[Reader-list] Villagers of Saleli in Goa yearn for support, but there is none coming now.

[PREETU NAIR]

They are fighting a lone battle-
Villagers of Saleli in Goa yearn for support, but
there is none coming now.



PREETU NAIR
preetu.nair at gmail.com
(Article appeared in Gomantak Times, Panjim edition ,
Goa dated 29 December,2006)

SALELI: When the villagers rose in revolt on December
28, 2005 against their Khase (landlord) and the stone
crusher operators, they had a reason to be angry. But
now a year later, the attitudes here are complex and
results stark.

After the initial hue and cry, for many, the pain of
Saleli villagers stayed largely invisible, rarely
touching the consciousness. Even the Saleli Anyay
Nivaran Kruti Samiti established to give villagers
justice and comprising of "popular" human rights
activists have failed to support them, leave aside
ensuring justice. With the initial euphoria over, the
hapless villagers are now fighting a lonely battle.
"Now, we are fighting a lonely battle, with very few
people to help and support us," said a villager N
Gaonkar.

Still theirs is a tale of lives shattered, young men
suddenly disappearing and families getting split due
to financial problems. Now they find themselves on the
crossroads. Living under grave limitations, knowing
that the risks that they run are many, the villagers
have started to feel the heat. Majority of them,
especially men want to take the easy way out. While
women like Radhika Gaonkar want to take the less
travelled route, filled with unlimited struggle for
survival.

Perhaps experience has taught 70-plus Radhika that
this is their last chance to save themselves and the
village. "If we fail now. We will never be able to
raise again," she said. This wisdom comes from the
bitter experiences she has had in the past.

The story goes like this. More than 30 years ago when
the powerful Khase Krishnarao Rane sold off the kaju
(cashew) plantations, on which the poor villagers
depended for their livelihood, to the Forest
department, they had united to fight against the
decision and ensure that they get their land back. But
their Khase, who promised them tenancy rights and
jobs, divided them. Several years later, they are
still trying to get tenancy rights.

"We were illiterate then and trusted our Khase. But he
never helped us. Our literate youth should never fall
into the divide and rule trap. If we are united, then
sooner or later our demands will be met," opined
Radhika. She and other women know it is time for them
to continue the fight. If they don't, no one ever
could.

However, her brave words fail to hide the fear that
has gripped the village, which is reeling under the
shock of the sudden disappearance of a young man with
three children. Besides, since last one year, there
have been two suicides and one accidental death in the
village. This has left the villagers scared and they
believe that the village is under an evil influence.
"Such things ought to scare us and with no help in
sight, things are only getting worse for us," said
Chaya Gawas.

Moreover, they are disillusioned by the system and
don't trust it anymore. No wonder when the government
officials went to inspect the stone crushing units,
the women gathered and demanded, "Before you start the
crushers, please throw us in the Mandovi".

What really upsets the villagers most is that the
uncertainty continues, as some people with the help of
powerful local politicians indulge in divide and rule.
And a walk in the village reveals a bigger and
shocking reality: they have almost succeeded.


-------------------


Bloody Lords: In the heart of the Khase kingdom

PREETU NAIR
preetu.nair at gmail.com
(Article appeared in Gomantak Times,Panjim edition,
India)

In the 18th century, the Ranes became the proprietors
of the land and the villagers came under their
domination. The Portuguese left but the villagers
continued to be ruled by the Ranes. The ages of
suppression and oppression finally raised the revolt
against the Rane clan in Saleli village. Preetu Nair
tries to find out why a 'God' fell off the pedestal.

SALELI: The young Krishnarao Rane, pioneer leader of
Azad Gomantak Dal, was a man who appealed to his
fellowmen and rarely disappointed them. He was their
King, their "God". As a freedom fighter, he had
secured for himself the love and attachment of his
people, sought gratitude and won respect. He had a
tender place in their hearts and was welcomed into
their homes with open arms.

The villagers are still filled with tales of the young
Khase, who used to hide in their homes and eat
ordinary bhakri (chapatti) prepared by the village
folk, during the struggle against the Portuguese rule.
"Khase used to move from place to place and hide in
the forests. We used to ensure that he gets food and
water. Once we even hid him in our house," revealed
Devgo Gawas, a veteran of freedom fighter from the
village.

However, he admits that the times were different then
and Krishnarao was an altogether different man. "He
was very loving towards the village folk and treated
us like a friend. He used to say; "You are helping me
so much, I will always remember your favour". However,
now all the promises are forgotten," said the
much-agonised man.

His frustration and anger against his "God" is evident
when he added, "If the subjects are not happy, what
good is the King and the kingdom."

Just like Devgo, for long, Saleli villagers' love for
their "God" was true, sincere, pious, pleasant,
gentle, strong, patient, faithful, prudent, even
long-suffering. For long, they had lived on their
knees and had been the "good" subjects. However, those
who love too much can also hate in the like extreme,
especially when they realise that their "God" has
wronged them.

Even though Goa was liberated in 1961, freedom for
them is as elusive as the rainbow's end. They still
find themselves in chains with torn thoughts. It is a
fight for freedom from fear, freedom from oppression,
freedom to live and earn. As a young boy in the
village said, "Goa was liberated long back, but we
feel liberated only now".

