Violence is Never the Answer; Let there be Peace, Please! 

TGF

[This weekend TGF reviews the views expressed by many Goans who have been shocked by the recent violent events which destroyed the peaceful image that Goa enjoyed for more than 200 years. It is true that Goa's history is littered with violence. The Goan Buddhists fate at the hands of the Hindus is mind boggling. There is very little to left in Goa of the once dominant Buddhists. Goa soon became the war theatre for the incessant battles between the Hindu kingdoms of the Kadambas , the Vijaynagris and the Muslim empires of the Golconda and the Bahamanis. Then came the Portuguese - and the period of strife especially with the Marathas. 

Eventually, Goans lived in harmony not only with the Portuguese but also with each other. Goan Hindus, Catholics and Muslims shared a model relationship, despite the harsh dictatorship of the Portuguese  Dr. Antonio Salazar.

Then came  1961 and the political drama which has been unfolding ever since.  Attached herewith are some of the views and TGF comments on those views]

In the Saturday, March 11 - 17, 2006 edition of the Goan Observer, Rajan Narayan wrote thus under the heading: GOADHRA : The BJP has stepped up its efforts to polarise Goa along communal lines:

RABID HUMANS
In every part of the civilized world they shoot rabid dogs. But not in Goa. In Goa Section
144 does not apply to rabid dogs. Or rabid human beings. It only applies to human beings armed with deadly weapons. Deadly weapons like posters and banners protesting against attacks by rabid dogs. In Goa, unlike other civilized countries and civilized states, rabid dogs are allowed to bite anyone they want. And politicians are allowed to spread rabies. As dramatised in Curchorem and Sanvordem on Friday and Saturday. Even when rabid dogs bit policemen, the Home Minister and Chief Secretary (who is also the Home Secretary) are unconcerned. Presumably they expect policemen bitten by rabid dogs on the left foot to offer their right foot to be bitten, in the Gandhian spirit.


[ TGF: Deplorable as the actions of the BJP feuled anarchists in the formerly peaceful State of Goa are, TGF condemns the inflammatory nature of the Rajan Narayan lead article. The anarchists who disrupted Goa's peace last week are not dogs. They are misguided and misled human beings who need to be dealt with by the existing law of the land, and not some vigilante brute force.

Is this the civilization that the Goan Observer wishes on Goa? ]

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Cecil Pinto wrote on the Goa-Goans discussion list on March 9, 2006

Am I losing it? How come I can't write anything funny this week? Sorry folks, I just can't
do it! I know what's bugging me. Idle chatter of comings and goings is easy to write. But
how can I encourage people to laugh when the most important thing to have come to Goa
recently is the demon of communal violence? This is not funny. It's downright scary. Sure
there have been minor skirmishes before. But this sort of large scale mob violence,
targeting establishments and individuals of a particular community, is frightening. I hope
it is a one-time incident that will never ever be repeated.

[  TGF: The chickens are coming home to roost. We hope these chickens of violence get bird flu and don't reach home. Wonder why all this came as a surprise when the writing was on the wall for so long. Were there no warning signs when the vandalistas broke loose in Fontainhas and Mapuça last year, and the then BJP CM Parrikar played the fiddle a la Nero?  ]

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Samir Kelekar wrote on the Goa-Goans discussion list on March 7, 2006

The RSS is at it again. These guys can't solve the economic problems of the people. They
can't create jobs; all they can do is to encourage hatred.

This has been India's lament. If I were in the Govt. the first thing that I would do is to
arrest all the BJP MLAs who have been responsible for encouraging hatred.

[  TGF: Yes indeed, "the RSS is at it again". But did Goa get to be in this position overnight, did it ? Have our so called Goa Journos or the 'free' Goa Press given much warning about this RSS road to violence over the past 4 decades in Goa? Ever checked on what these lackeys masquerading as Journos have written about over the past few decades?

TGF however does NOT support the selective 'arrest of BJP MLAs'.  If one is going to be fair and equitable, ALL politicians and other operatives who have sought to gain ascendancy and  power through Corruption, Thievery, Gangsterism, Dadagiri, Chicanery,  Communalism, Violence as well as Those in Positions who have sat quietly and allowed this to happen, need to have the Book thrown at them.  It is not only the BJP who are responsible for this state of disgrace in which Goa now finds itself.  ]


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Sandeep Heble wrote this on the Goa-Goans discussion list on March 7, 2006

The incidents of mob fury and violence that broke out in ‘Sanvordem-Curchorem’ were a sad blot on the secular and pluralist traditions of the State. It was an extreme case of religious passion gone awry. Civil society was virtually turned into a ‘hate-zone’.
Certain incidents were deliberately twisted and rumors were deliberately spread by “fascist soldiers” to give them a provocative interpretation, a call for action to attack the other community.

The role played by Mr. Parrikar and other BJP leaders in this shameful episode was shocking nay depressing. Scores of unfortunate citizens, solely because of their religious identity, were made to feel insecure and prone to physical threats, loot and abuse, thanks largely due to the social and political patronage that the mobs enjoyed.

(Goa Chief Minister) Rane simply closed his eyes in the initial period, behaving like the three monkeys who would “hear no evil, see no evil and speak no evil.” Article 21 of the Constitution guarantees to every citizen the right to life and liberty. If Rane had initiated quick and concerted actions, if sections 153, 153(A), 295 and 505 of the Indian Penal Code which deal with promotion of religious animosity had been used against any one making provocative speeches, the whole trouble could have been nipped in the bud. Instead, Rane and his officers played the fiddle while the cities were being looted, ransacked and burnt.

