Upholding democracy
What happens in a war? Then young Indira Gandhi asked her father Jawaharlal Nehru and he replied that education and economy collapse. “And what after education and economy collapses?” Morality collapses was his answer. Curious, she persisted, “And when morality collapses?” He responded by asking her, “What would make you stay in a country whose people’s morality collapsed?” A person can endure facing food shortages, economic hardship or lack of leisure activities but when morality disappears, the wicked prevail and democracy, laws and virtue are lost. Society turns into a jungle, law of the jungle prevails and a dignified life becomes nearly impossible. After the devastating experience of two world wars and so much technological progress, we may be on the brink of a third world war. So much violence and destruction! The oldest democracy and the richest and the most powerful nation in the world has thrown all norms of democracy and morality to the winds. We, who pride ourselves as living in the largest democracy, have started an ‘Enough is Enough’ movement in Goa even as the state is turning into a concrete jungle. Today robots and artificial intelligence (AI) are rapidly being integrated. Can we outsource morality to a soulless algorithm?
John Eric Gomes, Porvorim
Heavy price
Such is the fear of losing their ships in the Strait of Hormuz that the US navy has moved its fleet deep into the sea, while its famed nuclear-powered aircraft carriers have been straitjacketed and none of the frigates have got any role to play in the offensive. The US is running scared, Iran’s choke hold on the Strait is complete and all shipping through the channel is at a standstill. Iran is now thinking of imposing a levy on ships navigating through the Strait. Russia has also expressed its unequivocal support to Iran. This clearly shows who is having the upper hand in this illegal, unilateral and unprovoked attack on Iran. News out of the Middle East is being heavily censored to show that the criminal aggressors are winning big.
The US and Israel will pay a heavy price for taking on Iran in times to come, their own citizens are revolting against the unhinged leaders. And India too shall not go unscathed for aligning with the wrong party. This offensive has signs of a Vietnam redux for the Americans, remember how they fled that country after ten years of hostilities despite having far superior firepower compared to the primitively armed Viet Cong resistance. The American troops also fled Afghanistan after spending three trillion dollars on a 20-year war to topple the Taliban regime only to have them back in power again.
Vinay Dwivedi, Benaulim
Human-wildlife conflict
Admitting that the rising monkey menace has become a serious concern across the state, the government will reportedly frame a comprehensive policy to tackle the human-animal conflict problems. However, the issue is not restricted only to the monkey menace but has wider ramifications. Two siblings were reportedly injured after their two-wheeler collided with a leopard in Bicholim, while a youth in Sanguem was hurt in a bison attack. Recently a bison was spotted outside the Mopa airport. Such recurring incidents across Goa have raised concern about the growing frequency of encounters between humans and wild animals. Goa forms part of the biodiversity-rich Western Ghats, home to wild animals. These animals remain deep within forest ecosystems where food, water and shelter are available. However, road-widening, hill-cutting, real estate expansion, mining activities and large infrastructure projects have disturbed these animals. When forest prey becomes scarce, stray animals and livestock become easy targets. Night travel on forest roads increases the risk of accidental encounters or collisions with animals. Environmental impact assessments should be strictly followed before approving large infrastructure projects near forest zones. Overpasses, underpasses and green corridors along highways can allow animals to cross safely without entering busy roads. The forest department can strengthen the monitoring systems by installing camera traps and tracking animal movements.
Adelmo Fernandes, Vasco
Gambhir’s contribution
Gautam Gambhir’s selection as Indian men’s cricket head coach nearly 20 months ago had elicited mixed reactions. Ideally, an Indian coach’s job is nothing more than astute man-management and Gambhir appears to have done that commendably. The current T20 squad is a young bunch of highly talented individuals, and Gambhir may not have had the daunting task of dealing with inflated egos of ‘seniors’ and ‘legends’. However, his tremendous faith in the team was brought to the fore by the way he backed some players like Abhishek Sharma. When critics were pitching for atleast two changes in the final, Gambhir made no bones about reposing his confidence in the winning combination. Infighting and groupism in the present team is literally unheard of. Besides encouraging the obvious and unquestionable talent, a happy, jovial, secure and fearless dressing room is Gambhir’s biggest contribution to India’s T20 triumph.
Ganapathi Bhat, Akola
