My dear fellow Goans. Two days ago I made a perhaps shocking post urging Goan
Catholics to leave Goa. Now, let explain why I am so alarmed. There are times
in our lives, when even the most secular of us cannot find hope in India. What
little hope was left in me has dissipated reading some of the emails that have
cropped up on Goanet.
The swords are an extremely dangerous precedent. Tensions are already high in
Goa. There is a virulent fear that we are being over-run by migrants. There are
a number of extremist groups operating on both sides of the aisle. I hope and
pray that another Gujarat is not in the offing in Goa.
My fear is this :the next time, a pretense such as "eve-teasing", a term coined
wholly by Indians and used only in the Indian subcontinent, to spark off a
communal riot, then rest assured someone will spot a sword being wielded in the
crowds. Whether this sword is real, mythical or the figment of someone's
alcohol-fueled imagination will be the debate only after mass mayhem has ensued
as a result of this sighting. Like I said there is always the hope that things
will change in Goa and India, but that hope grows more distant everyday.
selma
