OPINION Pg8

HERALD
www.oheraldo.in

o= HERALD o=
Vol No CIX No: 157
Dare not Silence the Truth
Goa, Saturday 6 June, 2009 Be it through a dialectic process or a dialogue, confronting the truth is always a painful process, says TEOTONIO R DE SOUZA

Happiness for all... W

hen Pope Leo XIII opened the Vatican while branding the critics as “anti-Catholic elements”
archives to researchers for the first time, it (admittedly, even within the Church) or as guilty of
was quite late and a partial concession to providing ammunition to them. Is it only a privilege of

T
o keep everyone happy, promise everyone everything. That seems
to be real gist of President Pratibha Patil’s address to the joint
houses of parliament. Claiming a mandate for inclusive growth,
equitable development and a secular and plural India, the newly elected
Manmohan Singh government on Thursday spelled out through the
traditional President’s address its heavily hyped ‘First 100 Days’ agenda,
which seeks to keep both the aam admi and its khaas admis happy.
There’s only one problem – how much of it is actually going to get
implemented?
The President outlined 10 areas of priority for the government over
the next five years, which would continue its ‘inclusive growth’ model of
development, minus the fetters of the Left parties.
The biggest and most expensive initiatives outlined are all pre-poll
promises, chief among which is the proposal to enact a National Food
Security Act that will guarantee to “every family below the poverty line in
rural as well as urban areas” 25 kg of rice or wheat a month at Rs 3 a kg. This
alone is estimated to cost the government Rs50,000 crore a year.
Other priorities include enactment of the Women’s Reservation Bill
reserving for women one-third of the seats in parliament and the state
legislatures. Internal security and communal harmony, with a zero
tolerance of terrorism, are also on top of the government’s list.
The government, we were told, has already prepared a detailed plan
to address internal security challenges, to be implemented in a time-
bound manner. This includes police reforms and a Prevention of
Communal Violence Bill. The welfare of minorities will be consolidated
by implementing more recommendations of the Sachar Committee, and
through the setting up of an ‘Equal Opportunity Commission’.
But the mantra of growth for India Inc has not been forgotten. The
President stressed the need to revive the growth momentum. In addition
to talking about consolidating the ongoing flagship schemes for inclusive
growth, she focussed on adversely hit sectors due to global recession –
like small units, exporters, automobiles, textiles, infrastructure and housing
– and spoke of the need to encourage Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).
The President, also mentioned the government’s commitment to
recapitalise Public Sector Banks, introduce the Pension Reforms Bill,
adhere to the uniform Goods and Services Tax (GST) roadmap and
accelerate disinvestment in unlisted PSUs through public offers (but
without large-scale privatisation).
Now everyone’s happy.
The government, we are told, will recast the subsidy regime so that it
benefits only the needy, push for pubic-private partnerships in
infrastructure, and ensure prudent fiscal management. Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh has called for a national budget that reflects the
pronouncements in the President address.
The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) too has found little to criticise
in the President’s address. It pointed out just two ‘glaring omissions’ – the
issue of Sri Lankan Tamils and the racist attacks on Indian students in Australia.
BJP leader L K Advani actually called for a new beginning in government-
opposition relations and said it was possible to reach a “common goal”.
public demands. Even so, he sounded a note of caution:
“ Do not dare to tell untruth, but also do not fail to tell
the truth” (Ne quid falsi dicere audeat, ne quid very
non audeat). He was borrowing the second half of the
statement in a modified version from Cicero’s Ne quid
veri tacere audeat, that is, dare not silence the truth. It
seems to be very difficult advice to follow, even for the
guardians of the Bible, which teaches that “The truth
shall make you free”, and that “There is nothing hidden
that shall not be revealed”.
The tendency to hide information has always done
more harm than good to the credibility of anyone,
particularly to institutions. The Indian Government has
now a Right to Information Act (2005). What about the
Church along the same lines? If the Vatican archives
are any indication, we may have to wait a pretty long
time. It is a short-sighted vision of those who claim
they have the good of the Church at heart when they
seek to cover up the real or alleged wrongs of the
Church as a way of not providing ammunition to the
critics of the Church. In the long run (let us not forget
that the time of the Church is not the time of the lesser
human mortals, not at least when the Church takes ages
to solve some delicate and life problems of some of its
mortal faitfhul), the Church can only benefit from the truth.
