------------------------------------------------------- CONVENTION OF THE GOAN DIASPORA FROM GOA INTO THE WORLD Lisbon, Portugal June 15-17, 2007 Details at: http://www.goacom.org/casa-de-goa/noticias.html -------------------------------------------------------
Gomantak Times, Editorial, 12/5/2007 DANGEROUS DIMENSION Do not ignore the communal agenda in Margao Last year in March, the state witnessed its first communal attack in Curchorem and Sanvordem when a mob ran riot smashing shops, houses and vehicles belonging to the Muslim community. The attack was vicious and determined and only property of local Muslims was attacked. The madness went on for two days until it was brought under control by jawans of the CRPF and the local police. The events shattered the communal harmony tag that Goa wore so proudly on its shoulder. Then and even now political parties and leaders tried to play down the communal attack as an aberration, a rare case, something that would not repeat itself. Really speaking, the Congress wanted to forget the Curchorem-Sanvordem attack because it was found wanting in handling the situation. A magesterial enquiry was conducted, but instead of acting on the recommendations made by the magistrate, the entire report has been swept under the carpet. The result: another riot-like situation has erupted in Margao on the flimsy ground of eve-teasing and assault. We maintain that eve-teasing and assault are offences that should be taken congisance of by the police and the state. At the same time we do not subscribe to the tactics adopted by the vendors in closing down the commercial capital of the state. Was this the first and only eve-teasing incident in the new market? Was it the first assault in the state of Goa that people were shocked into downing their shutters? Just like the Curchorem-Sanvordem attack, the near riot-like situation in Margao was also well-orchestrated by a political party with communal lineage. Would the reaction of the vendors and their communal political bosses have been the same if Rajesh Kunkolienkar was attacked by a group belonging to the majority community? Would their reaction be the same if a Muslim girl was eve-teased? Would the reaction be the same if Digambar Kamat and Babu Azgaonkar were still in the BJP. Who were they trying to fool? The slogans shouted by the mob were a dead give-away of who was behind the unrest in Margao. This is not an insider-outsider issue. This is a blatant attempt to polarise voters of the Margao constitutency with the hope of unseating Kamat. The very fact that it yelled slogans against Kamat and Luizinho Faleiro of where the sympathies of the vendors and their political bosses lie. Those who believe that Goa will continue to remain an oasis of communal harmony are living in a fool's paradise. Sanvordem-Curchorem was the first indication of what some political parties will do forward their agenda of hate. Margao is the new laboratory for another communal experiment. With elections due to be held on June 2, the voters of Margao will have to decide which way they wish to go -- down the communal path which is fraught with hate, fear, violence and intolerance, or on the road to secularism. We do agree that the situation in Margao does not compare with what happened in the aftermath of the demolition of the Babri Masjid or the Godhra train burning. Those were horrific and mind-numbing milestones in India history. In Goa though, the question is, should we act now or wait for a conflagartion to spur us into action? If we ignore the warning signs in Margao, we will be doing so at our own peril. With the demographics of Goa undergoing a subtle change, we might be condemned to witness another riot sooner than later. -- Question everything -- Karl Marx
