[Goanet] Religion and Politics.
This is in reference to a letter published on a couple of newspapers in respect to Religion and Politics. The writer in fact compares the article on ‘Renovação’ as a misuse of Freedom of speech , when in fact, what he states in the letter as facts, have absolutely no truth, a clear falsification of history that smacks of ignorance or ulterior motives. Germany during the Nazi Regime was no more Catholic as it is at present, which is around 30%, which definitely is not Catholic Dominated as Poland. History also says that the Church did fight against Nazi regime in its own way, maybe not by publishing articles, if that’s what the writer meant. It is very glaring that the letter criticises the Church for publishing the article in the Church magazine, and in the same stride criticises the Church of being silent during the Nazi regime. The writer and others who criticise the Church on this issue, specially Catholics, need to know that most Nazis were brought up Catholics but in adulthood had turned hostile towards her. Catholics were persecuted during Nazi regime, and infact many Catholics rescued Jews. History cannot be changed, but can be manipulated to the ignorants. And lastly, There's a deep ravine that divides Politics and Social Injustice, and cannot be confused for one another. http://epaper.navhindtimes.in/NewsDetail.aspx?storyid=8281=2017-09-02=1 Ferdinando dos Reis Falcão. [cid:5tzMBhoyYyqlg709CGl6] [cid:b5c9b06f-be58-4053-879a-d38ba220ad70]
[Goanet] RELIGION AND POLITICS: A RECIPE FOR DISASTER
On 27th May the voters of Periyapatna Assembly constituency in Karnataka voted to elect their MLA. The high light on the polling day was a scuffle after the Congress candidate K Venkatesh tried to perform Puja on the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) at the polling booth at Kittur in Punada village. Why do these political demons make a mockery of religion? Such candidates must bite the dust. The constituency has witnessed a record polling of 83.84% in a mainly triangular fight between the Congress, JD(S) and the BJP. The votes are scheduled to be counted later this morning. This constituency did not vote at the May 5th Karnataka Assembly elections as the election to this constituency had to be postponed following the death of BJP candidate Sannamoge Gowda. Aires Rodrigues T1 - B30, Ribandar Retreat Ribandar - Goa - 403006 Mobile: 9822684372
[Goanet] RELIGION AND POLITICS: A RECIPE FOR DISASTER
After reading the message (appended here below), I'm convinced that religion and politics is a recipe for disaster! I find religious outfits in Goa taking active part in Goa politics as if almighty have created them only for doing this! Can the writer of the message take some couching camps educating these religious outfits and avoid disaster? Best regards, U. G. Barad On Fri, 31 May 2013 Aires Rodrigues airesrodrigu...@gmail.com wrote: On 27th May the voters of Periyapatna Assembly constituency in Karnataka voted to elect their MLA. The high light on the polling day was a scuffle after the Congress candidate K Venkatesh tried to perform Puja on the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) at the polling booth at Kittur in Punada village. Why do these political demons make a mockery of religion? Such candidates must bite the dust. The constituency has witnessed a record polling of 83.84% in a mainly triangular fight between the Congress, JD(S) and the BJP. The votes are scheduled to be counted later this morning. This constituency did not vote at the May 5th Karnataka Assembly elections as the election to this constituency had to be postponed following the death of BJP candidate Sannamoge Gowda.
[Goanet] Religion, Science Politics!!!!!!!
I believe Goanet and Goanet members are Secular(!). Based on this assumption I would like to conclude above subject saying Religion at no cost can be intermixed with Politics. Secondly Religion can never and ever get intermixed with Science If at all any personality is trying to say that Religion, Politics and Science can make a cocktail I would only say Sorry for such thinkers Best regards, Dr. U. G. Barad
[Goanet] Religion or politics?
