I CONDEMN THE TERRORISTS' ATTACK ON INDIAN SOLDIERS IN KASHMIR.

I strongly condemn the cold blooded attack carried out at Pulwama in Kasmir by, as alleged, Pakistan thru remote control, a few days back.  This will not be an end and I am sure it will be carried forward more vigorously if it is the genuine work of Pakistan. Even though Pakistan denies its hand directly in such attacks yet everyone knows how it works.  Normally, without  Islamabad’s direction nothing works there.  Pakistan has already  realized its inability to weaken India by fighting a war militarily and hence Pakistan is using these tactics of terrorism to weaken India where they look gaining.

Ealier in Mumbai attack about 10 years back how the Pakistani terrorists made mockery of the mighty military power, India. Those terrorists finally made fools of all the protectors of India’s sea routes. God knows if these protectors of our ocean were heavily bribed by the Pakistani agents to close their eyes during the journey of the terrorists to Mumbai. Indians are known to be very good bribeable commodity and this can be easily ascertained thru many of those working for Customs who shamelessly demand bribe for them to release the goods the passengers bring along with them when they, our foreign based Indians return back on vacation.

Killing our Jawans so many in number at a time means an indication that our enemies are stronger in this segment of fighting with India. Otherwise, was it the work of indigenous Indian terrorists who are also trying to destabilize India because of their internal political differences? This can easily happen by the suppor of our high ranking politicians who are ready to do anything for the sake of money.  These politicians are like the curse on India and the way they are looting India with the help of their power, they are capable of doing anything in India even if India suffers.

During my long period in Kuwait very few Goans must have moved and mixed up with different segments of Pakistani community as I did and I came to know that even an ordinary Pakistani is anti-India, as a whole Pakistanis hate India, they want to take their revenge of  the defeat Pakistan suffered against India in the then East Pakistan resulting in the birth of Bangladesh. In Pakistan according to my information, there is one Military College whose graduates at the time of receiving  their degrees/diplomas they have to swear upon God that they will take their revenge against  India for the defeat India inflicted on Pakistan.  This was the most horrible, most humiliating and most disgraceful defeat that Pakistan suffered. When the 90 thousand Pakistani POW’s returned back home to Pakistan, they were, at least some of them, were openly humiliated by the Pakistanis by showering insults on them and even spitting on them.

Even on Pakistan’s embarking on Atomic device is not only to frighten India but if possible to use it against India however in the bargain they will be the bigger losers that does not bother them. What  bothers them is how to weaken  and destroy India.  This is their Goal. And in this direction, they will do anything to harm India.  They want to humiliate India as much as they can and in anyway they can.  In Kuwait I saw so many Pakistanis from the lowest category to the highest, they kept for them Indian ladies even oldies,  many of them Goans as their concubines and as told to me by some of these Pakistanis, they kept them as their concubines because they feel psychologically superior to Indians and they like to keep these ladies as their subjects and treat them as slaves thus getting false feelings that they make Indians as their slaves.

A.Veronica Fernandes.

THE LATE VISHNU VHAG & HIS HATRED TOWARDS CHURCH SCHOOLS.

I have nothing against him neither I have anything common with him but as mentioned in Julius Caesar by Sakesphere, “the good that man doth often interred with the bones, the evil always remaineth after him”.  May God forgive him of all his sins and may his soul rest in peace. During  his  last speech in the Assembly  session of  his last term, Vishnu Vhag  was very angry on Diocesan Society when he said like a “Rhagist Ranatlo Vagh”, somewhat like this ‘’what Diocesan Society think, just because they built their schools they feel they can do anything?  We can also build our own schools and show to them what we can do and we will build”. Poor thing. He never survived to challenge the Diocesan Society. But the anger against Diocesan Society he released from the advantageous platform of Goa Legislative Assembly hurt the feelings and sentiments of the overwhelming majority of Catholics in Goa.

In Goa, the Catholic Church and Diocesan Society is  not a hindrance to any particular person or any organization or any particular community.  Catholic community as a whole  is peace loving community  not bent on creating problems for others and according to its doctrine it cannot do any problem to anyone.  Because of it’s peace loving doctrine there is peace and peaceful atmosphere prevailing in Goa since the advent of Christianity in Goa. Because of its non-belligerent attitude, Catholics do not fight with others as we see elsewhere in India where you see Hindu-Muslims riots.  There is no Hindu-Catholics riots in Goa and will never happen as long as the ancestral and traditional bond built centuries ago by Catholics and Hindus/Muslimsremains intact.  However, the only fear now is that of influx of migrants overwhelming majority of whom are non-Christians, who may sow the seed of discord between original Catholics and original non-Cathoilics because these migrants are carrying in their veins communalism.

