Money and Politics by Ben Antao; cinnamon teal; Price: Rs.325; Pages: 226 Ben Antao has tackled the birth of Goan independence with humour and an unrepentant pen. That politics is money is unquestioned in this novel. That politics is business is also boldly stated. And with the events in this tale unfolding in the early 1960s when, for those of us who were raised in a more idealistic time and were led to believe in statesmanship and leadership (Kennedy, Gandhi, Churchill et al) as also altruistic nation-building in a post-WWII era, this book comes as a bit of a wake-up call. The novel is based on true events. The real-life protagonists, Dayanand Bandodkar, a miner, and Jack de Sequeira, a merchant, formed two political parties, the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak (MG) and United Goans (UG) respectively, in the aftermath of the liberation of Goa in December 1961 from Portuguese dictator Salazar by the Indian Army. At the time prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru promised that Goa was free to shape its destiny within India. The MG party contested the election for ruling the new territory on two pledges: to merge Goa with neighbouring Maharashtra, as most Goans spoke the Marathi language of the larger state, and to return Goan lands back to tillers. The UG, on the other hand, stood for a separate state for Goa within India, with Konkani as the official language, and with land remaining in the hands of existing landholders, many of whom were UG and MG candidates vying to be elected. The MG ultimately won the election, but was unsuccessful in merging Goa with Maharashtra as an opinion poll (more a referendum) held within the tiny territory overwhelmingly called for a separate status. Within this frame of history, Antao spins his tale. Bandodkar is the fictitious Fondekar and de Sequeira is Gaspar. Both men launch their political parties and campaigns with the complete understanding that only money will buy success. They are blatant in their offerings of ‘help’ to likely supporters, and are equally bullish in obtaining ‘deposits’ from businessmen eyeing lucrative development contracts in Goa when the right political parties come to power. Their two assistants, Euseb (Gaspar’s) and Vishnu (Fondekar’s), are wily characters. The shady Euseb is always in dark glasses and Vishnu is particularly adept at sussing out potential supporters for his boss’ cause. The third element in this battle is India’s ruling party, the Congress, led by a rather ineffectual local leader, Shankar, who cannot make a decision unless it’s sanctioned by Delhi. Instead of votes, all Shankar is able to collect is money from those same scouting business people who are hedging their bets with every political party in the race. When the result is declared, with the MG obtaining 14 seats to the UG’s 12, and the other two seats going to independent candidates, the bribery game notches up into high gear to secure a majority, or prevent one. The MG prevails, and Fondekar is proclaimed chief minister with Gaspar as the…