Sachin Phadte wrote: The issues that HJS is taking are not rooted in the past. The issue of ethnic cleansing of the Kashimiri Pandits is within the last twenty years. The issue of conversions by some of the churches is of the recent past. Could the HJS have taken up the issues in a 'dignified' manner? Perhaps. But for this to happen, we should not disucss only the manner in which the discussions are taken, but also the content. For example, on the Kashmiri Pandit, even today they are saying that the various governmentes, including the NDA, have badly let them down. I have read in the papers that many Kashmiri Pandits have been killed over the last twenty years - but not a single person has been prosecuted for the crimes. Comment: 1. More Muslims have suffered and died in the Kashmir violence than Hindus.Does this matter to the HJS?(refer to the last issue of Outlook for more stories on Kashmiri widows) 2.The issue of conversions is a bogey raised from time to time to beat and subdue the christians.Please cite cases where prosecutions have been launched and also cite how many convictions have been carried out in the last 50 years. 3.The BJP was in power for 6 years. Dr Farooq Abdullah was a partner in the NDA govt. Please explain what stopped them from rehabilitating the Kashmiri Pandits. Or is it that they are being used as fodder to secure votes and build vote banks, just as the victims of the Godhra train fire? 4.Muslims have been victims in Gujarat, Bhiwandi, Ajmer, Hyderabad, Sikhs have been victims in Delhi, Christians have been victims in Orissa, Gujarat and several other parts of India, Dalits have been victims all over the country for over 2000 years. Why does the HJS heart bleed only selectively? Are the others any less? 5. Besides inciting hatred, has there been any postive contibution by HJS in building a peaceful and harmonious society? 6.Please refer to the Times of India of 5th May, 2008 which carries reports of the UPA govt announcing a rehabilitation programme for the Kashmiri Pandits. Regards, Marshall Mendonza
Re: [Goanet] Religion or politics?
In her post, Selma Carvalho asks me: Do we really want to be mired in the past forever? I do not think anyone sensible would only answer the question as NO. However, the past should not be sanitised to suit any purpose, and truth should always be told. In this respect, I am told that Rev George Soares-Prabhu wrote: Whether mediaeval as distinct from modern Hinduism was 'exclusivist' or not, it was certainly not intolerant in the way that Christianity and Islam were. Hindu sects may have thought of themselves as superior to other sects, in that they possessed the 'true' interpretation of the Vedas, but (unlike Christianity and Islam) they rarely felt the need to eliminate them! There is nothing in the history of Hinduism or Buddhism to compare with the obsessive ferocity of Christianity and Islam in their persecution of other religions or of dissident groups within their own religious tradition. In this respect, the question of secular wars and communal wars come into picture. The invasion of Alexander of Macedonia would be considered to be a secular war. While the Portuguese, and most followers of Islam, were indulging in communal wars. Alexander's interests were territorial, while the interests of these others were primarily religious. The issues that HJS is taking are not rooted in the past. The issue of ethnic cleansing of the Kashimiri Pandits is within the last twenty years. The issue of conversions by some of the churches is of the recent past. Could the HJS have taken up the issues in a 'dignified' manner? Perhaps. But for this to happen, we should not disucss only the manner in which the discussions are taken, but also the content. For example, on the Kashmiri Pandit, even today they are saying that the various governmentes, including the NDA, have badly let them down. I have read in the papers that many Kashmiri Pandits have been killed over the last twenty years - but not a single person has been prosecuted for the crimes. Sachin Phadte. _ No Harvard, No Oxford. We are here. Find out !! http://ss1.richmedia.in/recurl.asp?pid=500
Re: [Goanet] Religion or politics?
--- Sachin Phadte [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: There is nothing in the history of Hinduism or Buddhism to compare with the obsessive ferocity of Christianity and Islam in their persecution of other religions or of dissident groups within their own religious tradition. RESPONSE: Please let's not display a complete tunnel-vision when it comes to analyzing religions. Hinduism grew on a subcontinent, with hardly any competing force. Despite this, there is ample evidence that Hindus held non-Hindus and foreigners with enough contempt to label them mleccha. There is also evidence that upon raiding and sacking territories, they converted indigenous populations to slave-labour conditions (giving impetus to the caste movement) heaven help them if they were dasu (dark-skinned), and they either annihilated their local deities or absorbed them into Hinduism. Islam, Christianity and Judaism on the other hand had to continuously compete with each other for superiority and much of the mayhem they wrecked was on each other during the medieval era. Touting the superiority of one religion over another is just self-delusion. Sachin wrote: While the Portuguese, and most followers of Islam, were indulging in communal wars. Alexander's interests were territorial, while the interests of these others were primarily religious. RESPONSE: I'm sorry you are wrong on both accounts. Both the Portuguese and the Arabs came as traders. The former trying to find a route to China and the latter doing brisk trade with India, specifically in Arabian horse. The earliest fortifications were set up to protect either trading posts or routes. That these early trading adventures turned to full-scale greed on the part of the Muslim Turks and Persian, and the Dutch and Portuguese is testimony only to the fact that man is a greedy beast, who uses the name of God to aid him in everything that is vile. Muslim and Christians are not the only ones who have a monopoly in this respect. selma Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ
[Goanet] Religion or politics?
