PANAJI
Organisations of various religions and working for various social causes on Saturday came together under the umbrella of ‘Interfaith Alliance for Justice and Peace (IAJP)\' and to condemn the desecration of religious structures over the last few weeks and the religious polarisation in the state.
At a public meeting convened at Azad Maidan in Panaji, various speakers took a stand against various incidents, which have disrupted religious harmony in several parts of the country over the last three years. The crowd swelled to over a thousand by the conclusion of the meet.
On the issue of desecration of religious structures in Goa, the IAJP press statement reads, "We believe that these acts or omissions of Government have created a hate-filled environment that makes it conducive to desecrate crosses and graves in cemeteries and to normalise violence against minority communities by making it seem that they are asking for the same by their food and cultural habits and because of the religion they follow."
A call was made for the protection of the right to live with dignity, without discrimination and without threat to life and livelihood.
Various speakers pointed at the inaction of the government against incitement of hate and politics of exclusion.
Panchayat raj activist Soter D\'Souza expressed suspicion of a pattern behind the incidents of desecration. "How is it that every suspect or accused in such cases is a mad person, a drunkard or a convict? They are being made scapegoats to suppress the reality," Soter stated while quipping that such things tend to happen when ‘coconuts\' are used to lure people before growing ‘lotuses\'.
Islamic scholar and thinker Meenas Banu questioned why illogical religious topics are discussed every day, even in the Parliament. "They know that if they ignite riots, their image will get tarnished internationally. Hence, small incidents are fuelled to instill permanent hatred among communities and to create distrust," she said adding that although Goans are very matured, people need to be vigilant with disruptive forces seeking entry into the state.
Dalit thinker Chandrakant Jadhav questioned whether the slaughter of humans in the name of animals is the new definition of humanity. "PM praises non-violence abroad but he fails to end the lynchings back at home," Jadhav observed while declaring that lynchings are reflective not of the love for cow but the hatred for other human beings.
Social activist Sabina Martins spoke about the entrenched distrust which now exists among religious communities and how the government exploits this distrust to gain votes only to capture public funds.
Convenor of Peace and Harmony Asif Hussain declared that these incidents are incited to keep the public running in circles. "They don\'t want us to raise real issues about how big a scam demonetization was, about health, food, employment, education and how spending in these sectors have reduced," Hussain pointed out.
The government which does not prioritise law and order has no right to remain in power, opined the editor of Lokmat and senior journalist Raju Nayak. "The women in this country are more unsafe than those who slaughter cows and eat beef," Nayak stated at the well-attended meet.
