The Un-Indian Space -- Goa's Challenge to the Hindu Nation: A Riposte
Dr. Brian Mendonça
Goan Poet and Writer
Abstract
In the wake of the
vitiated climate that pervades the country, the tentacles of intolerance seem
to reign supreme. Goa, basking in the
Lusophone sun seems to be removed from all this. Its character is permeated by
the breezes of the coast which welcomes any traveller to this ancient land. Its
poets and writers have sung of an Indian summer yet staunchly proclaiming a
Goan identity. It is here that the intellectual vanguard impresses upon all who
would listen that India’s strength is in its plurality. Threats to senior
writers like Damodar Mauzo only serve to emphasize how imminent a danger a
myopic outlook poses.
Having said this I
wish to problematize the binary of ‘India’ on the one hand and ‘Goa’ on the
other. In what way is Goa ‘Un-Indian’? When we speak of Goa do we view it as a
composite of Hindus, Muslims and Catholics? Is Goa’s perceived ‘challenge’
tacit or obvious? Why this touristy mythification of Goa that so enamours the
Indian (read Hindu) sensibility? Does Goa as a region cock a snook at the
nation? Surely others in the Goan diaspora globally animate this narrative in
various ways? Ultimately the nation becomes a notion.
This paper will attempt
to address these questions. I will also draw on my experience as a
traveller-poet who has travelled widely across India and now resides in Goa.
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International Conference on ‘Region/ Nation/
Trans-Nation: Literature-Cinema Interface.’ BITS Pilani, Goa Campus. 31 Jan-2
Feb 2019. Pix taken on 2 February 2019 at BITS, Goa
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