Many years ago, on 10th February 2018, while working with the children from Camrabhat and Tonca on floating gardens in the St Inez Creek as part of a Community Art project, our colleague Arnaldo Lobo, suggested that we celebrate Carnival like in the old days, as Intruz or Khell Carnival. We eagerly lapped the idea and began making pointy hats with colourful items added onto our simple yet traditional dress code! We then all marched to the venue of the State sponsored floats which was on the Miramar- Dona Paula road and showcased the deteriorating state of the St Inez Creek and Camrabhat with banners of ‘Keep the creek green’ and ‘Camrabhat Clean’.
This year too we did the same. We painstakingly made our pointy hats and many vivid banners lamenting the state of the city- the dug up roads, the stinking creek, the smart city projects that are taking forever to see the light of day, the proposed ropeway project, the mega footover bridge at the mouth of the St Inez creek choking its flow, etc. We then walked from Campal via the public garden onto the roads thrown open to the public for viewing the parade. It was 4.30pm. We walked slowly along the side of the barricade parallel to the parade route, carrying a ladder with a white cloth resembling a coffin, with the words-’Panjim city’ RIP. Many onlookers appreciated the ‘KHELL’ while we walked slowly and silently. Most from our group were senior citizens, a few children, youth and teachers. As we had walked past the ESG building, a couple of burly men on a bike came in front and began to stop us. They asked us if we had permissions. We told them we are not participating in the floats. We are, like all the thousands of tourists and citizens, enjoying Carnival the traditional way. They told us, we cannot do that, whilst speaking to someone on the phone all the time. We told them that if they have a problem with us walking here we will move away. So we began moving away. They pleaded with us to wait for 5 minutes. Then arrived a posse of police in their vehicle. Same questions were asked. But this time, the police were abusive, intimidating and arrogant. They also began to assault the group - women, youth and senior citizens by pulling out the pointy hats, apron banners and finally also our prop. They assaulted one of the youth, took off his hoodie, grabbed his phone and began shoving him into the vehicle. They pushed and pulled him so hard that there were nail marks on his hands. We continued asserting ourselves. That we had done nothing wrong, we were silently walking and began to tell the cops not to touch us, to release the youth and give back the phone. After our continuous assertion, they relented and let the youth out and also gave back his phone.
We then walked back and turned towards the Market road. Since the sections of the road were dug up, we stopped, got down into the open pit and simply stood there with our apron banners. Some of us were continuously documenting the Khell Carnival. Suddenly the same cops arrived along with women constables. Again they began to speak very abusively, harass and intimidate us by snatching our hats and aprons. One mustachioed constable began abusively speaking to the youth mocking him saying he was a kid. The cops kept filming us all the time as if documenting some crime. We asserted our rights. Then they retreated and we continued walking towards the market. A couple of women constables on a bike began to tail us. We walked towards Azad Maidan. The children were thirsty and so were the seniors. We stopped by a roadside vendor to buy some masks for the children and then walked towards Sanyog for some water. While some of us were going in, the same police posse descended on us. They began to abuse and threaten us saying, give us your phone, delete all the pictures and videos or else we will detain you. They began to grab the phones. We refused but under duress deleted the photos and videos under the moustachioed constable’s watchful eye. The couple of youth with us were again pulled in by the cops. One of them was punched in the stomach, the back door pressed against his back and then assaulted by the cop who just lunged and twisted the youth’s nipples. They also crushed his phone and deleted all the data. While this was happening in the confines of the police vehicle, unbeknownst to the rest of us, our superwomen Particia and Ritu, pointedly told the police officer that if our youth were not relieved, they would accompany them! They were taken to the Panjim police station. The rest of us walked to the station and took the children home.
After nearly 3 hours of being detained, the women and youth were allowed to go home. But a grave injustice and violation of human rights was already committed by those responsible to uphold the law.
In all these years, many children along with us have witnessed this scene too many times. At Chandor railway tracks, at St Lawrence Arossim and at the Panjim Church steps during the Mollem protests, at the Taleigao fields to protest the destruction of the fields next to Panchayat Ghar and now this. The police have completely lost it. And politicians too. We await justice and so does the city of Panjim. We hope that the courts of justice have eyes and ears because Satyamev Jayate!
(Tallulah D’Silva is an
architect and silver awardee of the Golden
Door Award 2020 for truth and integrity)