ST ESTEVAM: Across Goa, in its towns, ‘narkasurs’ were being burnt in one of the most potent celebratory rituals of the triumph of good over evil. Not far from where the lights of Old Goa dimmed and then sunk into the stillness of the inky night across the waters of the very quiet Mandovi, across which lay the island of St Estevam, there was no cause to celebrate, but a call to fight, a call to rise and slay the real ‘narkasurs’. To get those who may have felled a man of the people, for which he became a man of God – Father Bismarque Dias.
In the sprawling grounds of the St Estevam Church on the banks of the river, Goa had gathered in letter and spirit. The silhouettes of other churches and chapels beyond the fields, the mangroves hugging the river, the winding village paths, the palm trees and above all the all pervasive goenkarpon, each and all hung heavy as the evening turned into dusk. At the church square, listening to an assembly of some of the most passionate voices for the cause of Goa, all fellow comrades of Father Bismarque, was a gathering of very simple people. Home makers with their children, holding onto them with one arm and clutching on to an handkerchief in the other, wiping tears and dabbing moist eyes. The handkerchiefs got soaked but the eyes didn’t turn dry. Some clutched one of Father Bismarque’s post-mortem reports, perhaps looking for clues, in some word or line that could further point that their beloved Father may have been done in.
On the dais, the anger, the outpouring, the call to action and the above all the absolute alienation from this government was picked up by every straw in the wind, every bend in the river and by every turn of the tide. While all did try to keep politics out of it, the manner in which the Goa police has virtually assassinated the evidence that could have been found, by the most pathetic handling of the scene of the incident (and possibly the crime scene) and its surroundings, has made the whole of St Estevam and many voices in Goa look at the police with suspicion. But at this point it is incompetence rather than conspiracy which is jeopardising the probe. The point is, civic society in Goa does not accept this. The police will have to pay for this incompetence.
As Father Bismarque’s close friend ‘German’ – as he’s called – who has sniffed and scoured the area like a trained sniffer dog said, the basics have not been done. The beer bottles have not all been seized, finger prints have not been recovered from beer bottles and the two young boys who claimed they were with Father Bismarque, who can provide all the answers or at least many of them are not in custody. Herald, during the course of its inquiries, has found startling gaps in the investigations. Now there are even more questions, that take this narrative further and further away from that of simple drowning. We will continue to deal with them.
But on this pre-Diwali evening, as dusk fell, only one God was worshipped – TRUTH. From The Goa Bachao Abhiyan, to the Village Groups of Goa to Musical Warriors, all branches of the same family of ground level activists – which every opposition party including the BJP – has used and dumped, rose as one to ensure that there was no slackening of the pressure on the government and the police for a more intense probe. Among them were Sabina Martins of Goa Bachao Abhiyan who convened this meeting, Zarina Da Cunha of VGG, Siddharth Karapurkar of the Goencho Xetkarancho Ekvott (GXE), Fr Eremito Rebello of Goans For Dabolim Only, Swati Kerker of AAP, Prakash Bandodkar of Pilerne Citizens Forum, Judith Almeida of Colva Civic Forum, Madhu Gaonkar, activist from Khandola, Ramesh Gauns (environmentalist and anti mining activist), activist lawyer Aires Rodrigues and warrior to preserve Goa’s heritage, Prajal Sakhardande. Plus there were local voices too, of young men and women of the village who loved Father Bismarque and have vowed to preserve his legacy. Among them was Merzina Clemente a very young girl who cried out, “I’m a daughter of this village”. Her cry reverberated as she promised to keep this fight going, the fight against power and the injustices meted out by those in power.
In the massive crowd, some were familiar faces, some not quite. The lone politician who came as a common man and stood quietly behind was Curtorim MLA Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco. And there were writers, singers, poets and just ordinary crusaders, who turned up because their hearts brought them here, not their feet.
A very powerful constituency was present at the St Estevam Church, a constituency which said three things:
1) Father Bismark’s death was not an accidental case of drowning. Circumstantial evidence points to a murder and therefore the probe needs to expedited and handed over to an independent agency. The forensic examination of his body parts should be sent to Hyderabad by a special officer who should fly in, get the tests conducted on priority and fly back with the results. In fact a team of locals are planning to go to Hyderabad tomorrow, where Father Bismark’s viscera samples will be sent for chemical analysis.
2) The government has not and needs to investigate and question those who gave him death threats days before he died. They were publicly named in the meeting.
3) An enhanced and more vociferous citizen’s movement to carry on the same struggles against land sharks, Father Bismarque’s main class enemy.
It was very dark as the meeting ended and yet there was light. As candles were lit to pierce the inky darkness, the legend of Father Bismarque towered over the Church and the water. On the journey back, on the ferry which Father took every day, from his island to the mainland, the riveting beauty of the backwaters of this landscape, reminded us of the treasures Father Bismarque struggled to protect. Treasures he dies protecting.