Date: Sun, 4 May 2008 13:48:19 -0700 (PDT) From: Santosh Helekar [EMAIL PROTECTED] My experience in exposing misinformation is that facts rarely win out against a religious or political ideology from the standpoint of its aging adherents, no matter how intelligent, well-educated or well-read they may be. Once a bogus cause is co-opted by an ideology, the rational and evidence-based approach has a very slim chance of working against it. Ideology is more often than not much more powerful than reason. Mario observes: Though there are exceptions based on religious faith, true scientific facts, by definition, tend to prevail over time with intelligent, well-educated and well-read individuals. Otherwise they could hardly be described as intelligent, well-educated and well-read. Only when the facts are in dispute, or if the political and economic actions that are being recommended or demanded based on established facts are in dispute, does a debate take place among the intelligent, the well-educated and the well-read. However, there are typically some ideologues on either side of any debate who think they have a monoply on the true facts. Some will even go as far as to deny that there is a debate under way.
Re: [Goanet] Religion or politics?
In her comment on the rejoinders by Fredrick Noronha and Santosh Helekar, Selma Carvalho writes: Hindu kings have been in constant battle with each other for eons, spreading far in the South East, and at times showing utter ruthlessness in their decimation,as in Sri Lanka... When we identify the kinds as Hindus, it would be necessary to establish that they justified their action on the basis of what Hinduism has taught them. It is quite possible to engage in secular wars, rather than communal ones. Could Selma enlighten me about the labelling she has used? Also, could Selma provide more information on the utter ruthlessness in the decimation in Sri Lanka? I am not saying that this did not happen, because I am not so well versed in the history of the period as Selma is. Sachin Phadte _ Watch hottest Bollywood videos, clips, movie tailors, star interviews, songs and more on MSN videos. http://video.msn.com/?mkt=en-in
Re: [Goanet] Religion or politics?
--- Sachin Phadte [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: When we identify the kinds as Hindus, it would be necessary to establish that they justified their action on the basis of what Hinduism has taught them. It is quite possible to engage in secular wars, rather than communal ones. Could Selma enlighten me about the labelling she has used? Also, could Selma provide more information on the utter ruthlessness in the decimation in Sri Lanka? I am not saying that this did not happen, because I am not so well versed in the history of the period as Selma is. - Dear Sachin, The Chola dynasty of South India, sacked Sri Lanka and plundered their Buddhist monasteries of considerable wealth. So ruthless was their devastation it has been bitingly chronicled by the Buddhist monks as unspeakable. I have no idea what secular wars are, as opposed to communal ones. The moral zeitgeist of the 21st century demands we denounce all war as morally reprehensible unless in self-defense. Another one of religion's many moral teachings from Christianity to Islam to Hinduism is that war is our Divine duty and we are the mere channels of Divine will. We have to get past these archaic teachings. War is nothing more then a conscious decision by one section of human beings to impose untold misery onto another. Of course, I am not a 21st moral relativist and in no way am I seeking to condemn anyone in history. The only point I was trying to make is that whoever our fore-bearers were, Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Jain, or Christian, they all have blood on their hands and no religion can stake the higher moral ground. The second point I was trying to make is, if organizations like HJS are keen on creating Islamic and Christian bogey men carved out of history, then let's have all our skeletons come of the history closet. Let's talk about Alexander the Great who plundered and pillaged India, the Huns, the Persians, the Turks, the Dutch, the Portuguese and the British. Let's ask for reparations and avow retribution on all of them. Let's not dwell just on the excesses of the Inquisition or Mogul kings. That shows a distinct retardation in our historical perspective. I have to wonder what the allure of such malicious organizations like the HJS is? Surely, they tether us to a past and prevent us from making a leap into the future. Do we really want to be mired in the past forever? Perhaps Sachin can provide an answer. selma Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ
Re: [Goanet] Religion or politics?