In the Diocesan Schools not only Catholics study and work but others too without any discrimination and these schools are built by the donations mostly  of Catholics. I don’t see any non-Catholic giving donations to the construction of Church Schools in our localities.  In my village in Candolim when Fr. Alvito Vaz fell short of money in the beginning itself when he as the principal of under construction St. Theresa’s High School, approached with the begging bowl one local Hindu millionaire, in early sixties, that millionaire never gave a single paisa even though Fr. Alvito Vaz told him that in this school even your Hindu community students study.  But he never cared however, we the locals especially the financially small people never neglected our responsibility and somehow or the other collected the required amount including from my Mocambique based sister and her husband, they gave 75 thousand rupees to overcome the  financial calamity. In this way we the local  Catholics shouldered our responsibility to erect that monument of learning where besides Catholics, others like Hindus, Muslims and now a great number of migrants as well study. Leave aside non-Catholics study there but so many non-Catholics males and females work in these schools not only as teachers but also in the administrative jobs and thus they earn their sustenance.        

After the invasion of Goa on December 19th, in 1961, Church in Goa took the very good lead in spreading the education in Goa for all Goan children and because of this appropriate  initiative the standard of education and manpower in Goa has gone high. Unfortunately, many of the critics of Diocesan Schools are those who do not belong to the Catholic community nor give any donation, even if you beg with them but they will come sprinting to register the enrolment  of their children in the Diocesan Schools. Yet Diocesan Society  does not harbor any revenge

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During the Portuguese era in Goa, Portuguese Governador Vassalo e Silva initiated the compulsory free Portuguese schooling for all Goan children attaining the age of 6, somewhere in 1958.  The implementation of this compulsory schooling was put forward so vigorously that failure to follow this rule would make the erring students/their parents pay the fine of around Rupees 250/-.  From here it is to be noted that Portuguese Governador was the pioneer in spreading education in Goa who was the pure Catholic just like Fr. Lyon who established first English High School of Goa at Arpora where not only the Catholoic studied but also a huge number of Hindus studied too.

A.Veronica Fernandes.

THE LATE FRANCIS D"SOUZA AND HIS BJP.

Never to talk ill of the dead,  goes the Roman saying. My friend at St. Xavier’s College Mapsa, ex-Minister Francis D’Souza  and current MLA from Mapsa constituency was totally exploited by the BJP led by Parrikar and after foot-balling him the way they wanted, BJP dumped him into waste paper basket.  It is sad to know how Francis failed to realize the chicanery of Parrikar in particular and that of BJP is a big question mark.  Francis may say anything but BJP and Parrikar used him as a mirror of Christian community in general and Catholic community in particular. BJP used Francis only to woo and get the goodwill of the Catholic community in Goa whom Francis treated as nothing.  

He was my fan and admirer at soccer ground especially at St. Xavier’s College and Mapsa Duler when I was playing for Sesa Goa also on athletics field where I excelled in running.  Though he was junior to me in College yet he admired me.  During my meeting him any time he used to wish me very respectfully with his normal humility which he derived from his father Mr. Pedro a popular and helpful figure at Camara Municipal Bardez.  It was because of his father Pedro, Francis gained name and fame and good respect in Mapsa and other villages in his constituency.

During my last 5 years in Goa after returning from Kuwait, he invited me at his place along with my wife for Dinner thrice during special occasions and he discussed with me many of the subjects touching our younger days. He had very good memory which I came to know when he cited some incidents created by me while playing soccer.  It is surprising he still remembered the minute incidents that occurred on the soccer ground 50 years back, one of them was at Duler ground during our encounter between Sesa Goa and Vasco. We were leading by one goal to nil, when the atmosphere inside and outside the ground was heavily charged, I shoulder dashed the most robust forward of  Goa, Bernado of Vasco who felled down on the ground and rolled in agony for about 10 metres.  Referee did not point out any fault but spectators who were mainly the supporters of Vasco entered the ground in thousands demanding infringement.  Nobody touched me though at moment it looked they wanted to kill me.  When spectators refused to leave the ground, referee from Agacaim nicknamed as “Cheuris” blew the long whistle and abandoned the game.   

He did what he felt the best by by getting embedded to BJP thinking they would stand by him when need arises but true to their anti-Christian principle and pro-Hindu doctrine they dropped Francis like a potato in the Kitchen. To please the Goa command and Delhi high command of BJP he even went to so far as to call himself as Christian Hindu. By totally surrendering himself to the doctrine of BJP he even forgot to raise his voice against BJP’s anti-Christian decisions thus proving to Christians that there is no one in BJP to support Christians. Mathanay Saldanha also did the same. Similar tactic was used by the recently died George Fernandes when he was a cabinet minister at the Centre. When our own elected representatives refuse to side with us then who will support us?  Then God play Ḥis role by implanting in our bodies incurable illneses like Cancer or Kidney failure etc. that take control of our bodies.

 

It is a pity that within 48 hours 2 stalwarts of Goa disappeared like an Ether and how many more are there in line?  It is not good to hurt the sentiments of the weak.   Where are all the then great stalwarts of MGP gone now?  Fear God my brothers and sisters.  There may not be any one on this planet to check your moves but there is somebody above to  put a full stop to all your moves. Respect God – Fear God because as it is said  in Konkani “DEVACHEA MARANK AVAZ NA”.

A.Veronica Fernandes.