re: The article itself is too long for posting on GN. Frederick Noronha wrote: >Since when has length (of on-topic posts) been an issue on Goanet?
As the article in question raises so many contentious assumptions, which have a lot to do with our understanding of today and yesterday's Goa, I woud personally really appreciate if you shared the article on Goanet and initiated a discussion. I promise to participate too. RESPONSE: Even though this very same article was rejected by GN (for being "too long") on March 31, 2006, in response to the above, I am re-sending it herewith. Criticism is always welcome. http://www.colaco.net/1/TGFCommunalRiots.htm Communal Riots break Out in Goa TGF March 26, 2006 As expected, communal riots broke out in Goa; NOT between Goan Hindus and the folks, the communal among the Goan Hindus love to Hate i.e. the Goan Catholics, BUT between Hindus and Muslims. Decades of discriminatory and anti-Catholic actions by successive post 1961 Goa Governments (especially the MGP and BJP ones) resulted in Goan Catholics to leaving Goa - many, for good. As the Goan Catholics started to exit in droves, their homes (esp in South Goa) remained empty. The resultant vacuum enabled squatters to virtually stroll in. While, the Goan Hindu communalists (BJP/MGP) were busy perpetrating their anti-Catholic ethnic cleansing communal agenda, Muslims from the surrounding hills and from afar, quietly moved in. These new immigrants neither have the bond nor the village ties that have existed for centuries & still continue to exist among native Goans, be they of Hindu, Christian, Muslim or other backgrounds. A tradition of mutual understanding and tolerance developed between Goan Hindus, Catholics and Muslims during the second half of the Portuguese rule of Goa. No such culture of mutual understanding or tolerance exists among the violent new entrants. It is a race to grab land, home or whatever they can lay their hands on. Those who come from a background of scarcity and dacoity, are unlikely to understand the desire of Goans to continue their traditionally tolerant and peaceful existence. The thugs come from a culture where the more violent and aggressive dog was destined to get the bone. This aggression on the part of the new entrants, and build up of frustration among the hitherto patient Goemcars has been developing at an increasing pace over the past decade. It was like a time bomb waiting to explode. As predicted, the communal riots erupted. And ...there is more to come. Take a good look, Goans, at Margao and Navelim in South Goa! As the saying goes: you ain't seen nuttin yet! The culture of zhalacch pahije and dadagiri which was perpetrated by the Bandodkar MGP took a heightened dimension during the recent rule of the Parrikar BJP. The Parrikar BJP must ask itself if did or did not, actively or passively further a culture of violent disorder, vandalism and politically motivated attacks on non-violent Goans. Did Parrikar BJP flex or did it not flex official muscle against those who peacefully opposed the policies of the Goa BJP?. If it did, would the BJP say that it was a democratic or 'liberated' way of handling peaceful opposition? Throughout all this, the former Chief Minister Parrikar appeared to play the fiddle (like Nero) in public, while reportedly packing the police force with cronies and saffron sympathisers. All that these police chaps famously are reported to have done is "look the other way" while the vandalistas went on their rampage. Wonder how good the vandalistas are feeling now about their rampage. Wonder how good Parrikar is feeling now about the vandalism that was condoned during his tenure as Chief Minister. The so called Goa Press? Well, the less we say about the lackeys in the Goa Press, the better. They have been silent and self serving facilitators of this chaos by their very convenient fence sitting excuse for journalism. There were a few Goa journalists who stood out in exception to these GLC (Government Lackey Corps) and dared to be different -. TGF recognises their immeasurable worth to Goa and Goans. They are the reason for hope in the future. A vibrant press always keeps a Government in check, especially when a no-good Opposition is in a sham existence. What did the Goa Catholic Church do whilst this virulent anti-Catholic scenario was unfolding over the past few decades? Nothing more than leave the faithful and the regularly vandalised churches to the mercy of the violent elements. Thank you, Goa Catholic Church. Thank You for nothing! TGF expects no real change from the Goa Catholic Church. The pomp and ceremony will continue and the lost souls will remain lost. It is almost as though the life of Christ was about pomp and ceremony. Successive Goa governments have sat impotently while the Indian Navy took away Dabolim and Anjediva; and yet, the same defense needs of the country could have been realised with a little tact, consultation and accommodation. Successive Goa governments have sat impotently while major hotel chains have destroyed the Goan environment and stripped Goa of her resources.; and yet, the tourism goals of the State and the financial goals of the investors could have been met just as well, with a little more imagination, structure and an open declaration of the requirement for Goa based businesses to provide suitably qualified Goans with opportunities to work in Goa, and the absolute requirement for the Goan environment to be protected. Believe it or not, Goa is the only home that Goans have. The Goa environment has faced total abuse and destruction. Successive Goa governments have sat impotently while polluting companies have poured effluent into