______________________________________________________________________ PRESS RELEASE THE CATHOLIC ASSOCIATION’S RESPONSE TO DHAVALIKAR’S VENOM!
The Catholic Association of Goa condemns the statements made by the Dhavalikars and reported in the Times of India dated 6 & 7 April, 2015. To say the least, Lata Dhavalikar has joined the bandwagon of the likes of Mohan Bhagwat Giriraj Singh ---, who have now found a platform and the licence to publicly voice their rabid and fanatic views. Has she done her homework ? If we go by what she says, all women in the west should be victims of rape. How unfair to Indian men to suggest that they get titillated by tight fitting, scantily dressed and bikini clad women! Was Nirbhaya immodestly dressed?! Was the 2 of 2 71 year old nun scantily clad? Take our own little Angel from the Vasco School - (not convent) Was she raped because she was in a western outfit? Is a school uniform western? Lata should be advised to do her homework before making such outrageous and senseless statements. Thankfully all thinking people of all faiths don’t subscribe to her right wing fringe element thinking. Our rich Indian culture is all embracing and inclusive. She has done the greatest injustice to Indian culture by limiting it to “tilak and kumkum”. Convent schools over the years have kept their doors open to peoples of all faiths. These Institutions by their selfless service have given the country some of its greatest statesmen, administrators, professionals – men and women of character and caliber. Her clarion call to desist from sending children to convent schools will fall on deaf ears, save for those few who subscribe to her extremist doctrine. Pity the children of these misguided adults. Evidence shows that it is those people who cry hoarse about convent and western education, who send their children to these very institutions of proven repute. If everything Western is taboo then why this exodus of children to western universities? No double standards please! Convent schools don’t have a hidden agenda and are completely transparent. Referring to her deterrence against conversion of Hindus, may we remind her of our Constitution that is based on the non-negotiable human rights principle of freedom to practice and propagate one’s faith. If there is coercion she may please raise her voice. We congratulate Shri Vijai Sardesai, the Fatorda MLA, for his bold, upright and objective stand. Let the Catholic BJP MLAs take a leaf from his book. Lata, her husband and their ilk better know that they cannot get away with their false propaganda. Inez Cotta Carvalho Catholic Association of Goa