We know about the accusations hurled at Pope Pius
XII. The Jews have so far found much less than they
had imagined or were suggesting before the records
of the archives of the nunciatures of Munich and Berlin
for the period of 1922–39 were opened to researchers
recently with great reluctance. Many Jewish scholars
and politicians were incensed when the Vatican sought
to justify its reluctance on the grounds that some of
the information could be of the nature of confessional
secrets. Granted that may be true, exaggerated over-
cautiousness can do greater harm to society at large
than safeguarding some mother-in-law’s petty and
inconsequential confessional disclosures.
To some pretentiously critical readers, raising some
questions about the dubious or less transparent facets
of religious communities in these columns may appear
as straddling two horses, each headed in a different
direction, at the same time. Also some references to
the colonial past may be construed as irrelevant. I wish
more Goans would read and benefit from the excellent
research publications produced by Dr Carmo D’Souza,
professor of the Salgãocar Law College. His 2 volumes
on Legal System in Goa (1994–95), a result of his PhD
research, which I accompanied as his PhD co-guide,
Tongue in Cheek
HISTORICAL EXPLORATIONS
could help anyone understand the smooth transition
and partial continuity of the judicial system in Goa after
Liberation.
And should anyone resent or feel ashamed to admit
that the Church of Goa is a child of the Portuguese
colonial past? Not just the references to the past, but
confronting today the challenges which the Churches
of Goa and Portugal are facing in their own specific
contexts needs to be regarded as a duty of continued
Christian solidarity and of the much proclaimed
ecumenicity of the Catholic Church. To someone like
me, a citizen of two countries, and familiar with the
twofold scenario, I view it as a welcome and privileged
situation. Incidentally and fortunately, I did not have to
barter or pawn my right of defining my intentions or
my responsibility towards the Church as I understand it.
Let me also make it clear that I do not venerate any
institutions on earth, not even those that claim divine origin.
Besides some adaptations that were required by
Vatican II, by the all-India Church synod of 1970, and
The Comfort Factor
the more recent synod of the Goa church in 2002, some
democratic frills have been added to the ground
structure and the constitution inherited from the
colonial past. In addition to the Pastoral Letter and
some stray notes available online about those post-
Liberation updates, it could be helpful to all interested
to have the full Statement of the Diocesan Synod (SDS)
also online for consultation, and so also the new rules
for the Confrarias as enacted in 2003. Such updated
rule books could help promote greater transparency
and collaboration of the faithful, and could help dispel
some unwarranted doubts of the interested citizens.
None of my criticisms have or will ever be intended
against any clergyman or other individuals, and I believe
that those who resort to personal attacks only vitiate
any good and useful debate. To use such arguments
and to hope that no-one’s personal hackles will be
raised is a parody of an honest exercise, and cannot
claim to give lessons on charity. It can hardly be an act
of charity to cover up faults of the “Catholic sinners”
Christians to be sinful men and women?
To assume defence of the institutional Church does
not need any arrogant, better-than-thou attitude, such
as adopted by someone who writes on the CBCI’s and
some other webpages of the institutional Church,
accusing Hindutva or the Bajrang Dal as uneducated
youth moved by passion rather than reason (http://
tinyurl.com/pxffqr), and then goes about using similar
style and arguments instead of providing a better model
of serenity and reason. Further, to denounce the retired
Justice V R Krishna Iyer of Marxist ideological
persuasion in order to question his presence on the
commission appointed by the Government of Kerala
to study new legislation to supervise the Church
finances and properties is yet another sample of a
biased and passionate argument. It is not certainly a
paradigm of intellectual integrity when the same
denouncer discovers that Marxist analysis is brilliant after
a Pope blesses belatedly a part of it, as can be read online
at http://www.ucip.ch/nv/in.htm.
Dare not silence the truth? It is more easily said than
done, particularly when dialogue is not permitted to
function smoothly and respectfully for all concerned.