the Goa waterways and into the Goa water table. Successive Goa governments have had so called Ministers of Government and the Civil Service babus scramble only to line up their pockets with swiped public funds and baksheesh. Successive Goa governments have made empty promises to the Goan voters, and then proceeded to do absolutely nothing substantial for the Goa infrastructure. Every project had someone taking a hefty cut or two or three. No wonder there were major fights to secure the Public Works Ministry. The word on the street is that "Goans are divided 'bhojjes' who keep on re-electing corrupt politicians on the basis of a little election time chicken biryani with beer, and a truckload of 'pokke' promises". Goa is in for the taking. All one has to do is "pay off the politicians and stroke a few communal flames". "The Hindus will take care of the Catholics - all they have to do is say a few anti-Portuguese things (can be made up and even carried in the Press. The media chaps will spread these bogus stories all over the place), bring up the Inquisition (not Sati) and write a few glorious stories about Freedom Fighters (doesn't matter if the chaps were no better than goons caught in the act by Goan Police in Portuguese uniform)." "After the Goan Catholics are done in by the Goan Hindus, we only have the Goan Hindus to outmuscle. Goan Muslims are few and far between anyway." Goans must truly be more sossegado than previously rumoured. All n Sundry are suddenly waking up from their Rip Van Winkle siesta and wondering : Arre....How did this happen in Peaceful Goa? TGF would really like to know the present thoughts of the Panjim "Catholic Brahmins" who shamelessly supported the communal elements even though these violent types were vandalising the historic parts of Fontainhas in Panjim. The conveniently saffronised but quite uncollective Panjim "Catholic Brahmins", and the normally shrewd Margao Saraswat Brahmins notwithstanding, there is still time for Goans to reverse this trend. Goans must understand once and for all that when it finally comes down to the wire, it will be us against them i.e. peaceful Goans v the violent non-Goans. Time to put aside this nonsense of a difference in Religion and Script - both are just excuses for the political agendae of the crooked and wicked. It's time for Goans to understand this. As far as the ongoing imbroglio vis-à-vis the Indian Navy is concerned, TGF believes that it can be sorted out quite easily. There is unlikely to be one solitary sensible Goan who would not wish to be reasonable with the Navy - if the Navy is reasonable with Goans. With regard to Anjediva, surely the Navy can organise to look after the basic needs of the historic Catholic Church there and allow for the celebration of the annual feast on the island. And in Dabolim, surely the Indian Navy can make arrangements for the civilian flights to make a better time structured use of it. Is it that difficult? TGF does not think so. All it takes is a little desire for peace and a lot of the rare common sense. The Indian Navy is the major hope on the horizon for Goa. Sensible Navy leadership surely will see the need to win over the hearts and minds of Goans and help prevent the further destabilization of this still beautiful place. There is another hope which lies hidden in the flooded Goa rice fields. Don't know how many monsoons are needed to make that hope a reality. Goans are apparently waterlogged by the corrupt modern day Goa Alibabas i.e. the politicians and the civil servants aka babus. Goans do not have the power to remove the babus, but they certainly have the power to give the red card to the corrupt politicians. Will 40 honest and hard working men and women stand up to the plate, and will Goans wake up from their chair of sossego and empower themselves by rejecting the corrupt Alibabas, and electing 40 honest individuals in their place? Hello! ....It's time to wake up. The sun is out already. Get to work. Put some honest fellas in office, and the babus will fall in place alright. Once you do that, life will be much less complicated than at present. Finally, as Goans, we must protect our own Goan interests by looking out for and after each other without being unfair or unjust to the law abiding, decent and good neo-Goans who have made Goa their home or even their second home. They are Goans too. They are family. Let us never forget that we Goans, whether we practise Hinduism, Christianity, Islam or no religion at all, we are still Goans. We are one people. We have stood together through all kinds of violence and injustice that was perpetrated on us by all kinds of people. Whether it was the Kadambas, the chaps from Golconda, the Vijaynagris, the Marathas, the Rajputs or the Portuguese, native Goans always suffered. But Goans stood together as one for generations. We need to come together and stand together again. Either that.......or face decades of more chaos and violence. There is always ...the opportunity to apply for a Portuguese passport, then pray to get one within the next 10 years and hope to migrate away from this nonsense. But, one better be well qualified and able for that; for - life abroad is not a bed of roses. It is just as tough and competitive as anywhere else. ENDS * * * Encounter hints (and more) of the Goan life in Zanzibar, Poona, Mombasa, Basra, Dubai, and even Nuvem and Colva, Sanvordem and colonial Goa. Learn of experiences that shaped Goans worldwide. Selma Carvalho's *Into the Diaspora Wilderness* now available at Broadways Book Centre, Panjim [Ph +91-9822488564] Ask a friend to buy it, before it gets sold out. 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