While the accolades are pouring in for the Goa Police for identifying and arresting one Francis Pereira, while he was about to desecrate yet another cross, and before he increased the footprint of his vandalism across Goa, it is the restraint and maturity shown by the people of Goa, especially the minorities, which has won the day for Goa.
While the police goes about doing its job, it’s important to step back and look at the extraordinary maturity with which the people of Goa, both Hindus and Christians, have handled this. For the Goa Police, this was extremely tense fortnight. Quite honestly, if there were elements ready to stoke the fires, the fear of communal flare ups in parts of Goa could have loomed. We don’t all have to be reminded of the Sanvordem-Curchorem riots of March 2006.
But Goa stood tall last fortnight. It realised that no right thinking Goan or a group of individuals would ever strike at the social, emotional and religious fabric by stooping so low as to vandalise tombs and crosses.
And as the Alma Khuris at Chandor, three crosses in Salcete portion of Cuncolim Assembly constituency, a cross at Raitollem in Curtorim, two crosses at Loutolim, a cross at Power House, and the one erected in memory of late PSI Simon Fernandes were vandalised along with the Shri Krishna temple at Calcondem and the Tulsi Vrindavan outside the temple and the Nandi Bull, all Goans saw were candle light meetings and peace marches. There was no violence, no anger, no hatred. This is something that needs to be commended. The only concern was that the miscreants need to be caught so that the series of desecrations stopped.
The Archbishop rightly expressed great concern and that was only to be expected. But he was worried about desecrations of crosses as much as the Hindu structures and wanted the saga to end.
The way Goans reacted paved the way for the police to focus on this without the added burden of public pressure. But there is work to be done. The fact that the miscreant arrested is a Francis Periera, should not spark off a counter offensive by any religious group casting aspersions on any other. This is clearly a man who has taken a path which is unfortunate. And with his arrest, Goa can and should claim itself to be stronger.
We should see these last two weeks as a period when we strengthened ourselves and lay a foundation where politicians, groups and parties, even if they want to, cannot create wedges in Goan society.
But this tribute will be indeed incomplete without acknowledging the role of foot-soldiers in the police who looked for certain signals to zoom in. For instance Constable Avinash Naik, noticed the line printed on the taxi of accused Francis Xavier Pereira, “Like a leopard, I will lie in wait”. This was observed by Avinash Naik, along with cops Ravindra Dessai and Vishal Bhuikar kept a quiet watch and stepped up this investigation to finally get the man who has been cheating the police for the last 14 years.
There is only one take away from this. If Goa remains this way, we will all be heroes.
