On 5th October, Goa was left disrupted and in political stress based on an arrogant and acutely communal statement from the former RSS Chief Subash Velingkar aimed stoking tensions between religious communities. The entire issue could have well been blown out of proportion and violence could have hundreds of people bleeding and punished only because they chose inter-religious harmony.
Creating communal tensions is, in itself, a violation of the human rights of a community on whom violence is inflicted. Despite peaceful protests, the police finally decided almost late night that a lathi charge was the last resort and did actually inflict violence on some of the people there only to break up the protests. This was most unacceptable. Logic and common sense should have been to calm things and allow the protest. Those who were present at the rallies and protests around Goa were angry people who were pleading for justice. They wanted to see Subash Velingkar, the instigator, of the problem “arrested ‘now’. To the credit of the Goan spirit, the masses of those who gathered at the protests were multi-religious in scope. There are people wondering if Velingkar is safe and protected by the authorities.
5th October 2024 takes one’s memories back to 2007 when on March 3, 2006, a gang of Hindutva elements with a common intention, formed an unlawful assembly at Cariamoddi area and incited the public against the Muslim community. A Margao Fast Track Court had framed charges against the then general secretary of Goa BJP unit in the 2006. The Judge framed the charges against for inciting communal tension, rioting and assault on policemen. The court had against 29 accused in the rioting case.
The prosecution case was that the accused in the case wanted to promote enmity between the Muslim community and others. The accused formed an unlawful assembly at Cariamoddi area and were armed with deadly weapons and pelted stones at Cariamoddi mosque.
The police alleged that the accused obstructed the movement of Muslims and later set fire to vehicles on the roadside and damaged a petrol pump at Sanvordem. The mobs did not conclude their rampaging. The mobs went on to attack shops and establishments belonging to the Muslims and set the pump on fire, besides assaulting the policemen on duty. All forty accused and taken to court were acquitted for want of evidence.
On the other hand, civil society groups visited the area, met people of all three faiths. They returned convinced that there had been wanton violence, looting, destruction of house, and the burning down of a mosque which was allegedly illegal. Thankfully the tensions have blown over and there has been no repetition of such violence.
“Article 21 of the Constitution of India confers a right on every citizen to live with human dignity. Article 21 encompasses into itself the right to live a meaningful and dignified life… If citizens are forced to live in an atmosphere of communal tension, it affects their right to life guaranteed by the Constitution. The SC has affirmed: “We cannot allow the victims to suffer only because there was a delay in the disposal of justice”.
Communal tensions in Goa may just be simmering beneath the surface. Serious academics, activists, and groups working to further communal harmony worry that the image of Goa as a peaceful state living in absolute harmony are proving to be false. For example, when a large crowd of RSS karyakartars went to Ayodhya to pull down the Babri Masjid, they returned as heroes feeling they had brought down the historic Masjid. This alone establishes that there is anti-minority venom being spewed on certain communities. The numerous small incidents that sprout every now and then are seen by objective analysts as ‘laboratories’ to test the mood-on-the-ground.
Muslims have tried in vain for the last three decades to find space for a much-needed Kabrasthan in Margao that Muslims in Salcete could use. Ignoring a clear-cut Assembly resolution, the government has done precious little to advance the resolution. It has, instead, adopted a divide-and-rule tactic, by mobilizing Christians against the project. They have been successful, despite the church supporting the Muslim claims. Politicians have made overtures and finally backed off.
In the last decade there have been tensions built around the import of beef into Goa. An untidy abattoir is now the location of Goa’s slaughter house. Its hygienic conditions need urgent attention. Despite a huge grant approved by the Central government some 10 years ago, the Goa Meat Complex remains in a distasteful condition owing to government indifference. Even individuals from civil society offered services with budgets that would be midget-like compared to the huge amount that the government wanted to spend. This grant has evaporated and the abattoir is an unborn idea. So where did all the money go? Meat Traders have offered to take responsibility for the upkeep of the complex according to fine maintenance standards. After all there are nearly 67% of Goans who consume beef. This refusal to make it easy to import beef is both religio-cultural in scope (permitted in certain religions) as it is an affordable for lower economic groups.
In 2022, the Hindu festival of Ram Navami took a new turn in Goa. The festival witnessed a ‘Ram Navami Shobha Yatra’, which was a big rally by Goan standards through Mormugao taluka, ostensibly to mark the festival. However, instead of news of religious celebrations of the festival, what hit the headlines the next morning was news of “clashes between Hindus and Muslims” – near a mosque in Islampur, Vasco, and subsequently near Vasco Police station. The reports indicated that there was an allegation of stone pelting on the rally near a mosque in Islampur, following which participants of the ‘Shobha Yatra’ ran to the mosque and attempted to enter it. They were reported as using aggressive sloganeering outside the mosque, and threatening the Muslims in the area. There was also news of subsequent clashes outside the police station on the same night. (Information from a fact-finding report of a “Citizen’s Initiative for Communal Harmony”).
The minority community in Goa is increasingly feeling the heat of religious intolerance in our country. The government is seen as practicing intolerance in clandestine ways. Churches, Mosques, and Temples, must be the locale for inter-religious partnership on common social issues. It might be the only way to allow these divisive and destructive forces their fringe elements to destroy Goa and the communal harmony we have here in some abundance until now. Small Christian groups have been accused of forced conversion although, until now, there is nil evidence to sanction their claims.
Peace and harmony are ideals that represent communal maturity and wisdom. These, in turn, determine the breadth of vision, the depth of exploration, the extent of progress and the limit of transcendence. None of the current major religions and major cultural traditions of the world does not love peace or pursue harmony. History shows that all the thoughts that are against peace and harmony are against the will of the people and will perish by themselves if they are not nurtured.
Whether in Goa, or elsewhere in the country, humankind must put down the foundations for a ‘common humanity’. Peaceful coexistence must celebrate differences because it means humanity has multiple cultures, ideologies, and knowledge.
Ranjan Solomon is a writer and human rights activist