Carvalho [EMAIL PROTECTED] We have to begin the process of telling and retelling our history as history, not as a grievance, a open sore to be nursed perpetually by a sense of victim-hood. To this extent, I think there is a lot to be done in sponsoring speakers, writers, magazines, websites that counter the HJS type of propaganda. Let a hundred Gadgils rise, why not let their voices be heard through financial assistance? When one frames such issues in political terms, such as victim-hood and sponsoring of speakers and writers to counter a propaganda, one is thrusting oneself in the political arena, and inviting criticism on purely political grounds. On religious issues one does much worse because one exposes oneself to communal fervor. My experience in exposing misinformation is that facts rarely win out against a religious or political ideology from the standpoint of its aging adherents, no matter how intelligent, well-educated or well-read they may be. Once a bogus cause is co-opted by an ideology, the rational and evidence-based approach has a very slim chance of working against it. Ideology is more often than not much more powerful than reason. That is why the vast majority of people in India believe in astrology and an equally massive majority of Americans reject evolution by natural selection. Cheers, Santosh
Re: [Goanet] Religion or politics?
--- Frederick [FN] Noronha [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Definitely not a good idea. It would give an excuse for malafide interests to argue that people fight communalism in Goa because funds come in from overseas. It is not a good idea for other reasons as well. Organized opposition to any kind of religious expression can itself be politicized. Counter-propaganda is counterproductive. It is also prone to excesses of its own. There is no good solution to this problem. The only thing that we can do is to teach our children, preferably when they are very young (10 - 15 years of age) the following: 1. How to think rationally and critically, 2. How to look for reliable information, 3. How to recognize misinformation, 4. How to avoid falling prey to propaganda and indoctrination, 5. How and why not to believe in world-wide or nation-wide conspiracies, and 6. How not to believe in something when there is compelling evidence to the contrary. Cheers, Santosh
Re: [Goanet] Religion or politics?
Definitely not a good idea. It would give an excuse for malafide interests to argue that people fight communalism in Goa because funds come in from overseas. The time has long come for: 1. Every concerned citizen to fund the purchase of books that help themselves better understand the ideologies of hate, based on every religion and trend (and even non-religions!) 2. For every expat to work to comprehend the news-behind-the-news, and not to get taken in by hardsell that aims to give a gloss to dubious thoughts that fuel divisions and fear of one another. 3. For all people of goodwill to work to keep track of the debate that goes on in diverse languages, so that we are not lulled into believing that a communal polarisation is not happening, when indeed it is. Of course, every religion and ideology has its own bigots, and we need to be even handed in raising issues about these. I can't think of many persons who would do a Gadgil on bigots of their own (specially minority) religions, and it carries most credibility when we start with self-criticism. It is very easy to criticise The Other, I guess. FN 2008/5/2 Carvalho [EMAIL PROTECTED]: The time has come for us to organise more aggressively (pardon the use of this word), and start funding literature that will counter the activities of the HJS. There are many of us in the diaspora, who are thinking along these lines.
