Eduardo Faleiro, depending on how long one has been following his career, has played diverse roles along the timeline.
In the 1970s, he was a young lawyer and United Goans Union Territory legislator working out of Goa (Margao and Panaji). By the 1980s, he was an influential union minister at New Delhi (his attainments were later surpassed, in position and time, by Manohar Parrikar and recently Shripad Naik). Since earlier this century, he has assumed the role of a senior statesman, having completed five terms in parliament and opted out of the hustle and bustle of active politics.
After spending a long time in Parliament, 'Goa and Beyond' is the former South Goa MP and ex-Rajya Sabha member, Faleiro's compilation of his writing. Most of the writing was published in newspapers and periodicals over the past two decades.
This follows Faleiro's earlier work. The foreword says this is his third book, but probably this review is missing something here.
There was the 1996-published 'A Voice in Parliament: Selected Speeches and Debates, 1977-1993'. With it black-and-white dominated cover, with a sketch of the old Parliament in the background, the book was ubiquitous and easily available a little over two decades ago; now probably out of print. The lesser noticed work is Faleiro's 1985-published 'Palestine: The Indian Viewpoint'. It is just 19 pages long, and is probably much outdated, given the many changes in India's foreign policy over recent years.
'Goa and Beyond' (2020) (Ra Press, Rs. 150) presents Faleiro's stands on a range of issues including, Goa, the "language issue", religion-conversions-Dalit Christians-sectarian hate in today's India, education, the Indian nation, the Congress Party, NRIs and dual citizenship, and international
relations. The book is interesting at some levels, and intriguing at others.
For someone who followed issues in this period, one gets a bird's eye and participant's view of a range of subjects. Some which Faleiro alone might have been privy to -- such as his comments on what ex-Portuguese premier Mario Soares told him (on the return of Goa's gold).
Faleiro reminds us of what we have all mostly forgotten -- for instance, how Hindi in the Devanagari script became India's official language (Article 343 (1)) by a single vote. This, arguably, has influenced the law finally accepted here, probably causing more problems than it solved. The rest is a reflection of the Congress' image of India, now coming under stress. Faleiro-the-lawyer offers some sharp stands on matters which have legal angles. But then, Faleiro-the-politician can be in conflict with the former, in wanting to take stands which satisfy many sections of his (then)-
time voters.
There's also Faleiro-the-scholar-and-activist, who has a keen interest in global affairs, a slightly left-of-Centre perspective on poverty, education and world affairs. To complicate matters, along comes Faleiro-the-Congressman, who has a loyalty to Indira Gandhi (even while he was part of the Congress-U, post Emergency) and arguably owes his first rise to power to the young (four years his junior) and rising Rajiv Gandhi.
For instance, he recognises that Goa's Devanagari-alone Official Language Act of 1987 violates Article 29(1) of the Constitution, which disallows discrimination based on script. But he also pushes for primary education to be in Devanagari Konkani and Marathi, not giving parents the right to opt for
English if they wish.
Faleiro also praises his work done via the MPLADS (MP Local Area Development scheme). Yet, he notes that it is noted to be needing review. An ordinary citizen might wonder whether politicians given access to discretionary funds will not use the same to just build up their voter base, regardless of the real needs of their constituency.
His seemingly laudatory references to President Kenneth Kaunda (KK, of one-party rule fame in Zambia), President Robert Mugabe (who overstayed his welcome in power in Zimbabwe, to turn from popular guerilla leader to a much-disliked ruler), and President Eduardo dos Santos of Angola (who, with his daughter, has come to represent corruption at unprecedented levels in Africa, challenged, among others by the Goan-origin Sita Valles) seems anachronistic in our times.
Of course, there is a context. These (along with Samora Machel of Mozambique, who died in an early and mysterious plane crash along with the Goan Aquino Braganza; the much respected statesman Julius Nyerere of Tanzania and Sam Nujoma whom seems to have fallen off the radar) were largely part of the Non-Aligned, partly India-led camp. That too, in Cold War-driven, polarised times. But shouldn't their overall roles still be reappraised today?
Faleiro also has words to appreciate Sadam Hussein and Gadaffi. While the West's interest in ousting them is only too well known, perhaps a more fair assessment would go beyond contrasting a Western demonisation with an "all good" evaluation. It leaves this reviewer wanting. The best parts of Faleiro's book were undeniably written when he was in the Opposition, or out of the parliament. Is that just coincidental, or because he had more time (and freedom) to work out things, and speak out?
Words on issues he knows well naturally come across as most insightful. These include dual citizenship (the Singhvi committee recommended dual citizenship to the Vajpayee government in 2002), the PIO-versus-OCI logic and how these got merged in 2011, even how real estate speculation in Goa means "the average Goan cannot afford a house or land in Goa".
His tribute reminds us of the early UGP legislator Dr. Alvaro de Loyola Furtado. The debate on comunidades, and different approaches to it, gives useful background (which might be lost on most generations in Goa by now). He underlines his expectations of the Goa University and has argued that turning it into a Central University could have "improved significantly our University education".
Faleiro says that the Department of NRI Affairs (of Goa) identified that the Goan diaspora was spread across 43 countries. The actual number could be "much larger", even if a lot of work awaits being done on this front.
On the other hand, he points to statistics which suggest large-scale land purchases by "outsiders" in Goa. Citing Assembly figures, he says 562 foreigners from 27 countries bought 21.44 lakh sq.mts of land in Bardez taluka during the earlier three years. And about half that amount in Salcete. He looks at -- and has some sharp views about -- Russian and Israeli tourists in Morjim and Arambol (as of 2012).
Faleiro, given his background and studies in Portugal, has an off-beat and perceptive understanding of the Portuguese colonial world. (This includes the role this lobby played in urging Pandit Nehru to act against Lisbon in Goa in 1961.) The chapters of this text are mostly -- or all -- articles published in various publications, including The Navhind Times, over the years. This means you encounter some repetition across some chapters. But this is nothing to seriously complain about.
The dilemma here is that the author has been a major player in many of the issues he is commenting on here. So, a double-edged sword here: it offers insight and perception, but also makes one a party to at least some of the problems. There are some issues which Faleiro doesn't comment on. Including the Official Language Act itself, which he was a player in shaping, and the Konkan Railway, where he sought a "realignment", a solution which New Delhi largely did not accept.
Nonetheless, whether one agrees or doesn't with his point of view, Faleiro's book is a good read. To touch on all the issues it raises would need far more space. It is well worth a place on the bookshelf of any Goa book collector, but also of likely interest to a far wider audience than just that.