In a situation of conflict with some Church or religious
authority, it is generally presumed that an individual
subject is in fault until he/she is proved innocent. The
hierarchical organisation gives this advantage to a
hierarchical superior and makes a dialogue difficult and
often unfair. Denunciation then could be a painful
solution with painful consequences for the weaker
party in the institutional framework. In a widely
reported case in 2002, Fr Joseph Kottukapally, the Jesuit
priest whom I have known closely in India for his
sincerity, academic excellence and search for justice,
had to resort to a press conference to make his appeal
for justice reach the former Jesuit General Peter Hans
Kolvenbach against his immediate Jesuit superiors, who
were allegedly victimising his fellow Jesuit Fr Pallath. The
case was reported worldwide by the Asian Human Rights
Commission (see http://tinyurl.com/ofh6fv).
Perhaps the Marxist influence in Kerala is not to be
viewed only as negative. It has helped to remind the
Catholic Church to live up fully to its obligations, and
not just through the threats of the Communist Party. Is
it that the CPCI (Catholic Priests’ Conference of India)
could only rise in Kerala two decades ago to focus upon
the prophetic role of the priests, and not just on the
traditional and biblical kingly role? (See http://
tinyurl.com/p2fhf2.)
By Adelmo Fernandes

E
So far so good. But when does it all start to unravel...?
verything we do in this world is probably directed towards just one Be that as it may, we seek comfort at our workplace as well. It is true Human happiness probably has to do a lot with comfort. You just cannot
thing: the comfort factor. We strive to work hard to earn a lot of money that a comfortable work environment can boost productivity. But some hope to find an unhappy man who is comfortable in life and vice-versa. “It

Four-lane fiasco? so that we can live a comfortable life. But many a time, by the time we
achieve a life of comfort it is probably too late, as we have very little of our
lives left to live. Nevertheless we seek comfort in everything we do.
workers could be taking the comfort factor a bit too far. They probably feel
comfortable when they do no work. Wearing clothes is all about being
comfortable, so you wear warm clothes in winter and cotton clothes in
is neither wealth nor splendour, but tranquility and occupation which gives
happiness,” wrote Thomas Jefferson. Comfort should not be mistaken for
idleness. One can be very busy and at the same time quite comfortable

T
here is no gainsaying the fact that Goa needs a four-lane national
highway running from its northern border to its southern border,
and another from the Western Ghats to the coast. This highway
will further need to be six-laned wherever it passes heavily populated
areas, like major towns and their suburbs.
But PWD Minister Churchill Alemao’s proposal to do this his own way,
on a privatised ‘Build-Operate-Transfer’ (BOT) basis, is fraught with as
much if not more danger than going ahead with the consultant’s present
proposal, which he has dismissed as being erroneous and having been
done “without consulting the local people”.
For example, has Churchill even considered what the local people will have
to say about paying a heavy toll every time they want to drive from Margao to
Panjim or from Panjim to Mapusa? Instead of rushing to Delhi, he might more
profitably spend time in Goa finding out what people really want.
Incidentally, comfort has to do both with the physical body as well as
mind. We seek physical comfort at all times. We prefer to sit in a comfortable
chair, sleep in a comfortable bed, drive in a comfortable car and work in a
comfortable office. As a matter of fact, our life revolves around how
comfortable we are.
Since people give so much importance to comfort, making life
comfortable is a multi-billion rupee business. Every gadget available in the
market promises to make our lives easy and comfortable, which makes
one wonder whether or not life is a real burden. There is the air-conditioner
available to make life comfortable in the hot summer days. There are
numerous kitchen gadgets available in the market, which promise to
make working in the kitchen a pleasurable experience for the
overburdened housewife. Home is a place where all the comfort lies.
Hence we prefer to spend as much time within the four walls of our
homes as possible.
summer. But then some ladies feel comfortable in the minimal clothing
they wear and in the process make life for those belonging to the male
gender uncomfortable.
When we speak of being uncomfortable, another ‘C’ factor comes into
play: the ‘complain factor’. In summer we complain about the excessive
heat, and when the rains come pouring down, and in the process bring
down the temperature, we complain about the heavy rains. In a way man
is never satisfied. That reminds of the famous song of yesteryears: “I can
get no satisfaction”.
