Neros in Khaki

Neros in Khaki

(This article appeared in GT- Weekender, Panjim, March 5, 2006)

The BJP ignites a minor incident and has fuelled hatred that has snowballed into full blown communal carnage in Curchorem. As homes and hearts of the minorities are being torn apart, a hapless and “badly stretched” police watches over the destruction and loot. TEAM GT traveled and worked out of the riot stricken areas of Savordem and Curchorem to get you the real story and separate falsehood from facts.

Curchorem/Sanvordem:
Goa went into a spin as the communal violence in Curchorem and Savordem spun out of control and threatened to engulf the whole state, thankfully here were no deaths, but a complete failure on the intelligence machinery and the BJP’s tacit as well as overt role in fuelling tensions, has scarred Goa’s psyche.

The communal violence that has rocked the state and destroyed the communal harmony and law and order situation in the state could have been averted if the various arms of government had arrived at a consensus. Worse still, even as the government machinery failed, politicians took advantage of the situation, thereby instigating the crowd and worsening the situation.

Reliable sources reveal that while SP (South) was against issuing permission to the minority community to hold a rally because he felt that the situation was threatening to snowball into a major controversy between the minority and majority community. However, the Deputy Magistrate (South) granted permission to hold the rally. Later Deputy Magistrate did withdraw the permission to hold the rally , but by then it was too late and in the unfortunate incident happening since Friday many from the minority community were attacked , their shops destroyed, houses ransacked and vehicles damaged and scorched.

If on Friday, the police with a little force of over 409 personnel failed to handle the mob of 300o plus, then on Saturday with a force led by SP (South). six Dy.SP’s and 12 Police Inspector’s stood as mute spectators as the crowd went on a rampage after being ignited by the BJP leaders.

A controversial senior office bearer of BJP was heard saying “It is high time that Hindus and Christians join hands to kill the Muslims”. Despite all this, no BJP leaders was arrested or warned for igniting the crowd and creating communal tension!


S(H)AT(T)ER DAY


* Demonstrators gather at Sanvordem TISK, 60 arrested for violating Section 144.
* As Chief Minister Rane arrives, gathered people demand release of 60. Rane warns the people and leaves.
* Mob turns violent. Police swings into action, fires in the air. Policemen hurt. Fire services put into service.
* Governor Jamir arrives .Holds talks with BJP leadership led by Manohar Parrikar.
* Those arrested are released by 1.30 pm. Mob continues to loot business establishments and destroy vehicles.
* Fresh violence erupts. PI Gundu Naik’s pistol snatched. PSI Devendra Gad also injured, falls unconscious. His pistol is also taken.
* Mob beats up a constable. He pulls out his service revolver. Some rounds fired by mistake injuring one Manohar Naik and another person. Both admitted to Goa Medical College.
* CISF already posted, three RAF men and CRPF arrived today.



Six Dy.SP s, about Twelve Police Inspectors should have controlled it, but the force was inadequate.

Senior officials of the Goa police admit that some of the damage unleashed on minorities could have been controlled and quelled since there were Six DySPs and Eleven Police Inspector’s who were at the spot. However they admit that the number of men did not add up. The force was woefully short of what was needed to stem the violence.

Though no one is admitting this openly, it is clear that the entire force and the almost non-existent police machinery was caught napping and were unprepared for the situation. The BJP and its affiliates knew only too well that it takes Thirty six hours for Goa to mobilize optimum personal in a situation like this and struck without warning.

The Goa Government has claimed credit for not allowing the violence to get out of hand. In fact Chief Minister Rane actually termed the situation peaceful, since there not a single causality. (As our stories will tell you, this claim is laughable)

Significantly, police officials have completely denied the BJP propaganda that minority gangs had come from Bhatkal and Karwar in Karnataka and had brandished swords and threatened to wipe out the majority population in Sanvordem. DIG Ujjwal Mishra said that both the SP and DM (South Goa) confirmed that “in meeting of the minorities yesterday (Friday) none was armed or looked like an outsider”.

Mishra admitted that the Goa police was “badly stretched” and was in no position to control the sudden but almost premeditated attack on minority shops, establishments.

Asked why the police fiddled in Curchorem while it burnt, Mishra speaking to TEAM GT said “We wanted to save lives. The force was escorting the victims and was not enough to counter attack and arrest the attackers.”

Roadway to Hell
Cocktail of Hate: Shaken and Stirred

Preetu Nair and Lynn Shirodkar
reporters@gomantaktimes.com

Nearly 50 vehicles destroyed and many burnt, four petrol pumps damaged, shops looted, 20 houses ransacked and later burnt. All owned by people from the minority community and the number is increasing by the hour.


Curchorem/Savordem: The stillborn silence and suspicion look that they give you makes you squirm. If the shameless violence appeared to be greatest mockery of democracy for the cultured, then for the seven hundred plus persons from the minority community here, it had shattered their dreams and vision of communal harmony in Goa.

As democracy’s most forceful articulation , inevitably driven by the most primeval passions- hate, made its way into Curchorem and Savordem from Friday , it has probably silenced the people of the minority community forever. They are scared to speak or react. But once they open up, the scars are evident.

Slowly but with caution they reveal how the nameless, unreasoning and unjustified terror has paralyzed their life forever. Though they speak, they refuse to be quoted for they fear that will be punished by the majority community for speaking their mind.

“We were planning a silent rally to propagate communal harmony and human bonding on Friday. But we never expected things to go out of the hand” said a young person from the minority community.