But why did this subaltern group silently adopt the
powerless and voiceless world provided to them?
"Because we neither had the courage nor the strength
to stand up against powerful forces. Money and power
was used to suppress and oppress us. We rebelled due
to our utmost need of existence," explains Chhaya
Gawas.

The villagers, mostly Nave Marathas, recollect stories
of the continuous exploitation and harassment they had
to endure at the hands of the landlord and his two
sons. "When we complained, they beat us up. When we
threatened to boycott work, they cooly said that we
could leave the village as they can easily get ghattis
to work for them. We are poor and no one is ready to
help us, not even the village panchayat nor police"
rues Rajaram Goankar.

The landlords may claim that they had always loved and
helped the villagers as their own kith and kin, but
reality seems different. Such was the atrocity that
seven years back when few youth revolted against the
Rane rule and stood for the Panchayat elections, they
were threatened with dire consequences. "After that no
one has dared to stand against the family," said a
villager, who refused to reveal her name.

What has hurt villagers the most is that the Rane
family, whom they believed and worshipped, are
depriving them of their livelihood. According to the
villagers, whenever someone tried to spread their
wings and reach beyond their shores, their wings were
clipped.

When it became a do-or-die situation for them,
thousands of villagers who had been divided and
repressed for long took such a decisive trial of
strength. After all, life was getting tough. The
innumerable stone crushers in area, which had been
given on lease by the Rane family, was responsible for
pollution, bad public health and environmental
problems. Many villagers were struggling because their
crops were destroyed and many small-time farmers were
put out of business and forced to work as a daily wage
earners. Several requests from the villagers to shut
down the stone crushing units fell on empty ears. The
final stroke came when Prithviraj Rane (villagers
called him Bhai), decided to start a stone-crushing
unit.

However, the Nave Marathas' consciousness marks a
certain kind of innocence, a certain kind of fear and
a certain kind of humanness when they admitted that
Bhai shouldn't have been killed. "What happened was
unfortunate but how much could we bear in silence,"
echoed the villagers.

Tenancy or Torture?

Originally, the Saleli Comunidade was an absolute
owner of the village. And the villagers as its members
enjoyed the proportional rights in the land. But the
Portuguese regime apparently dissolved the comunidade
and assumed the ownership, which it subsequently
transferred by way of mocassos inamas (state grant or
proprietorship title) to the Ranes. Subsequently, they
became inheritors of the right vested in the
government. Based on this, the owner of the village
(Ranes) was collecting rent from the original
occupiers as entitlement.
Legal experts say that the grants of this nature all
over India are abolished, except in Goa. The people
have become strangers in their own land as they have
no papers to support any claims they may want to make.
Ignorance of the law has also resulted in their sorry
status.

The Law...Out law

The Rane's were enjoying the Mocassos inamas from 1746
from the Portuguese without paying any tax in return
of a favour. The Rane family have been the proprietors
for nearly 300 years and owned almost all the village
(800 plus square hectare) by virtue of the grant,
except the areas, which are owned by the Forest
department.

In the past, around 1365-odd persons (census 2001) who
used to stay in the land and till it had to pay rent
to the Ranes. After Goa's liberation in 1961, a
majority of the people stopped paying the rent.

Even in Form I and XIV, their names are not included
as tenants. The Rane family is shown as the main
occupant. Only a few educated persons were able to put
their names as tenants. But majority of them are not
even registered as tenants.

The villagers revealed that they had difficulty in
getting a loan from the bank to build a house or start
a business, as the land was not in their name. So when
they approached the Ranes they would be beaten and
harassed mentally and physically, revealed a
youngster, who didn't want to reveal his name.

Crushed and Conquered

As the building lobby became powerful in Goa and more
and more buildings started springing up there was an
urgent demand for meta-granite and meta-basalt that
was found in large quantity at the Morlegad (hillock)
owned by the Rane's. This was some 15 years back.
Rane's gave the hillock on lease and started a chain
of around 20 stone crushers in the area. The Rane's
grew richer, but it destroyed the peace and
tranquillity of the villagers. Check this:

* The fields were destroyed. Once after a farmer
complained to Krishnarao Rane that the stone crushers
were destroying his cashew cultivation, he had to face
dire consequences. The same night his plantation was
completely destroyed by miscreants. He complained but
no one listened.

* In another incident, a year back when a girl was
working in the field an explosion occurred and a stone
pierced her lower abdomen. She had to be immediately
rushed to the hospital. "When my parents complained to
khase, all he said, "Ok, she didn't die".

* In 2000, the course of the river also changed and
the river became very narrow. Reason: the massive
stone crushing in the area, the mountain had become
weak and huge stones came crushing from the hill and
fell in the river, probably changing its flow forever.

Finally, it was Prithviraj's decision to install a new
stone crusher very close to the village that angered
the villagers and led to the uprising.


Jitendra Deshprabhu, Pernem MLA

"We are the natural protectors of the tillers and we
have been naturally shielding the community. It is
really unfortunate that people who have been protected
have now turned against their protectors."

Vishwajit Rane, son of Krishnarao Rane

"I had family like relationship with the villagers. We
always helped them. I don't know why they killed my
brother. They have been instigated by outsiders,
people outside the village".



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Preetu Nair 
Senior Reporter 
Gomantak Times 
St.Inez, Panaji 
Goa-403 001 
India
http://goadourada.blogspot.com/

"Freedom of mind is the real freedom"
Babasaheb Ambedkar
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