Foreword

Favita Dias / In 2014 I saw a short film titled Ami Konn by Vithai Zaraunkar, who hails from the tribal Velip community of Goa. She was then a Sociology student at the Goa University, and has since done her B.Ed. and teaches Sociology in a Higher Secondary School.

In the film Vithai talks about how the old stories and songs of her tribal community have started to fade away, and she says this is because of the shame that the youngsters feel to be associated with a ‘backward’ community. She also speaks about the discrimination she herself faced due to her tribal identity. At one point in the film Vithai suggests ‘Tumi aplyakuch vicharun pollouchem tumi asat ti tumi kai munn’ (ask yourself if you are who you are). This made me think and ask myself if ‘I am who I am’. It motivated me to first of all share with people that I belong to the Gawda tribe, and that I lived most of my life as a non-Gawda (since my parents masked our tribal identity) and that at the age of nineteen years I came to know of my tribal roots and was never comfortable sharing this truth with anyone. So this film encouraged me to accept and speak about my tribal identity.

After watching the video I was on the lookout for more people who might have had similar experiences, and then I remembered reading a draft of the abstracts of Hanv Konn a few years back. The document was shared with me as a work-in-progress of a book that would soon be published. And when I first read all the stories in full and also heard some of the writers speak I immediately could connect with all their injuries of caste discrimination, gender discrimination, language, class and colour. I said to myself, ‘If these women can validate their injuries and vulnerabilities, then why can’t I?’ And today I am able to accept my identity and say in public that I am a ‘Gawdi’. I am able to understand and identify the various ways in which discrimination takes place. And this is only because of having come across Hanv Konn. (The title means, ‘Who am I’). Knowing at the age of nineteen that I belonged to a tribal community and accepting it even while knowing the consequences wouldn’t have been possible without Hanv Konn and Ami Konn. Not only am I now proud to accept my tribal identity, but also, as a woman, I am more confident in taking decisions about my desires and dreams. Forget about a woman pursuing her dreams and desires, even expressing her dreams and desires is not welcomed in our society. And in the same society we have the writers of Hanv Konn talking boldly about the pain that they are going through and their desire of getting relieved of this pain.

People have this perception of Goa as being a place free from gender and caste discrimination. In fact people living in Goa themselves feel that there is no caste discrimination in Goa. Some feel that the caste system, caste discrimination and caste violence is not very rampant or not very pronounced in Goa. It is seen as a state that offers more freedom for women as compared to other parts of the country. Goans as well as non-Goans feel that Goa has comparatively less male domination and less female discrimination. When you make such statements, it automatically betrays your social position. If you belong to the discriminated side you cannot afford to make such statements. Hanv Konn brings to fore the other side of Goan society and shows that although, on the face of it, Goa seems to be a paradise it has its own dark side.
Each story of Hanv Konn is more inspiring than the other. A unique aspect of this work is that these are life stories of the writers themselves. This makes it even more valuable. Every story highlights some kind of injury, whether due to caste discrimination, gender discrimination, class, language, family, etc.

The stories have the capability of touching the reader’s deep-rooted and hidden feelings of pain. And they are more impactful because they come from those who have experienced the pain and have struggled with it.

The marginalized sections will surely relate to the stories in this one-of-a-kind project, and I am confident that, like with me, the stories will offer a path to validate the pain and heal it. The marginalization could be on caste, gender, religion, language, class, etc. Not only that, the book can help mobilize people with similar experiences to fight against the pain that is due to discrimination of any form. Most of the things that we see, hear or experience are taken for granted and are often considered to be part and parcel of life. But these same day-to-day events, if given a deep thought, can change the way we see them. And this is what the stories in Hanv Konn do. They present the day-to-day events with a different perspective and help us reflect on them.

The texts can also be used in classrooms as reading material so that first, students are aware of the kinds of discriminations in our society, and the injuries that they cause, and secondly, it will help students from the marginalized sections (and others) who have some hidden injuries. By the simple means of sharing their own experiences they can find validation and possibly a healing of their injuries. I am sure it can bring about a change in the way students themselves see the day-to-day events in their lives and think more sensitively about vulnerabilities—their own and of others.

I celebrate Hanv Konn as a step towards healing from these deep injuries and pain.

I appreciate and congratulate Prof. Alito Siqueira and the team for bringing out the material and wish them all the best.

Favita Dias is currently working as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology, Goa University. She is part of the first group of Scheduled Tribe women (Gawda tribe) to be appointed as Assistant Professor at the Goa University. Her areas of interest are caste, gender and sexuality. She writes about systemic injustice and humiliation that she faces within higher education.