syia0%6 The AIFF sanctioned the Santosh Trophy to Goa, fully satisfied with the abilities of the GFA to host the national tournament. In 1972, the GFA hosted its first national 19th Santosh Trophy which was declared open by Bandodkar himself. Detasprint Bhausaheb: A game changer he recent book of Parag Parobo on. “Dayanand Bandodkar and the Rise of Bahujan in Goa” was. dis- cussed at the GALF - 2015 [htips://wwwyoutube.com/ watch?v=tZINVBwérfl] by a panel of specialists in An- thropology, Gender politics, Literary fiction and one lone historian from outside Goa. ‘They presented their sugges- tions for a new Goan histori- ography. None seems to have lived in Goa during Bhausa- heb’s political mandate. For basing their proposed new historiography, the non-his- torians may need to resort to just as biased sources as the Skanda Purana which they ridiculed as an invention of the dominant castes. These benevolent social scientists seem to believe naively that the marginalised social groups are so handicapped that they cannot be equally inventive and liars, The discussion skated over the freshness of Parag Parobo's findings, which em- phasised that the margin- alised social groups of the New Conquests in particu- Jar were in dire need of basic education and health care. Comnmunalisation of politics could merit discussion, but it has never been a novelty in Goa underneath its peace loving, ‘sossegado’ cover. ‘The Bhausisation of Goan politics, precisely along the lines presented by Parag Porobo had been anticipated in. InipihwuepapercheraldoivDetalsprint.aspx?id= 181968boxid= 172033600 veals his political cunning to garner wider support for his et projects. While allocat= ing a large chunk of the budget to his development programmes in favour of Bahujan Samaj, he also pleased the mining barons by opening the higher edu- cation to their investments, ‘The Goa Football Associa- tion (Associagao de Futebol de Goa, AEG) created on De- cember 23, 1959 had wel- comed to Goa that same year the Portuguese team Sport Lisboa e Benfica. It was largely the work of the police officer Jodo Luis Aranha, named the first President of the managing committee of GFA, Arana returned to Por- tugal as POW following Goa's Liberation. He has recently Published his memoirs (En- quanto se esperam as naus do reino... Lisboa, 2008) wherein he recounts some details about football in Goa during the years of his post- ing there (pp. 82-83). BM Parkkot, associated with Salgaocar Sports Club, helped GFA reach its goal of participating in India’s Blue Ribbon ‘Trophy -- the San- tosh Trophy (India's na- tional tournament) hotly contested by every State in India, But for that GFA had to first host an All-India Foot- ball tournament for three years running to earn the confidence of the All India Football Federation. Parkkot requested Ban- dodkar to donate a gold tro- phy to the Goa Football Association. In 1969 the AIEF recognised the Bandod- kar Gold ‘Trophy as a na- tional tournament. The first All India Bandodkar Gold ‘Trophy. Tournament was held in 1970. The AIFF sanc- ation. We should not forget also the role of individuals like Augusto de Noronha e ‘Tavora (alias Lubé) who do- nated a trophy Taga Portugal and brought regularly lead- ing teams from Bombay. ‘The Lusofonia games held in Goa early in 2014 need ta be viewed as pragmatic fur ture-oriented politics of ex- ploiting historic links for mutual benefit, without colonial hang-ups. Rather than playing down the Past, the Jogos da Lusofonia or other equivalent events can serve to play up the best of the Past for improving the prospects for better post- Colonial future for all. The Lusofonia games may have left a false impression that the past could be played down and forgotten. The in- vestment of the Goa govern- ment in making a success of these games may have con- firmed the hopes or illusions ofsome”saudosistas" among the Goans and the Por tuguese. However, no games can wipe out any disregard for the postcolonial redefini- tion of social rights in Goa. If, thanks to Bandodkar’s Land Reforms, the local feu- dal landlords learnt their lessons, those based in Por- tugal seem to believe that nothing has changed in Goa since the colonial “lei de mundcarato” (1959), ‘The recent law abolishing the evacuee property is still awaiting implementation, but there are indications that the ex-colonial power will challenge it seeking the protection of the interna- tional law. We will then know ifthe promotion of the Jogos de Lusofonia meant any change of hearts. Asstated by one of the pan- 12syia0%6 on pg 155 of my book “Goa outgrowing post colonial- ism” (2014), but obviously those exuding wisdom and originality could ignore its relevance Roside the bold social and economic reforms, Bhausa~ heb was literally a game changer in the realm of sports, and ended symb cally his political mission while playing table tennis. This facet of Bahusaheb may sound elitist, but re- Inipihwur paper cheraldoivDetalsprintaspx?id= 181868boxid= 172033600 Detaisrint tioned the Santosh Trophy to Goa, fully satisfied with the abilities of the GA to host the national tourna- ment. In 1972, the Goa Foot- ball Association hosted its first national 19th Santosh Trophy which was declared open by Bandodkar himself. Goa lost to Bengal, but gained in national standing, The affiliation to AIFF en- abled Goa to pursue greater heights. Goa football pros- pered with the support lent by various mining groups, who were involved in foot- ball activities prior to liber- lists at the GALF discussion, Bandodkar’s legacy is yet to be fulfilled with the abolition of the “lei de mazanias’ for Hindu temples, The political successors of Bahusaheb need not wait to do their part to follow up his legacy and prove that postcolonial Goa Goes not need the return of Afonso de Albuquerque to liberate the disadvantaged Goan Hindu females in the post Bandodkar era. (Teotonio R. de Souza is the founder-director, Xavier Contre of Historical Re- search, Goa (1979-1994), 22