[Goanet] Religion and politics
--- http://www.GOANET.org --- The First Konkani E-Cinema BLACK Nhesop Atanchem Fashion Premiers at Masrah, Hawalli Auditorium, Kuwait on Aug 10, 2007 http://lists.goanet.org/pipermail/goanet-goanet.org/2007-August/060201.html --- Date: Wed, 8 Aug 2007 00:36:39 -0400 From: Bosco D'Mello [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [Goanet] Vote for Parrikar To: Goanet [EMAIL PROTECTED] Message-ID: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset=iso-8859-1; reply-type=original On Tue Aug 7 13:43:37 PDT 2007, Miguel Braganza wrote: Bosco writes My dear Albert, Why preach what you do not practice? Verify YOUR facts before posting them on the Net groups. RESPONSE: Miguel, some months ago Albert threatened to bury his computer in the cemetery. Its quite likely his plans were thwarted by the approaching monsoon. Since you are in close proximity to him, once the weather improves, please assist him in carrying out his threat. When Albert writes about christianity, one wonders if Albert is a Christian. When Albert writes about politics, one wonders if Albert lives in Goa. George Pinto was right afterall - Nowithstanding living in Goa, does Albert know what is going on in Goa? - Bosco Albert writes The computer that I wanted to bury was from the cyberage scheme of the Goa govt but that I could give to the ghanti children to play because most of the computers are like that. I am not a hypocrate not to practice what I preach. Because I practice I like to tell you what is correct. I am for all purpose in Goa and know my geography and history very well. I do not believe in gossip to blame parrikar or babush monserate just because the newspaper says so or my padre says so or the neighbour sitting in the bar in the evening from 6 pm to 10 pm says so or another neighbour who sits at the chai shop to sip hot tea and eat baji says so. I am a christian and lived with priests and nuns and christians and hindus for thirty long years and worked with them and know everything of which matter they are made of . I have also discovered why your bishop wears a red cap and also found out why in the past padris used to receive a crop cut in the size of a coin on the back of their head. At least my name suggest that I am a christian may be outstanding christian probably because of my presence outside the door of the church /I am a person who likes to watch Miracle net though some holy people have instructed me not to, and find statues are nuisance in the church as their presence is not according to God's will. I have also discovered that those who write big stories about the politicians do not know where the Assembly hall is situated and many of them do not know why they are called goans. Many people prefer congress govt because of their selfishness. If any one of our goanetters have ample proof to say Parrikar and Babush Monserate are evil forces in goa let them write it openly in the net giving evidence for their actions? just not write something wild in the air. This is the reason why Mapuca is stinking today . It is because of this attitude that catholics are seen in courts everyday fighting against themselves and divorces are on the increase because goan catholics are philosophers who roam with lighted lanterns in the day and go without it at nights albert _ Tried the new MSN Messenger? Its cool! Download now. http://messenger.msn.com/Download/Default.aspx?mkt=en-in
Re: [Goanet] religion and politics
--- CONVENTION OF THE GOAN DIASPORA FROM GOA INTO THE WORLD Lisbon, Portugal June 15-17, 2007 Details at: http://www.casadegoa.org --- --- Frederick [FN] Noronha * फ à¥à¤°à¥à¤¡à¤°à¤¿ ठनà¥à¤° à¥à¤¨à¥à¤¯à¤¾ [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Okay, this is beyond my depth. Have a good day a;nert. And don't let that Selma block your right to free speech :-) Even if we all must talk a bit of nonsense at times... FN Moi FN? Block Albert's right to free speech? Au contraire mon ami. I love Albert. It is my earnest desire that Albert learns the lambada. Then he will be less concerned with homosexuals, procreation with contraception, abortion, Catholics who worship Mary, Churches who don't provide jobs, etc, etc. It is my belief, that people who learn to lambada actually find the answers to a lot of the esoteric questions they pose. Perhaps it is something to do with the gyrations of the dance that lends itself to sublime learning. Albert do the lambada and you'll see the light.:-) selma PS: Am I the only one who gets Frederick's name completely garbled on my email. That's been happening of late. The letters are replaced with ^*%$#. Luggage? GPS? Comic books? Check out fitting gifts for grads at Yahoo! Search http://search.yahoo.com/search?fr=oni_on_mailp=graduation+giftscs=bz --- Goanet recommends, and is proud to be associated with, 'Domnic's Goa' - A nostalgic romp through a bygone era. This book is the perfect gift for any Goan, or anyone wanting to understand Goa. Distributed locally by Broadway, near Caculo Island, Panjim internationally by OtherIndiaBookStore.Com. For trade enquiries contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] ---
[Goanet] religion and politics
