On 29thof last month, at Old Goa Inst. Of Pastoral Council Hall, at 5.30 pm I attended the meeting organized under the banner of All India Catholic Union. Approximately 200 persons males and females attended this Meet which was addressed among others by Dr. John Dayal, Prof. Fernandes, Bishop Ferrao and Dr. Colaco. The entire proceedings were compered by Jovito Lopes who was instrumental in organising this Meeting to create awareness among Catholics of their future in Goa in particular and India in general.
On 17thDecember 1961 when one Laundry man Mr. Esho from Candolim Orda, at 7.00 PM came to know that Indian Troops already entered Goan territory, he started shouting loudly near the Church saying “Jai Swaraj – Jai Maharaj – Jai Hind. Atam ami tumkam kitem tem dakoitelet, tumcheo Ingorzo ani Kopelam ami moddtelet ani tumkaim kobar kortelaum”. Listening to his screaming I as a young boy realized what will be our future in our own Goa when my own brothers will try to liquidate us saying we being Christians we are foreigners embracing foreign religion and in one word we were considered as outisiders.
Are we really outsiders? Who are insiders and those who considered themselves as insiders, are they not outsiders by virtue of being settlers on the banks of Indus River, coming from outside that land? I object if anyone calls us foreigners because of the foreign religion we follow from the Europeans. I am nether a foreigner nor a follower of European religion, my religion Christianity is not an European but Asian just as Hinduism which is also an Asian. If I am an outsider then those who say so are also outsiders because they are not original people from Indus area.
In the said Meeting the speakers voiced their concern of making India a Hindu rashtra by the Hindu fanatics. Though it is a big concern for us all the secularists yet it is not easy because our Constitution is very firm on this point. These Hindu rashtra pundits want Hindu culture in India. But to do this India is not their fathers’ property. Instead of Hindu culture they must use the word Hindustani culture. We are in Goa currently about 25% Christians but surely this percentage will likely to go down in the next 10 years. At that point of time, the Hindu fanatics will pounce on us to impose their ideology and religion on us. As it is now they are prowling on us. They feel during the Portuguese time in Goa, Christians enjoyed preferential treatment but to my knowledge it is not true. On the contrary Hindu community enjoyed better facilities then. For example in the commercial segment only the Hindus dominated the commercial industry. Who were the Goans and even non-Goans who had the monopoly over Mining Industry? Was it not the Hindus like Salgaocar, Dempo, Chowgules, Shantilal, Bandecar, Bandodcar and others? Who was Kakulo from Cadolim having agencies for expensive Cars like Taunus, Ford and others? What about other agencies held by the other Hindus?
From the time of 19.121961 when Goa was invaded by Bharat serkar under Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s premiership by giving false promises to Goans, the seed of communalism was sown on the sacred soil of Goa thru the instigation of low grade Hindus by the few high grade Hindus who wanted to liquidate Christians from Goa or dilute the impact of their presence in Goa. One way to do this was to merge Goa with Maharastra where Maharastra like a big Hindu ocean will not only dilute the Christians and its influence but also swallow them. The low grade Hindus felt that they were persecuted and troubled a lot by the Bhattkars mostly the Christians. To a certain extent it is right but those “Bastard” Bamon Bhattkars persecuted and troubled not only poor Mundkar Hindus only but more than them it was the Christian poor and Munddkar who suffered from the these Bhattkar.
In the dictionary of Dayananda Bandodcar only among Hindus the Bahujan Samaz people existed. He was a traitor and fake Bahuzan samaz leader. He was the communal leader who treated Hindus only as Bahuzan samaz. Because he was the communal he sided with Hindus only. It was he who sowed more forcefully the seed of communalism in Goa. What he and others like him who were spreading communalism in Goa then, now the Bharati settlers are doing in Goa coming from neighbouring and other Sates in India. The genuine original Hindu from Goa will unlikely to embark on spreading this type of communalism. Original genuine Hindu from Goa is humane and secular believing in Goan brotherhood. It is this class of Hindus who fought against Bandodcar to defeat him in the Opinion Poll. But unfortunately their crop is dwindling now.
One of the speakers mentioned how our enemies are jealous of the assets of the Church and if they get a chance they will pounce on it first. Hence, Church should be more vigilant.
Yet another speakers deplored the disunity among Catholics in Goa. In this regard, Church leaders like Pe. Vigars and Pe. Curs must play their roles in the villages by preventing the Catholics from fighting against one another, including settling court cases amicably thru the intervention of the Church leaders.
A.Veronica Fernandes.