Comfort does not have to do only with things that are physical. We prefer
to have a comfortable relationship in our married life as well as with our
colleagues at the workplace. Of course we are always comfortable in the
company of our friends. The Bible says. “Love your enemy”. Are we
comfortable in the company of those who mean us ill? Probably not. It is
but human to love all those who love you and hate all those who hate you.
with the people around. It is said that to live happily is the inward power
of the soul. Hence all the comfort in the world may not be able to bring
happiness in our lives.
Incidentally all the comforts in life come at a price. If you wish to travel
in comfort, you have to pay a higher fare. If you wish to live in the lap of
luxury in a five-star hotel, you better be ready to pay through your nose.
‘Luxury’ is the close cousin of ‘comfort’. If you can afford all the luxuries,
you can have all the comfort in the world. It is said that in the affluent
society no useful distinction can be made between luxuries and necessities.
It would be wise to remember that in pursuit of the comforts of the
world, it does not pay to make ourselves uncomfortable. True comfort
comes from having faith and loving our Heavenly Father. God is the comfort
factor which gives us real peace. The scriptures says “Come to me all those
who are heavily burdened and I will give you rest.” That is the comfort God
promises us.

Letters to the Editor

End Alemaos’ charade
A R Sheikh, Benaulim
The charade of the Alemao brothers needs to be
ended by the Congress. All who followed the
party’s poll preparations in South Goa are well
aware of the ‘work’ done for the Congress
candidate by these two ‘faithful’ Congressmen
in their respective constituencies and their areas
of influence in the parliamentary constituency.
But only some in the know of things are witness
to the fact that they have covertly canvassed for
the BJP candidate, to coerce voters to either
abstain from voting or to vote for the BJP.
It is high time the Congress Party realises that
with such individuals within the party, it no longer
requires political enemies nor the BJP as its main
opposition in Goa. The Congress, rather than
concentrating on “winability” alone, has to set
to itself the task of scouting out fresh faces with
reliable family and adequate educational
background if it wants to regain its former glory.
100 Years Ago
PRIMEIRO DIARIO NAS COLONIAS PORTUGEZAS
6 June 1909
Chinese clarify on Macau
The Chinese government, in an official com-
munique, declared that the meeting under-
taken by the Cantonese was to discuss
Macau’s history and nothing else.
Cyclone hits Secunderabad
The city of Secunderabad became the victim
of a devastating cyclone a few days ago, with
much loss of life and material damage.
Unpaid wages irk workers
Some workers at the Park ‘Cabo’ are
grumbling about non-payment of their wages
for the past 2 months.
Lyceum exam dates
Through a notice affixed on the door of Lyc-
eum, the students are informed that the ex-
ams are set for the 11th of the current month.
Printed and published by Vinayak Pai Bir for and on behalf of Herald Publications Pvt Ltd. Printed at Herald Publications Pvt Ltd, Plot No: L-135, Phase II, Verna Industrial Estate, Verna, Salcete, Goa. Published at PO Box 160, Rua Sao Tome, Panjim, Goa - 403001. Editor-in-chief: Mr R F Fernandes.
Editor: Ashwin Tombat (Responsible under PRB Act). Regd Office: St Tome Road, Panjim, Goa. Tel: 2224202, 2228083, Fax: 2222475 (all Editorial); 2230535, Fax: 2225622 (Advertising); Margao: 2737689. Mumbai Office: 16-A, Bell Building, 2nd Floor, 19 Sir PM Road, Fort, Mumbai - 400001 (Tel: 22840702/22844908). RNI No: 43667/83. HOW
TO CONTACT US: mail@herald-goa.com — For press notes, general queries. junioryouth@herald-goa.com — Junior Herald. heraldmirror@herald-goa.com — Sunday Mirror. reporters@herald-goa.com — For Reporters. business@herald-goa.com — For Business news. editor@herald-goa.com — For Letters to the Editor.
sports@herald-goa.com — For Sports news. advt@herald-goa.com — For Advertisements. 2day@herald-goa.com — For Herald 2day. tiatr@herald-goa.com — For Tiatr Reviews and Reports
However, it will have to deal with the possibil-
ity that the Alemaos, once denied tickets or ex-
pelled, will bounce back into the scene backed
with BJP money power – to once again go to the
Save Goa Front or the UGDP (commodities like
Anton Gaoncar and Anacleto Viegas/Radharao
Gracias notwithstanding). On May 16 all have
come to know who are the veritable Congress-
men!
