The renewed thrust for a ‘Saffron Goa 2019’ seems to have got off with a bang. From a dirty precedent set with a flash mob descending in a high security zone and conducting a political meeting wherein all security norms got automatically suspended by the authorities, to the surgical vandalizing of religious symbols in South Goa, is nothing but perfect timing and super management by the divisive forces. The use of the term ‘saffron’ or ‘Hindutva’ herein is in no way referring to Hinduism but points to a vicious and socially corrosive political ideology which cunningly adorns itself externally with apparel of a majoritarian religion and has relentlessly worked against the idea of a secular, socialist, democratic and republic nation, both pre and post-independence.
In the recent series of disturbing events aimed at shattering the social harmony in Goa, a dose from Chanakya Niti appears to have been administered with war room like precision of ‘killing two birds in one stone’ and ‘running with the hare and hunting with the hound’. It’s about providing sadistic pleasure to saffron lunatics while at the same time creating grounds to inject suspicion and divide communities. The popular argument which had a consumer appeal among a section of gullible minorities in 2012, and may still be held now, is the false belief that the fanatic parivar cannot afford communal mischief if they intend to win over the minority confidence. To such minority wholesale consumers of deception one can only be reminded that ‘ignorance is bliss’ and ‘the road to hell is paved with roses”.
Considering the timing of the recent incidents which coincide with the renewed saffron surge to regain lost political ground in South Goa, the normal tendency would be to suspect any communal mischief to be the work of the opposition groups. The attack on ‘ghumttis’ could also be so designed to further cement this false impression that the vandalisation of crosses is not linked to saffron lunacy thereby also leaving scope for their fanatic rumor machines to fuel a suspicion of a Muslim hand among the Hindu community and the suspicion of some Christian sects among Catholics. Strange as it may sound to some, there do exists studies which show the relation between communal polarisation and the rise to power of the communal forces. A case in point is the latest riots in West Bengal wherein the saffron forces portray innocence but a senior office-bearer has been arrested for posting fake photos of the 2002 Gujarat riots on social media and claiming them to be scenes from the recent violence torn area of Basirhat.
Another tendency in such communally charged atmosphere is to blame the failure of the law and order machinery. Actually it is not that the law and order machinery fails but that it has been made to fail by those in government when it comes to such Hate Crimes. Are the authorities telling us that they are clueless about the possible suspects? If investigations are made to start on the premise that there does not exist saffron terror, then the outcome of such investigations is obvious. Then we can expect weird police findings that it was not a hate crime but just the case of a drunkard falling on the cross, a mad man straying in the cemetery to beat up ghosts, or some love jihad with a Christian girl gone wrong, a Dalit beaten up to send a message to Muslims or, about a mob fighting for Junhaid’s train seat that resulted in his murder on the eve of Eid.
Going by the trend in the country, instead of the law and order machinery being interested in nailing the culprits of communal violence, it is more concerned with suppressing and skewing the truth about Hindutva terrorism by fishing for excuses to prove the victims wrong or to play down the communal design. So instead of the government drama about google mapping and appeals for public support to nab the culprits, what may actually speed up the chances of detecting the masterminds behind such communal attacks is to conduct brain-mapping of those responsible for ensuring law and order to unearth the hidden ideological contamination within the system itself. Without a favorable government and a sympathetic law and order machinery such communal attacks are less likely to occur.
The minority community can no more afford to be lethargic and apathetic about the political situation. It has to rise above its booze and beef fixation. The time has come for those minorities who relish saffron political cuisine and adore their political chefs to speak out their minds against what is happening. The catholic priest who sneaks into Goa for every election to scout for minority candidates and distribute saffron tickets has a moral obligation to speak up for justice. The culture of ‘festam’ which has been long exploited by the government to promote tourism in Goa have to be put in the pause mode as a protest for demanding that constitutional rights for religious worship and food preferences are guaranteed and criminals get booked and punished for vandalizing, lynching and murdering. The Goans have to take a cue from the N.E. struggles of economic non-cooperation and the Muslim communities which wore black bands and called off all celebrations on Eid recently. Can Goans ensure a blackout of celebrations for Diwali and Christmas in Goa if this communal nonsense across the country does not stop? Or is it the case about soft Hindutva which endorses the hate crimes below their breath in contradiction to their ‘mann ki baat’ in public that exists among Goans?
https://www.heraldgoa.in/Review/Voice-Of-Opinion/%E2%80%98Mann-ki-Baat%E2%80%99-or-Mann-ki-Khel/117646.html
Herald Review, July 16, 2017
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