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WING COMMANDER MARIA PEREIRA GOAN FACE OF OPERATION SINDOOR!
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WING COMMANDER MARIA PEREIRA GOAN FACE OF OPERATION SINDOOR!

Aug 23- Aug 29, 2025, Stray Thoughts August 22, 2025 , by

AND a few stray thoughts for yet another Saturday. For a Saturday following the week when there is a continuing controversy over the special intensive review of the electoral rolls. For a Saturday following the week when a sharp reduction in GST on an entire range of consumer durables. For a Saturday following the week the latest example of Trumpgiri is Trump’s claim that he has succeeded in working out an agreement to end the war in Ukraine. For a Saturday following the week when extensive damage was caused by non-stop rain over the last week. According to the MET department on the opening day of the week beginning Monday, August 18 Goa recorded 106.2mm rainfall in a single day.
 AND a few stray thoughts on the continuing controversy over the special intensive review of the electoral rolls. The Election Commission had reportedly put on its website the names of the 56 lakh voters in Bihar who have been struck off the electoral rolls. This was following the orders of the Supreme Court in response to the demand made by Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi. Rahul Gandhi’s is the only alliance that has alleged that there is been vote chori on a massive scale by the Election Commission to help the BJP. According the Rahul Gandhi, the Muslim minority community is the primary target of the EC. Congress has alleged that names have been struck down from the electoral rolls even though the concerned individuals have Aadhar cards. The Election Commission claims is that crores of voters who are registered in Bihar were not found at their place of residence when the intensive revision was being held over a month just before the Bihar election.
This is easily explained as a large number of Biharis are compelled to migrate to other states and cities for jobs. So obviously, they could not be present in their homes from which they are registered as voters. The SC has made it clear that Aadhaar cards should be accepted as proof of residence for registration of voters. In the light of what happened in Bihar, West Bengal has refused to permit the EC to undertake a similar exercise in West Bengal.
The EC has informed that all eligible voters left out of rolls published on August 1 can make a fresh claim for inclusion along with their Aadhar card before September. The commission has revealed that no claim or objection has been received from the MLAs in Bihar. However, a request has been received from over 50,000 voters appealing against their exclusion. The Opposition insists that the Election Commission is biased towards the ruling party. That the EC cannot be relied upon to hold free and fair elections. Indeed, there is a move by the Opposition to impeach the chief election commissioner. The EC, like judges of the SC, can be removed by parliament.

GST REDUCTION
AND a few stray thoughts on the sharp reduction in GST on the entire range of consumer durables. In what you see as the Diwali gift to the middle class, the maximum GST has been reduced from the prevailing 28% to 18%. The reduction in duty is provoked by the huge tariff walls created by the United States. The GST on a wide range of products, including air-conditioners, television sets (above 32 inches) and washing machines, and dishwashers, has been cut sharply. This will see a sharp reduction in price, which may be as high as Rs10,000 in the case of premium products.
The biggest concession, ironically, is for the most expensive brands. So much so it is only the bold and the beautiful, rich and the powerful, who will benefit from the cut in the GST. The cut in in GST on dishwashers indicates the mind of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman. It is only the rich who can afford to buy dishwashers. The AC industry is likely to get a little boost because of the duty cut. Apparently, less than 10% of Indians have an AC at home. Now, ACs will become more affordable.
The latest GST cut is part of the larger exercise, which will reduce the number of categories of GST. We are moving towards a regime where there will be only two slabs, maybe 5% and 28%. There is also speculation that there may be a major cut in the GST on two-wheelers and small cars.