Autonomy for Goa
Cicero Lourenco, Curtorim
If Goans need to protect Goa’s identity, they
should stop demanding special status and in-
stead demand that Goa be declared a autono-
mous region.
Goa’s history of tolerance and distinct identi-
ty dates back much before the Portuguese. We
joined the Indian union only in 1961 after the
then Prime Minister of India sent in troops. This
is the main issue which makes us eligible for
autonomy.
The Congress-led UPA is in power at the cen-
tre and also in Goa. Therefore the two Congress
MPs from Goa should move a bill in parliament
seeking autonomy and saving Goa for the future
generations.
Contributing to India
Newton Mendonca, by email
Once more, we have witnessed a highly charged
battle for the elections. The electorate has made
the correct decision of entrusting the care of
India into the safe hands of our saintly PM. Our
country certainly needs development, and it
must make its presence felt in the comity of the
global powers. We have all the resources and the
greatest of them is our billion-plus population, who
once ignited in heart, mind and soul will carry for-
ward India to never-before-greater heights.
There is often a mistaken perception that only
those in power can contribute effectively to the
nation. In fact, Mahatma Gandhi never held any
significant post and yet steered India out of Brit-
ish rule. Likewise, when any of us – PM, CM,
scientists, doctors, lawyers, police, priests, teach-
ers, students, homemakers, or even the sweep-
ers and the daily-wage workers – do their work
with humility, diligence, sincerity and upright-
ness, they can contribute substantially to our
nation.
ers audience about a problem without amount-
Paths of Wisdom
Letter of the Day ing to be “irrational, irresponsible or ignorant”.
Moral Universalism
Protect forest land
A true picture of Goa
Moral universalism (also called universal
David D’Souza, Porvorim morality) is the meta-ethical position that
It is high time that someone explained to forest some system of ethics, or a universal ethic,
Orlando S A Da Silva, Carmona  dwellers that they live on land that belongs to applies universally, that is, for “all similarly
On Statehood Day, the Chief Minister loudly proclaimed that Goa has ushered in impressive all- the people of India, and that none can have a situated individuals”, regardless of culture,
round development in the last 22 years of our statehood. No doubt Goa has progressed and has right to it. Their ancestors were, in all probability, race, sex, religion, nationality, sexuality, or
performed better than most big Indian states in certain areas, but considering the small size and nomads who had decided to encroach and start other distinguishing feature.
the number of ministers and MLAs we are feeding  at the cost of the exchequer, our performance cultivating government forest land. Forest land, Noam Chomsky states that “if we adopt
does not merit the high self-acclaimed accreditation. Our CM should strive to get the appraisal of even when in private ownership, cannot be de-
the principle of universality: if an action is right
the common people of Goa, who are forced time again to come  on the streets to highlight the veloped; and hence forest dwellers have to con- (or wrong) for others, it is right (or wrong) for
government’s failures. tinue living with no modern amenities. us. Those who do not rise to the minimal moral
The CM should also acknowledge our failures – for example, our  performance is miserable in If the government wants to gift encroached level of applying to themselves the standards
justice delivery systems. The Labour Court in the state is overloaded and has a pending case list land, the government can build an low-cost hous- they apply to others – more stringent ones,
of more than fifteen years. The workers who toil to uplift the economy of this state are not ing society, and then allot rights. Giving gifts or in fact – plainly cannot be taken seriously
getting prompt  justice as our Labour Commissioner’s office  is the most corrupt and appeasements will help no one and cause a lot when they speak of appropriateness of
inefficient. They are always in the pockets of the industrialists. Their only achievements are to of trouble in the future. response; or of right and wrong, good and evil.
issue a notification to refer disputes to the Labour Tribunal where it languishes  for years. The forest-dwellers claim they can build hous- In fact, one of the, maybe the most,
Recently the Labour department referred the NUSI Employees dispute to the Tribunal where es on forest land, but such houses cannot be built elementary of moral principles is that of
I am sure it will languish for next two decades, like most other labour disputes in the state where- on private land near the coast. Is this not ironic? universality, that is, If something’s right for
in workers are suffering . Goa definitely needs more Labour Courts and legislations like the PULP me, it’s right for you; if it’s wrong for you, it’s
Act of Maharashtra to clear the backlog in labour disputes and come to the rescue of the working Dupatta killer wrong for me. Any moral code that is even
class to enable adjudication of the urgent disputes  like dismissals at the High Court level. worth looking at has that at its core somehow.”
