Saturday marked a grisly day in Goa’s history. A peaceful gathering of protesters that had turned up to demand for justice for Fr Bismarque Dias saw themselves being attacked by a police force in an unfathomable manner. In the aftermath of the event, however, one can take away three things. The lack of a strong youth presence, the staging of yet another protest at the next FC Goa match and how the incident has spurred the people to voice their frustration with the current regime. One of the main people involved in gathering people for the cause is activistpolitician, Valmiki Naik. Addressing one of the observations from Saturday, that many members of the older generation raised, he says “There was definitely a youth element involved, but those were mostly people that Fr Bismarque managed to reach out to himself. When I got involved in activism, it was because I realised that people like Anna Hazare undertook activities that would only come to fruition when it was my generations turn. There was nothing in it for them. I hope that in a similar vein, the younger generation realises that these seniors, who were manhandled, cannot possibly be undertaking this endeavour for themselves. It is to give the next generation hope for the future.” An anonymous message doing the rounds on instant messaging software such as WhatsApp states the following. ‘Next protest as we watch ISL match on 25th November. Let’s create history at Fatorda grounds. The ISL match is the right opportunity to tell the world about the brutal murder of Fr Bismarque Dias and to get the international coverage for this issue. The beauty of this is you can send your message peacefully while watching a football match. 10,000 black flags can send a strong message to the world, and no one can stop you. No section 144. Just replace the saffron flag with a black flag, just for that day! We can all dress in black and white! Can we Goans rise to the occasion?’ The main people rallying behind the cause of supporting FC Goa, has been the group, The Football Dug Out. Founder member, Conrad Barreto feels that the match is not the right place for such a movement. “It is not necessarily the right medium for such expression. For me, the protest should be taken to a more serious platform, and not held at the football match that is directed more towards being a gathering directed towards entertainment,” he says. The last point to be addressed is that this incident has certainly stirred in many, the need to openly voice their discontent with the current regime, irrespective of where they stand on the reason for last weekend’s protest. “We must not lose sight of the fact that the main issue here is the fact that people have gotten together to seek justice for one of their own. However, what has clearly shone through, is the fact that at the end of the day, this government will draw a line when it comes to suppressing the voice of the people,” Valmiki concludes.
