim is a clear indication that the government can heed the wishes of the people. The cancellation further suggests that all development that the government sees fit to impose on Goans and the Goan land is reversible. The decision to cancel the IIT project came after much chest-thumping bravado by ministers in the ruling government, especially after the Zilla Parishad elections that the BJP swept, that they had the mandate and support of the electorate. (more…)
How India Sees Goa: Reflections in the 60th Year of Goa’s Annexation to India
By ALBERTINA ALMEIDA
Although Goa is politically part of Indian territory, the way the rest of India views Goa and its people, says something about the Indian gaze of Goa. I thought it is important to begin by putting down elements of what the Indian gaze looks like, in a bid to understand the sub-text – something that is sub-consciously internalized by people in other parts of India, perhaps based on how the Indian Corporate State has treated and is treating Goa. (more…)