Gomantak Times, Panjim, 21/09/07
Vidyadhar Gadgil
The Constitution of India has enshrined the Right to Freedom of Religion as one of the fundamental rights. This right, covered in Articles 25-28, provides religious freedom to all citizens of India. All religions are equal before the state and citizens are free to preach, practice and propagate any religion of their choice.
Do we have genuine freedom of religion in Goa today? An objective look would show even the least discerning observer that this fundamental right is indeed available to the citizens in Goa -- if they are Hindus or Christians! If they are Muslims, on the other hand, this right is being systematically denied to them. This pattern has become particularly obvious in South Goa, where in numerous cases the right of Muslims to practice their faith is sought to be denied to them. The attempts to thwart the fundamental rights of Muslims have included cases where they have been denied the permission for a burial ground, those where they are prevented from praying in their own premises, and others where they are not allowed to build structures for religious education.
The most notorious case, in Guddemol, led to the first organised communal violence in Goa in March 2006. The Muslim community in Guddemol had built a structure to be used as a madrasa where religious education could be imparted to the children of the community. It was alleged that this structure was illegal, and that it was actually meant to be a masjid. The Sanvordem panchayat ordered that it be demolished, in response to which the Muslim community obtained a stay order from the Director of Panchayats. Despite this, the structure was attacked and damaged. A rightful and perfectly legal protest by the Muslims of Goa at this act was construed as 'provocation', and communal violence was instigated by means of systematic rumour-mongering.
The whole issue was sought to be diverted into an argument on the legality of the structure. There has been no protest about the 'illegal' temple within a stone's throw of the 'disputed structure' -- after all this temple is a place of worship of Hindus. Goa is dotted with legally dubious religious structures of all religious communities, but it is only the Muslim structures that are targeted.
Today the position in the Guddemol case is that the Director of Panchayats has ruled in favour of the Muslim community, and ordered that the structure be repaired at the cost of the respondents. But the Muslims of Guddemol, living in an atmosphere of fear and intimidation, are scared to pursue the matter, fearing reprisals.
Similar events have been unfolding all over Goa. Recently, there have been two major disputes, one in Curtorim and one in Chinchinim. In Curtorim, a Muslim garage owner and his Muslim employees were saying their prayers in the garage, as the nearest mosque is a considerable distance away. The MLA of Curtorim, Reginaldo Lourenco, saw fit to march to the garage with fifty supporters in tow, alleging that an attempt was being made to construct a mosque. After protracted negotiations, the garage owner was forced to agree that only his workers would be allowed to say their prayers in the garage, and that no 'outsiders' would be permitted.
Nearly every Hindu and Christian house in Goa has a shrine or altar of some kind where prayers are said. The owner of the house can, of course, pray there with whomsoever he wants. But when Muslims do the same thing, there is a furore and the Muslims are forced into a patently unfair agreement.
In Chinchinim, prayers were being said in a house owned by a Muslim organisation. It did not take long for various allegations to surface, and tension began to rise. The issue is hanging fire at this very moment, and politicians are rushing to fish in these troubled waters.
In another outrageous case, the legitimate demand of the Muslims of Margao and South Goa for a burial ground, in addition to the current one (which is grossly inadequate to meet the demand), is being denied. There can hardly be a more basic right than disposal of the dead according to the tenets of one's faith. But bad luck -- these are Muslims! The CM of Goa, Digambar Kamat, had even promised in his 2004 election manifesto that he would provide a burial ground to the Muslim community. They have knocked on every door to get this demand fulfilled, but there is no discernible progress to date.
The Hindu right-wing is quick to jump on every attempt by the Muslim community to assert their religious rights. A fear psychosis about mosques has systematically been created -- the chief of the RSS in Goa, Subhash Velingkar, wrote just a few days after the Sanvordem-Curchorem communal violence that all mosques are repositories of illegal weapons!
Unfortunately, the Christian community is also falling prey to such a mentality. The so-called 'global war on terror' is being waged by the US President, George Bush, as if it were a war on Islam and Muslims. This kind of thinking has influenced the Christian community and turned them against Muslims, to the extent that in many cases Christians have been at the forefront of attempts to deny Muslims their religious rights in Goa.
Freedom of religion means nothing if it does not mean the right to practice one's faith without fear. It has no substance if all attempts to acquire the facilities and spaces for this practice are systematically denied. In such a situation, what conclusion can a beleagured community come to when they see other communities getting away with the most blatant illegalities in the name of religion, and their own legal attempts thwarted at every turn? Can they really be blamed if they feel discriminated against and resentful?
It is high time that the Government of Goa comes out with a clear policy which ensures that all communities are allowed to practice their religion without fear, and ensures that land and facilities are made available to all legitimate claimants for this purpose, without discrimination against any particular community. If one group is denied its basic rights, we are all the losers.
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