The culture of violence is today unfortunately being propagated ideologically as a ‘virtue’. The relentless uses of provocative speeches to instigate violence by politicians who are driven by an “ideology of hate” have turned our dreams of being a progressive
forward-moving Nation into a depressing nightmare.

The logical implications of this sorry episode are most frightening. Where is Goa heading from here? Are we moving away from a liberal democratic society to a bizarre fascist
society? Are the changes of the demographic patterns reasons for the sad state of affairs?

[ TGF: There is nothing that TGF can add to this excellent post by Sandeep Heble except to quote his Alto-Betim colleague (Pravin Sabnis May 2002) " Politicians will come and go. But hatred unleashed will sow the seeds of further hatred. This vicious cycle of brutality has to be transformed into a path of peace where young boys and girls would march on, holding hands of solidarity" http://www.colaco.net/3/VFTB-SCR.htm  ]

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Floriano Lobo wrote thus on GoaNet on March 8, 2006

The two CRIMINALS who are solely responsible for this catastrophe: Manohar Parrikar and Pratapsing Rane. -the corroborators and conspirators who need to be banished from this land of peace.

This rot started in 1961 when the most communal people took the helm of Goa through the Maharashtra Gomantak Party. MGP WAS COMMUNAL, IS COMMUNAL AND WILL BE COMMUNAL. If MGP was staunchly non-communal, it would not be gobbled by the communal BJP.

The confirmed RSS Goa freedom fighter Mr. Naguesh Karmali is a blot on the reputation of TB Cunha, the freedom fighter, for his involvement in the destruction of Fontainhas and that he should be thrown out from the TB Cunha Hall management.

If Goa wants to preserve its traditional peace and harmony, it must throw out the contaminators in NATIONAL PARTIES and screen those that come up as REGIONAL parties for communal seeds well ensconced in the heart to reap political gains.

DOWN WITH THE CONGRESS AND THE BJP. The rest will follow suit on their own.

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Averthan D'Souza  wrote thus on GoaNet on March 12, 2006

It is a fundamental part of the 'creed' of the BJP, which is only the political 'wing' of the RSS, to restore Bharat to its original Hindu identity. Therefore, all other religions have to be eliminated from India, and their adherents should be re-converted to Hinduism. Ghar Wapasi (coming home) is the current programme which is being pursued by the RSS, BJP, VHP, HJM and other organizations.

The ideology of the RSS is not only obscurantist; it is also insidious and volatile. Communal riots are a calculated part of their programme to 'drive out' Muslims, and, later on Christians, from Hindu India.

Thank God, the majority of Hindus do not share this fanaticism and remain tolerant and secular in their beliefs as well as in their ordinary lives. We still live in friendship with the Hindus in general. However, we need to assertively counter the disruptive efforts of the RSS.

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Ramamurti Raut Desai  wrote this on the Goa-Goans discussion list on March 9, 2006

Mr. Rane, the CM and the Home minister was fully briefed by the police intelligence about the incident that lead to the tragedy. But a la Nero, he was playing his fiddle when Curchorem and secularism was burning!

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Miguel Braganza wrote thus on GoaNet on March  7, 2006

Those who forget history are bound to see it recur in their own lifetime. In Goa we are seeing a recurrence within 15 months. The only difference this time is that they have targeted a community that reacts, instead of a community that just dithers. Bingo!

A major part of the Goa Police constables were BJP recruited from its cadres and sympathisers or those who bought their appointment letters from the Congress leaders. In
either case, there is no incentive to act. the IPS (Indian Police Service) officers come to Goa on a holiday, it seems.

If the IPS cops in Goa got guts, they must be stashed in some safe deposit locker in Delhi for later use. Pansies would react with greater force....and conviction.

This is what I wrote on 19 December, 2004, after the abortive attempt by the Manohar Parrikar-led regime to screen the infamous VCD of the Education Dept. 'GOA'S FREEDOM STRUGGLE' in predominantly (Catholic) Church run primary and secondary schools. It holds good today also when Sanvordem-Curchorem is smouldering, and Ponda, Shiroda, Cuncolim or Margao may ignite.

""The Goa BJP's priority is apparently in bastardizing history so much that it does not tell it like it was printed in the Goa Government's publications and school textbooks issued by the very same Directorate of Education."

TGF: It is a sad commentary on those in the power-blocs who fomented this atmosphere of communalism, those in the press who should have known better but decided to stick their ostrichoid heads into the sand, the educated who should have anticipated wisely but chose to follow instead of leading, and all those who sold their souls for a few pieces of silver.

please read:

December 19, 1961 http://www.colaco.net/4/GoaLib1.htm updated: May 26, 2002

The Big Let Down http://www.colaco.net/1/letdown.htm  June 18, 2001

Today, four decades after the Portuguese were thrown out of Goa, Goa has sadly disintegrated into a place of religious divisions, unbelievable corruption, chaotic traffic, environmental degeneration, pollution and Salazaroid police brutality

Goa and Goans continue to be used as pawns in a political process by the controllers  from afar, their land is being stripped clean of its wealth by the Alibaba gang. One day, when their beautiful homeland has been reduced into a dump.. .....and these very same Goans will  be dumped.

History always repeats itself.  What a tragedy if it does as far as Goa is concerned.


TGF
March 12, 2006