Recollecting the events of Friday he said, “we canceled our rally by 2.30 pm once we were warned by the Deputy Collector (South) that there was a chance of a mob attack. But by then many people had gathered at Curchorem from different parts of Goa. Before we could think or do anything, a mob appeared and pelted stones at us. Further, they destroyed our vehicles and many of us took shelter in the mosque.”

“We are separated from our families. We tool shelter in the mosque, but we hear that our children were driven away from the house before the mob damaged and looted it. We don’t know where and how they are,” said one elderly man.

What has shocked the minority community is the unprepardness and inefficiency of the Goa police and Congress government. “if the police suspected foul play they should have come prepared. There were hardly 30 or 40 policemen when a mob of more than 1000 policemen attacked us,” said another person.

Congress voters since ages, they swear that they will never vote for the party again, “We were calling each and every Congress party minister for help and not a single person was contactable. We are also human beings, we also have feelings, and we also want to live peacefully. Why are politicians playing with out lives and dreams to fulfill their political ambitions”, said an elderly man. With tears in his eyes, he added, “This is not the Goa I knew and loved. This is not my Goa.”

They rubbished newspaper reports that people from majority community reacted because many of their people came from Bhatkal and Hubli in vehicles with swords and knives. “This is utter lie .If it was true, we should have also attacked the mob rather than taking shelter in the mosque. Why was not a single vehicle with Karnataka registration burnt or destroyed?

All the vehicles that were destroyed belonged to people from our community, who are either Goans or settled here since ages.” And true enough; all the vehicles destroyed and burnt had Goa registration!

I don’ Know, I just don’t know

The woman who wanted to build the Madrasa is too shocked at the backlash.

Preetu Nair and Lynn Shirodkar
reporters@gomantaktimes.com


Guddemol (Sanvordem)
Fear stared in Samshad Begum Anar Bi’s eyes and chalked her face. She is absolutely confused and too shocked to speak. When after lots of coaxing, she does speak most of what she utters are abrupt sentences, followed by long stretches of silence and stare.

She starts of with, “I built this structure single handedly. I did get financial help from my community members. It was to be a mosque and a madrasa .People could pray and young children could study Arabic.”

Samshad had built the structure on a government land, which comes under the Twenty Point Programme. The structure was renovated recently to start a mosque as well as a Madrasa (a school for imparting religious preachings). But on February 24, the Savordem panchayat issued a notice in which they stated that the structure is illegal and would be demolished within seven days. However, she got a stay order from the Directorate of Panchayats. But when locals learnt about it, they attacked the building at night and demolished the structure.

“It was around midnight, when a mob attacked and destroyed the structure. I don’t know why they attacked. I just don’t know…,” and her voice withered away, as if she was again lost in her world of uncertainty and grief.

This is not the Goa we once knew

Preetu Nair and Lynn Shirodkar
reporters@gomantaktimes.com

Curchorem/ Sanvordem
Many locals are shocked and in an utter state of disbelief. After all, this is not the Goa they love and value so much. They had always boasted and taken pride over Goa maintaining its communal harmony, despite all odds.

But when the houses of minority community were ransacked and demolished, shops burgled by an angry mob led by BJP and a few Shiv Sainiks, they were reduced to mere spectators watching the incidents from the safety of their houses.

They talk but refuse to be quoted. Said one person “They can do anything. They have turned a small issue into a religious issue and are attacking people and destroying homes. We want to be safe.”

“We are very shocked by the way people have reacted. They have mixed two issues: one of religion and another insider-outsider issue. It is really sad and I feel ashamed,” said another lady.

Meanwhile, an elderly man who observed the incidents of the day went inside shaking his hands, as the mob started pelting stones and attacking police. “This is the darkest and worst day for the Goan society. As few locals are going about creating a mountain out of a molehill, they have destroyed the harmony and peace of the place. I can’t believe this is happening in my Goa,” he added.

Another person, who was part of the mob on Friday, but withdrew on Saturday said, “It has now become a political issue and the politicians are now using us for their political gains.”

GOA WANTS ANSWERS


* THEY SAY: CM Pratapsing Rane tells a delegation of minority leaders who seek appointment with him on Saturday, “I have visited the place in the morning. Everything is normal and peaceful. You meet me on Monday”.


BUT: Mr. CM is burning cars, pelting stones, ransacking petrol pumps and looting sari, footwear shops and small establishments, injured policemen etc. signs of peace or violence?


* THEY SAY: Both the people from majority community and BJP leaders say that the violence occurred because people from minority community brought people armed with swords and knives from Bhatkal and Hubli

BUT: If the people from minority community were really armed, then why did they not retaliate and attack the mob? On the contrary, many rushed back home and others took shelter in the mosque at Curchorem.


* THEY SAY: Further there are allegations that they came in large numbers from Karnataka.

BUT: Not a single vehicle, which was damaged and destroyed, had Karnataka registration. All vehicles belonged to people from minority community in Goa.


* They Say: Leader of Opposition, Manohar Parrikar said, “The influx of migrants in the state cause social tension and disturb the harmony of the state.”

BUT: The majority of the people whose houses were attacked, shops burnt and burgled are very much Goans. And the few others who had migrated from other parts of country had made Goa their homes and have ration cards. By calling them outsiders, aren’t you violating their fundamental right to live and work here?


* THEY SAY: Police claim that they were extremely short – staffed to control the mob of three thousand plus.

BUT: It is surprising that with Six Dy SP’s and Twelve Police Inspectors at the spot, the police failed to control the mob. But one must admit that the police were tired and hungry. After all, they are on duty from Friday evening and the authorities didn’t even bother to feed them lunch. No wonder, many found it difficult to handle the mob on empty stomachs.