The dust is yet to settle from the storm kicked up by former Goa RSS chief Subhash Velingkar for his remarks calling for a DNA test on the sacred relics of St. Francis Xavier. While the jury is still out on the implications of the recent disturbances, what is undoubtedly clear even at this stage is that this is possibly the worst communal disturbance Goa has seen in recent decades. Fortunately, the state has (so far) emerged unscathed without any major incidents of violence, even though for a while the situation threatened to get out of control and the risk of it escalating even further seemed very real at one point.
The question that must be asked is how was it allowed to come to this. Velingkar, in his most recent avatar, is a known troublemaker and a habitual offender. Two years ago he claimed that the title of Goencho Saib cannot be given to St Francis Xavier but instead be given to the Sage Parshuram. More recently, Velingkar dug his heels in to help manufacture a ‘dispute’ surrounding the ruins of the Our Lady of Health Church in Sancoale to claim that it was comparable to the Ayodhya dispute. All of these utterances were met with restraint and peaceful gatherings against what were obvious communal provocations against the Christian community.
It is quite telling that Velingkar, who has been a mainstay of Goa’s political scene, even if largely behind the scenes, has chosen to show his true colours in public only now -- during the tenure of Pramod Sawant as Chief Minister, and after a failed political career that saw the political outfit he floated routed in the elections with the second showing, when he himself contested, being worse than the first. It does not take too much political intelligence to understand that sensitive issues must be nipped in the bud before they go out of control. The warning signs were there for all to see and yet the government seemed hesitant to act.
On the other hand, rather than tackle the communal provocations, those in government were seen to be fanning it further with barely disguised statements to “wipe off the signs of the Portuguese,” to rebuild the temples destroyed by the Portuguese to disturbances on account of various Shivaji statues and other offensive statements.
Goan society and harmony have yet endured. But that cannot be taken for granted and being lenient with troublesome elements only fuels the fire further. A stern message needs to be sent to all troublemakers irrespective of caste or religion especially when it is obvious that they are deliberately trying to stir the pot. Instead, the government has allowed several fringe groups, once unheard of in Goa to occupy prime space without consequence.
The failure to tackle these elements allowing them more than just their day in the sun is the reason why Goa’s famed communal harmony appears to be at risk. Instead of trying to bring about cohesion and healing, the government was seen missing in action leaving it to civil society activists, the church and others to appeal for calm and attempt to diffuse the situation. Even assuming that those in government were otherwise engaged, their complete absence from the scene of the protest and making no effort to negotiate or placate the protesters reveals nothing but abdication of duty and a complete lack of desire and willingness to tackle the crisis.
