Our post-liberation historiography should not uncritically replace one elitist approach by another if political change in Goa is to serve truly democratic goals. Deconstruction in this context, is only a tool of analysis that seeks to attack and break down the existing elitist paradigms. It is not a nihilistic exercise, but a prolonged critical exercise to clear off the rubbish and prepare the ground for a sound alternative construction in the scheme of post-liberation historiography of Goa. What has been done here is to apply deconstruction analysis to one historical episode, namely the Rane myth in Goa's freedom struggle. Similar exercise will need to be extended to wider areas of Goa's history.
Truth is said to be stranger than fiction.
The role attributed to the Ranes in Goa's freedom struggle is one illustration of this old dictum. Folklore and more recent political developments seem to have conspired to elevate the so-called 'Rajputs' of Satari to unquestioned honours as Goa's freedom fighters. But twenty-five years after liberation we should be able to put aside political emotionalism and let historical criticism have its say. An anthropological study conducted by Dr. Germano de Silva Correia took the tradition of Rajput origin for granted, but the application of field techniques does not seem to have enabled him to confirm it decisively. In the absence of further evidence, it remains to be proved that the Ranes of Satari differ essentially from the Marathas of the Deccan.