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Last week, activists of the Panaji Nagrik Kruti Samiti, went around the city with pickaxes and hammers.<br />
Ignor ing protests by owners, they damaged name plaques with "offensive" street names fixed onto private<br />
residences by the city corporation as part of its heritage restoration project. After a late evening public<br />
meeting, in which the media was invited, the group renamed two streets by replacing signboards. The Rua<br />
Armada Portuguesa was "renamed" Vithal Rakhumai Marg after a local goddess. The samiti targeted the<br />
cor poration's administrator and members of the Goa Heritage Action Group — a body co-working with the<br />
corporation on heritage restoration in a region where 451 years of Portuguese occupation has influenced<br />
local architecture and lifestyle. The samiti wants the corporation to rename 14 roads by September 30,<br />
terming them as offensive glorification of Portuguese colonialism, which "remind us of Por tuguese<br />
conquests and oppressors." Speakers also said the Fundacao Oriente, a cultural organisation linked to<br />
Lisbon and promoting restoration and other arts, should go. Most of the streets are in conservation area<br />
with quaint Latin-style houses — the area promoted by the CCP, GHAG and Goa Tourism Corporation<br />
with the annual Fountainhas Festival of the Arts. (Asian Age 24.6.04)<br />
27th June<br />
No hardline Hindu agenda this time (26)<br />
Lucknow: BJP'S HINDU mascot Vinay Katiyar ruled out the possi bility of BJP adopting a "hardline Hindu"<br />
agenda in the near future. Instead, he favoured 'Sanskitik rashtravaad' (cultural nationalism), which could<br />
be the motto for the party. "BJP can not pursue the hardline Hindutava agenda due to its in-built<br />
character and dif ferent political affil iations," Katiyar told The Pioneer on Saturday. "The new mantra<br />
should be of cultural nationalism and we should pursue it with vigour." The BJP, in its recently held<br />
national executive meeting in Mumbai, had decided to revert back to its Hindutava agenda and has asked<br />
leaders to follow it vigourously. Katiyar, a protagonist of the Ram Janmabhoomi agi tation, admitted that<br />
the Hindu agenda had catapult ed the party to the power at the Centre. "This agenda, however, failed to<br />
keep us number one party in the State. This was evident from elections held from 1991 to 1999," said<br />
Katiyar. "Though BJP gained by riding Ram wave in 1991, it failed to main tain the momentum in 1996,<br />
1998 and 1999 elections," he said. Instead, he said, Hindutava should be replaced with cultural nationalism.<br />
"As a State president I tried to pursue it, but I was stopped from time to time because at that time<br />
the BJP had an alliance with another party (read BSP). We do not have any shack les now and I will again<br />
lead the campaign of 'san-skritik rashtravaad' in the State," Katiyar said. Katiyar, who returned from<br />
Mumbai after attend ing National Executive Meeting, said that the rea sons for party's defeat in UP was<br />
discussed threadbare during meeting. (Pioneer 27.6.04)<br />
29 th June<br />
Sudarshan calls Left traitors (26)<br />
RSS CHIEF K.S. Sudarshan launched a bitter attack on the Left on Monday calling them "traitors" who<br />
were out to "destroy" national pride and culture while ac cusing them of being behind the government's<br />
move to "de-saffronise" NCERT textbooks. Describing the Communists as "Macaulay-putras"<br />
(descendants of Lord Macaulay who intro duced the British system of education in India), Sudarshan<br />
defended the inputs in textbooks made during the tenure of the NDA regime. It was an attempt to correct<br />
history incorporating a the latest research, Sudarshan said. (Hindustan Times 29.6.04)<br />
1st July<br />
RSS for underwater Dwarka tours (26)<br />
New Delhi, June 30: After the Ram mandir on land, the Sangh Parivar now wants underwater pilgrimage<br />
tourism at Dwarka, the "king dom of Lord Krishna." The RSS mouthpiece Organiser claimed in an article<br />
that since evidence of Lord Krishna's kingdom has been found under the sea near Dwarka, the Centre<br />
should take steps to complete the task of "underwater excavations" and<br />
"promote underwater pilgrim age tourism." The RSS mouth piece quoted Dr S.R. Rao, a marine<br />
archaeologist who car ried out underwater explo rations, as claiming that Lord Krishna's Dwarka lay under<br />
the sea and "only the name-plate is missing." The Organiser targeted the Centre, including the earlier<br />
BJP-led NDA regime, for a "lack of interest" in the pro ject. The RSS organ said "fur ther excavation and an<br />
under water museum-cum-tourism" would the cost "only a meagre sum of Rs 14 crores." This, however, is<br />
according to a pro posal submitted to the min istry of culture by marine archaeologist S.R. Rao in 2000. The<br />
ministry was then headed by the BJP's Mr Ananth Kumar. Incidentally, the underwater exploration project<br />
was sanctioned by the Congress government in 1984. (Asian Age 1.7.04)
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