On 20 November 2010 15:09, Gabe Menezes <[email protected]> wrote:
> RESPONSE: Perhaps the response to the Baina incident was not the welfare of > the animals but to prevent the Muslims from carrying out their Religious > duties. If this is the case then it was wrong and the powers that be should > look into this. Gabe raises an interesting issue. Get ready to see a number of perfectly legitimate concerns and issues being converted into themes that stoke communalism in the Goa of today. Why was Baina tense? Because people are fighting for their right to be anti-animal? Or because of fears that their traditional religious practices are being trampled upon through all kinds of complex arguments? The 500th anniversary of the Portuguese conquest of Goa (that too, with local collaboration) could have been a good occasion to understand the complexities of colonialism. Instead, as Soter suggests, it is being turned into an excuse to portray minorities as pro-colonials and a few shrill voices as super-patriots. Take a look at the latest campaign over the Raja telecom controversy. A quick online search would show how this issue which should have been one looking at media misuse and ethics (or even corruption) is quickly turning into a witchhunt against those seen as liberals or not anti-Congress (Kangress, as some call it) in the media! The selective targeting of some journalists over others is telling too... Further comment is superfluous. FN
