MIXING HATE WITH
RELIGION
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The worms of hate have
infiltrated our Goan society and are in a frenzy to go
for the kill like in Gujarat, over a period of time.
The first priority before us Goans is to dump Mr.
Manohar Parrikar and his government, if need be,
through massive, peaceful and orderly agitations since
the Opposition has been castrated and made impotent..
BY FLORIANO LOBO. |
GOA HAS
been gripped by the controversy over the making of the
film documentary on Goa’s liberation by the RSS-BJP
government of Goa, at tax-payer’s cost, without taking
into confidence the social, cultural, religious and
political representation of Goa and which, it had no
business to do so in the first place. I shall start with
quoting two separate views of two individual Goans which
have been posted on “Goanet”, a widely used internet
distribution list, of which I am a subscriber.
View
1:
“Only
truth and scientific temper will develop the problem-solving
capacity of individuals and society. History, however bitter,
needs to be learnt so that the evils of the past are not
repeated in the future. Let us stand up to create a modern
scientific outlook in civil society and oppose those who wish to
create a regressive nation. (Sandeep Heble)
View
2 (in response to view 1):
Any
rational person, irrespective of whether s/he has seen the
contents of the CD or not, would view with suspicion any attempt
by the Government or those in power to teach history, science,
etc. to school kids. The best way to do this is to let
historians teach history, and scientists teach science, not
politicians, ideologues and fanatics. (Santosh Helekar)
In a
secular polity, there must be a clear divorce between politics
(governance) and religion. There is no doubt, whatsoever, that
religion is an integral part of an individual, and that, one
cannot be separated from the other. Of course, there are
individuals who do not profess any particular religion, or, who
do not believe in the existence of God, altogether. But this
mandatory requirement of ‘divorce of religion from politics’
becomes toothless when political leaders such as L.K. Advani
make statements to the contrary. Mr. Advani has gone on record
to say, “Politics without Religion has no meaning for me.”
If that be true, then, as the president of the leading
opposition party now, and as the former Deputy Prime Minister of
the nation, he is in direct contradiction to, and confrontation
with the Secular Constitution of India, specially when he
espouses the religion of hate, which maims, burns and kills.
After I
had the opportunity to see, for the first time, the
controversial VCD on Goa’s Liberation, at the public viewing
held by XIHR, Porvorim on January 6, 2004, I had the
opportunity to see the “Final Solution” - a documentary film on
the Gujarat riots, produced by Rakesh Sharma, viewed globally
and having been accorded the Indian Censor Board clearance,
recently. And I strongly feel that Goa should see both these
documentaries if any lesson is to be learnt.
“Final
Solution”
Unlike
the one sided, fabricated story put forth by the RSS-BJP
government of Goa in its Goa’s Liberation VCD, which is meant to
target the young minds of school children, the “Final Solution”
is a documentary based on actual facts, live interviews of
victims as well as the perpetrators. Though I have had the
opportunity to be in Gujarat (Ahmedabad) after the riots, and
having seen the destruction and having heard the sad stories,
the film has given me the insight to the core of the ‘hate’
espoused by the VHP and its fringe satellites, the Bajrang Dal,
Shiv Sena et al.
Having
witnessed, in the documentary, the turmoil and confusion in the
minds of the Muslim population of Gujarat, the victims, the
survivors of this gross genocide, three things have made a
lasting impression on my mind, of which, I feel the urge to
speak about.
The
first is the rampantly provocative diatribe dished out by
leaders like Narendra Modi and others during the Gujarat Gaurav
Yatra. The message given out and often repeated by the swelling
crowds is: “Muslims leave Gujarat, leave India. That even
Pakistan is not safe for you, as it will be taken.”
The
second is the song , sung in a broken voice, which simply says
“ Take away our Mosques. Take away our Temples. Take away our
Churches. But do not spill our blood.”