TRUMPGIRI
AND a few stray thoughts on Trumpgiri. The latest example of Trumpgiri is his claim that he has succeeded in working out an agreement to end the war in Ukraine. Ukraine is a former Soviet state which broke away and proclaimed its independence. Even worse from the Russian point of view, Ukraine was planning to join the European Economic Community. Russia has been unwilling to let Ukraine go because it has very rich mineral resources. Ukraine also has a large nuclear arsenal. Apparently, the formula suggested by Trump is that Ukraine should permanently give up the territory it has lost to Russia since the war.
This would be conditional to the fact that Russia would end the war and will not make any further claims on the territory of Ukraine. Trump claims that the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has accepted the compromise formula suggested by Trump.
Curiously, while Donald Trump has taken the initiative to end the war in Ukraine, no similar attempts are being made to bring peace to the Middle East. On the contrary, Israel has been encouraged to take over Gaza, which is part of Palestine. The US has also turned a blind eye to thousands if not several lakh dying of starvation in Palestine due to the embargo on even relief supplies of food and medicine.
Donald Trump is letting the Israel get away with genocide. Only the European countries, including the United Kingdom, are willing to stand up against Israel.

MONSOON RAIN DAMAGES
AND a few stray thoughts on the extensive damage caused by non-stop rain over the last week. According to the MET department just on the opening day of the week on Monday, August 18 Goa recorded 106.2mm rainfall in a single day. The Dharbandora monitoring station crossed the 3,000 mark. Trees have been uprooted in many parts of the state including capital city Panaji. The Fire Brigade has revealed that over 19 large trees have been uprooted in Panaji. The trees came crashing down on compound walls, roads and other public infrastructure.
Reportedly, many animals have also been affected by the heavy rains. The Valpoi-Ponda road was blocked for more than two hours due to the collapse of a mango tree. It almost looks as though the British weather has come to Goa and the UK, virtually all year round, there is rain, and you very rarely get to see the sun.
The damn wet cold weather is particularly harsh on senior citizens and those with muscle and spine problems. The joints and the extremities, like hands and feet, become very stiff. Senior citizens have to keep themselves warm in this climate.

MIGRANT CRIMES
AND a few stray thoughts on the claim by Goa Police that crimes by migrants are on the increase since 2023. The police claim that over 2,000 cases have been registered against migrants. Interestingly, 281 cases have also been registered against tourists. The crimes include assault, theft, gambling, cheating, rape and murder.
Though over 2,000 cases have been registered, convictions have been secured only in 160 cases. The trial in over 1200 cases is pending. We do not understand why the police and the government are only highlighting crimes by migrants. The ground reality is that crimes by locals are five times more. This seems to be an attempt to defame migrants.

INDIA’S LIBERAL HISTORY
AND a last stray thought on how during the 50 years of independence history we learnt India has a liberal secular history, influenced by the generation that fought for India’s freedom from colonial rule. The heroes were Jawaharlal Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi, who led the fight for Indian independence. This replaced the history books of the colonial era, which glorified the British in British India and the Portuguese in Goa.
But since Narendra Modi took over history is being re-written in the Hindutva RSS mind-set. The stress is now on reviving Hindu glory and marginalizing the Mughal period. Not surprisingly, the new heroes are Chatrapati Shivaji and Prithviraj Chauhan and Vinayak Damodar Sawarkar who is the Hindutva hero. The BJP has only adopted Sardar Patel, who is perceived as a strong Hindu, and responsible for persuading the princely states to become part of the new Indian republic.
There is no harm in celebrating the Hindu heritage of India. But the risk is that this may lead to a distortion of history. We need a more neutral perspective. More importantly, we must not sacrifice our secular legacy. India is not a theocratic state.
Indeed, what makes India great is the contribution of Hindus, Catholics and the entire range of other religious groups living in harmony with the Hindu population. Even in the case of “Operation Sindoor” it has now been revealed that a Goan Catholic commander, Maria Periera, originally from Betalbatim, played a major role by providing in depth information from radars to guide the Indian fighter aircraft and to warn against enemy attacks.
Incidentally, among the heroes of “Operation Sindoor” is Colonel Jesus Furtado and another Goan officer who was involved in “Operation Sindoor.” We may also point out that among the spokespersons who updated the country and the world on the “Sindoor Operation” was Colonel Sophia Qureshi, who incidentally is a daughter-in-law of Belgavi. Her husband is also in the defense forces.

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