I witnessed on television BJP cabinet minister Piyush Goyal’s speech at his Alma Mater, praising the Christian institute for his values and success in life! Today I am wondering whether he has forgotten it all for I do not find him raising his voice when there is discrimination and injustice being perpetrated. The Christian and Muslim minorities are facing harassment/persecution with ghar wapsi anti-conversion laws, sometimes violent moral policing of inter religious marriages, love jihad and caste distinction all seemingly patronised in most BJP ruled States by the government! The polarisation of the nation has bred Hindutva dominant vigilantes confidently imposing their writ assuming state and police sanction. The government’s terrible administrative blunders are obfuscated and that narrative being acquiesced by most media and even a section of the judiciary! Now with open spreading of hate speech and threatening by some Hindu outfits of religious ethnic cleansing of the minorities to establish a totally Hindu nation, is chilling. This alarming unchecked trend has reportedly galvanised 67 lawyers to petition the Supreme Court!
Since Liberation there has been modern developmental progress in bridges, ferries, schools, colleges, roads, buildings, hotels, casinos, malls, quality tiatrs, better trains, air travel facilities and progress in Arts, science and technology, better hospitals, medical facilities. Goa is getting crowded, one of the best places in India as can be seen from the many film stars, writers and eminent people from outside Goa increasingly settling here. Corruption and crimes have increased manifold. Unfortunately the narrative by the BJP government seeks to disparage every good of previous governments, justify all their own wrongs by “whataboutery”, rewrite history without open debate and discussion with an attitude that everything in the past history was biased or wrongly recorded and India progressed only after 2014, even though they owe all the building up of the nation in our own and world polity mostly to the Congress and Vajpayee governments!
There are fanatics in every religion and given India’s vast diversity in languages, religions, cultures, cuisine, and every aspect of life, to live in peace and unity after Independence, common sense dictated the need for a Constitutional Democracy which required laws “Be you so high or low, the rule of law will prevail!” The Hindu card being brazenly played all over India, one section of society doing well and others at their mercy with cost of runaway rising prices, loss of jobs, increased poverty of the middle class, labour and small scale industries, mal nutrition and starvation levels is stark reality! This is increasing with BJP oriented wrong priorities and unwanted development. There is a majority’s arrogant bulldozing outlook adversely affecting the minorities and nature, increasingly indulged in to favour crony capitalism and the builder’s lobby. The coming Assembly elections with a greatly changed demographic Goa, machinations of the Congress and outside parties like AAP, TMC and others beside independents, lots of jumping ship, all in the fray is confusing. To quote Aleksander Solzhenitsyn “We know they are lying, they know they are lying, they know we know that they are lying, we know they know we know they are lying, but still they are lying!”
Goa is getting crowded, one of the best places in India as can be seen from the many film stars, writers and eminent people from outside Goa increasingly settling here. Corruption and crimes have increased manifold! Goa definitely needs a more Goa centric government. It is painful to see our Parliament chaotic functioning. Bills are being passed through noise without proper discussion by voice vote and Opposition walk outs. The Prime Minister is projected as a decisive strong man in a hurry proving haste makes waste! There is propaganda of “double engine” growth at the cost of devastation of nature and a large section of the nation like farmers, labour, small scale businesses, senior citizens of the increasingly impoverished lower middle class bitterly affecting their families and health due increasing prices of fuel and essential commodities completely upsetting the household budgets! Add to this the uncertainties of Covid, travel restrictions and fear of hurting the sentiments of those in power. Police brutality unleashed on peaceful protesting farmers and now doctors is an increasing trend!
It’s absurd that in a respected democratic secular country a few people or mobs can decide what is anti national or wrong and impose their will with impunity! The government will not take responsibility for enforcing law and order, events have to be cancelled or movies passed by the official screening authorities cannot be shown unless a song is removed or title changed, etc. As regards the bogey of conversion far back to the 1950s in Poona (now Pune) Jesuit school where I had my education, my best friends were non Christian; even at that time there were no forcible conversions sponsored by the school or church. We practised unity in diversity!
The New Year with new Omicron Covid, the BJP ruling party pulling out all stops for their New India , the Opposition hopelessly divided, Modi hell bent on being a Hindutva PM, Prabhakar Parkala reportedly our FM’s husband but telling it like it really is regularly on You Tube, point to dangerous social upheavals. It’s like when we grow up our parents ask us where you are going, later on it’s our spouse/mentor and at the funeral the mourners wondering too!
(The author is a retired naval officer, freelance writer resident in Porvorim)