--- CONVENTION OF THE GOAN DIASPORA FROM GOA INTO THE WORLD Lisbon, Portugal June 15-17, 2007 Details at: http://www.casadegoa.org --- There are many things going on in my mind which no one wants to solve.Many times we roman catholics feel that we are superior and that we are following religion which has descended from Jesus and that st peter is the first pope .Can any one prove this? Why do we roman catholics criticise the christians of other denominations? in what way is our religion ie roman catholicism the right religion? If some one can prove these I wil lbe happy, and if any one writes oh albert you are influenced by believers, or tujer deumsar bosla,then i will take my computer and burry it outside the cemetry.Many times I try to reflect the life of Jesus.30years he remained at home and only three years he went out to preach.He told openly that if you want to reach to my Father come to me.He went to the synogue and read the scroll and preached on it.He never spoke of Mary at all except told John this is your mother, woman this is your son.He never spoke about praying to saints.All our prayers are Mary based and not directed to the Father. a;nert _ Want to get married in 2007? Visit Shaadi.com http://www.shaadi.com/ptnr.php?ptnr=mhottag --- Goanet recommends, and is proud to be associated with, 'Domnic's Goa' - A nostalgic romp through a bygone era. This book is the perfect gift for any Goan, or anyone wanting to understand Goa. Distributed locally by Broadway, near Caculo Island, Panjim internationally by OtherIndiaBookStore.Com. For trade enquiries contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] ---
[Goanet] Religion and Politics
--- 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 --- Dears, A leader of a party that makes the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya a party election plank and uses the Hindutva distillate of the religious 'opium of the poor' is now seeking to SEPARATE the STATE from RELIGION. What the CSJP is actually asking the faithfull is not to vote for people of the same religion BUT to weed out the CORRUPT and the COMMUNAL. So where is the RELIGION in it? What Venkaiah said he should go tell the Marines...and the RSS cadres in his home state or UP or Rajasthan or Gujarat. We do not need his advice in Goa, irrespective of what religion we practice. Viva Goa. Miguel India News BJP criticizes Goa's Catholic Church on its political stand May 30, 2007, 8:00 GMT '; var PageContent= 'Panaji, May 30 (IANS) Goa\'s Catholic Church, which claims the allegiance of about a quarter of the local population, has been criticized by the Bharatiya Janata Party for its suggestions to the state\'s voters in the run-up to the June 2 assembly polls. The church has advised the people of Goa to think about their future, Goa\'s environment and \'not consider candidates who are communal, who use the government machinery to threaten people and people who defect from one party to another for the love of money.\' BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu has criticized the local church\'s stand against communal candidates. Naidu argued that religious institutes and people should focus on religious discourses or work for social transformation, leaving politics to people in public life. Incidentally, in the past, the BJP had found the church\'s anti-corruption stance favourable to it when it seemed to go against the saffron party\'s main rival in Goa, the Congress. Goa\'s complex ethnic mix has an estimated 65 percent Hindu population comprising different castes and some migrant communities as well. Christians, mainly Catholics, make up a quarter of the population and could play a major role in swinging the results in parts of the state. This time round, the BJP, making a desperate bid for power, has been focussing on a two-pronged strategy to dent the Catholic support, which has traditionally gone to Congress politicians. The BJP has been supporting prominent Catholic, or other, non-BJP candidates in areas where it has no hold of its own. It has also been successfully playing on middle-class Catholic fears of corrupt Congress politicians ruining Goa\'s charm by allegedly being hand in glove with the real estate lobby. \'Save Goa\' slogans have been surfacing this election, heightened by the playing-up of the issue by the media. Some church priests have been criticised for blatantly promoting certain politicians. Father Maverick Fernandes of the church\'s Council for Social Justice and Peace said political lobbying by priests, before, during, or after mass, is taboo. Block voting has taken place depending on the threat perception of minority communities here. However, the reality is that caste factors within Catholicism, regional influences in different parts of the tiny state and opportunism among politicians from the community also play a key role in deciding trends in voting. © 2007 Indo-Asian News Service'; PrintArticle();//-- Panaji, May 30 (IANS) Goa's Catholic Church, which claims the allegiance of about a quarter of the local population, has been criticized by the Bharatiya Janata Party for its suggestions to the state's voters in the run-up to the June 2 assembly polls. The church has advised the people of Goa to think about their future, Goa's environment and 'not consider candidates who are communal, who use the government machinery to threaten people and people who defect from one party to another for the love of money.' BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu has criticized the local church's stand against communal candidates. Naidu argued that religious institutes and people should focus on religious discourses or work for social transformation, leaving politics to people in public life. Incidentally, in the past, the BJP had found the church's anti-corruption stance favourable to it when it seemed to go against the saffron party's main rival in Goa, the Congress. Goa's complex ethnic mix has an estimated 65 percent Hindu population comprising different castes and some migrant communities as well. Christians, mainly Catholics, make up a quarter of the population and could play a major role in swinging the results in parts of the state. This time round, the BJP, making a desperate bid for power, has been focussing on a two-pronged strategy to dent the Catholic support, which has traditionally