The
third and the most touching part of the film is the interview
of a Muslim school boy of around five or six years. When asked
“What will you be when you grow up,” the boy replies “I will be
a policeman.” “Why?” “Because I want to burn the Hindus.” “Do
you hate Hindus?” “Yes.” “Why?” “Because they burn the
Muslims.” “Do you hate all Hindus?” “Yes.” “I am a Hindu. Will
you burn me too? Am I not a good Hindu?” To this question, the
answer is not forthcoming. The boy appears totally confused. He
knows he must hate, burn and kill Hindus. But he does not know
there could be good Hindus too who could be his friends.
Brainwashing
Now
coming back to Goa’s Liberation VCD, will this not be creating
the same mental blocks in the targeted children that all
Christians are bad? Don’t they see them kicking and destroying
their Tulsis, their temples? Do they not see the Christian
priests raping their mothers and killing them? Do they not see
blood flowing?
So
whose idea was this? Who permitted this? Why was it made? Was it
just an off-hand decision of someone in the Education
Department who thought it would be a wise thing for our
children to know their history by actually seeing it? Nothing
more to it?
The RSS
Chief in Goa, Mr. Subash Velingkar, has surely poisoned his own
children. Why am I saying this? During the VHP bandh in Goa,
following the Godhra train burning incident, a few young kids
were seen pelting stones at the motorists near Sai Service,
Porvorim. My brother’s wife on her scooter missed being hit
while going to work. She jotted down the scooter number that was
parked alongside the boys. GA-01-V-2460. I gave this number to
the police. Did they check it out?
This
permissive attitude towards goondagiri had hurt my
feelings and I had come out very strongly against the CM, who
had promoted this bandh. As an MLA, did he not lead a mob to
blacken with shoe polish, the CM’s (Willy’s) brand new car
(NE-118), saying that “Goa cannot afford the luxury?” Can Goa
now afford Rs. 5 crore worth cinema house which is actually
built for Rs. 24 crores? Would he not be behind the vandalism
of Fontainhas and Mandarin Hotel in Mapusa? Would he not be
behind the Shivalinga incident at the Bishop’s Palace?
Otherwise, how did the Director of Archives rush to the site,
merely on an anonymous call, in minutes? Wasn’t he waiting, in
all readiness, for such a call?
Does it
absolve the CM of these acts if he merely presents a bouquet of
flowers to the Archbishop on his birthday at Bishop’s Palace,
with ditto, at the Se Cathedral’s main alter to the new
Archbishop? How does the CM reach the site of the desecrated
temple in Sanguem with top police officials et al, in record
time, if it is not planned? My mind is screaming for these
answers. So how do I, or for that matter, any body else, let
this venomous person teach my/our innocent children the history
of their land through his hateful, saffronized mind? Is anyone
denying that the past did happen?
SuSSegado
These
are Goa’s acute problems and we Goans must look for impeccable
and irrefutable answers. And what we do not have anymore is the
luxury of being complacent and to remain sussegado. The
worms of hate have infiltrated our Goan society and are in a
frenzy to go for the kill like in Gujarat, over a period of
time. The first priority before us Goans is to dump Mr. Manohar
Parrikar and his government, if need be, through massive,
peaceful and orderly agitations since the opposition has been
castrated and made impotent. The second priority is to seek to
elect persons who have hundred per cent proven secular
credentials by dumping the existing conniving scamsters.
In
addition, the guarantee that Goans must seek from avowed
secular and non-casteist political parties of Goa, if there are
any, is their clearly defined and spelt-out ‘ROAD MAP/s’ towards
Goa’s future governance and the all round development of its
people, in the understanding that, if anyone is to embark on an
extended road journey, one must secure an authentic “Road Map.”
Goa positively cannot afford to land in some obscure ditch,
again, in this 21st century.
There is great need for the people of Goa to come to their
senses to ensure their own survival and the survival of their
children, rather than the survival of the political parties they
subscribe to or their political ideologies.
I urge
more secular minded and conscious citizens to speak out openly
and boldly through every forum and every media outlet, in every
language, to bring awareness to the people of Goa, that the
sickness of religious bigotry and intrinsic selfish ideals are
at our doorsteps, waiting to walk in and strangle us.
And I shall always
hold Dr. Hubert Gomes of Margao, in highest of esteem for having
encouraged me to do this page. Thank you Doc.