Stephen Dias, Dona Paula
 Similar are the miseries of delays at the civil courts and at the tenancy courts.  Goa has to The justification of a universal ethic may
address this problem of justice being delayed due to shortage of courts on a war footing. Justice The serial killer Mahanand Naik’s murder spree be thought to be, for instance, human nature,
delivery should be time bound and effective. is the most talked about news story in the papers. shared vulnerability to suffering, the de-
 Our performance in agriculture and installation of basic infrastructure such as supply of 24- His actions have frightened and shocked the mands of universal reason, what is common
hour water supply, uninterrupted electricity supply, scientific garbage and sewage treatment and women of Goa. To make it worse, it is unknown among existing moral codes, or the common
public transport system are dismal and need mention in the performance appraisal. whether Mahanand has a gang or some partner
who aided in the murders. The police should also
mandates of religion. As such, models of
 But we must all  agree that Goa has definitely performed well in the destruction of our moral universalism may be atheistic or agnos-
environment and ecology and our age-old communidade systems of supporting agriculture, by investigate this angle to find out if there exist tic, deistic (in the case of several Enlighten-
supporting lopsided constructions, and allowing indiscriminate mining. some more Mahanands who may still be at large. ment philosophers), monotheistic (in the
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Digamber Kamat was
case of the Abrahamic religions), or polythe-
few core aspects of the implications of the de- surprised to hear the statement made by his own istic (in the case of Hinduism). Various sys-
A frog in the well? Home Minister Ravi Naik that woman should
cline in our bullfrog populations. tems of moral universalism may differ in var-
Hansel Vaz, by email desist from wearing dupattas in near future, so ious ways on the meta-ethical question of the
It is unfortunate that a lot of us living in urban as to avoid these kinds of crimes. But it is point-
There is an apt proverb about the ‘frog in the areas do not realise that frogs can thrive in a semi- nature of the morality, as well as in their sub-
less to advise people what to wear and what not stantial normative content, but all agree on
well’. The frog is an arrogant one. It looks up urban and rural landscape, if given a chance, as to wear, because this type of serial killer will soon
into the night sky and believes that the moon is witness Dr Ferdinando dos Reis Falcão’s letter its universality.
develop another modus operandi. An enormous range of traditions and think-
shining only for it. The irony is that it does not titled ‘The real threat to frogs’ (Herald, 3 June).
know that it lives in a well. Its realm of understand- For more information, without “downplaying ers have supported one form or another of
ing is restricted within the confines of the well. prime factor” threats to Goa’s frogs, he is en- Letters should be 150 words or less in moral universalism, from the ancient Platon-
The moral of this proverb is deceptively sim- couraged to visit the website www.savegoas- length, and should have the writer’s ists and Stoics, through Christians and Mus-
ple, telling us about pride, arrogance and humil- frogs.org to find the other threats to frogs in name, address and telephone number. lims, to modern Kantian, Objectivist, natural
ity. Beyond that, it speaks also of perspective: to Goa. Interacting with ecologists would clear a The editor reserves the right to edit let- rights, human rights and utilitarian thinkers.
look beyond our confines and understand the lot of preconceptions and misconceptions. We ters for size and readability, and to The United Nations’ Universal Declaration of
larger world outside. In my article on frogs (Her- do realise that there are several reasons for de- delete any personal attacks or libellous Human Rights is an example of moral univer-
/objectionable matter. salism in practice.
ald Mirror, 31 May), I had sought to challenge cline of frog numbers, and are neither “insane”
(Courtesy: Wikipedia)
a ‘traditional ignorant’ mindset by elucidating a nor “ignorant”, but I hoped to sensitise the read-