Bhembre got a dose of his own medicine when Manohar Parrikar took over as chief minister. On realizing that Bhembre refused to toe his line, Parrikar publicly blasted him, and, in turn, Sunaparant. The age-old tradition of industrialists supporting the government came into play here. By the same token, Salgaocar unsurprisingly supported Parrikar.
Most importantly, the group of journalists close to Parrikar is now getting attracted to Sunaparant. According to the grapevine, the government is doling out a largesse of Rs 50 lakhs (five million rupees) by way of advertisement revenue to Sunaparant. How can a newspaper which expects revenue in the form of advertisements from any incumbent government remain loyal to its reader?
I believe, a Konkani daily has to follow an independent line to succeed. It has to protect the interests and self-respect of all Goans. In the process, a newspaper like Sunaparant should not hesitate in stepping on the toes of a section of the Konkani protagonists. Whoever edits the newspaper should realise that a news item killed by Sunaparant would be grabbed by the Marathi and English-language press.
Any sort of defalcation, even if it pertains to the darling of Konkaniwadis meaning the Goa Konkani Academy or Asmitai Pratisthan, should necessarily find an important place in the pages of this newspaper. And that too, before any rival publication vigorously pursues the issue. Various issues like the efficiency of the teaching community, the state of education institutions, or the pathetic condition of Konkani in schools, have to be taken up with missionary zeal. Only a relentless pursuit of such issues will take Sunaparant to the masses.
Lessons to be learnt
It could probably draw on the lessons from the Marathi press . It holds Marathi dear to its heart, without in any way making reference to the Marathi movement. At a time when veteran journalists like Gadkari and Athavale forcefully argued the cause of Marathi, it was done without prejudice to other issues of social and political importance which continued to find place in their newspaper.
Gomantak was always on the forefront in fighting alongside Goans on vital issues that cropped up from time to time. In my opinion, although Tarun Bharat has a greater circulation than its immediate rival Gomantak, I would still give full marks to the latter for its vigorous fighting spirit.
During my involvement in the student agitation, despite it being ideologically oriented towards our policy and mindset, Rashtramat did not entertain us. On the contrary, Gomantak, while holding diametrically opposite views, gave us wide publicity. Further support was found in the editorials. It has been the policy of Rashtramat and Sunaparant to always be on the side of the Establishment.
The roots of the decline of Sunaparant lies precisely in this same policy. It has always given a wide berth to any agitation. Given the fact that Sunaparant is a Konkani daily, it does not necessarily mean that all literature pertaining to and written by Konkani litterateurs has to find a mention in it.
Sunaparant has to nurture, cultivate and discover new journalistic talent. I was instrumental in encouraging Marathi protagonists to write for Sunaparant. As a resultantly, Sunaparant found readers among the supporters of Marathi as well. Such efforts have to be repeated.