Parrikar hails Church, deplores Faleiro

Sandesh Prabhudesai
18 October 1999 

The Bharatiya Janata Party in Goa appears to have been adopting a cordial approach towards the Church, by even not officially participating in the nation-wide rath yatra beginning from here tomorrow.

"There is nothing wrong in demanding apology from the Pope for the inquisition that had taken place in the 16th and 17th century. But the Goa Church is going the positive way in the last 40 years", feels Manohar Parrikar, the state BJP leader.

The BJP here is also officially not part of the Sanskruti Raksha Manch, the banner used by the Sangh Parivar for the Dharm Jagaran Rath Yatra, which would hit the national capital two days prior to the Pope's visit on 7 November.

The VHP as well as the RSS have been vociferously demanding apology from the Pope for the Goa inquisition as well as a public commitment that the Roman Catholic Church would not indulge into conversions any more.

"It is not the Roman Catholic Church alone involved in conversions. Other Christian cults are in fact more active. Secondly, we would prefer participating in the national debate on conversions rather than such a yatra", claims Parrikar.

The BJP however has decided not to prohibit even its leaders from not participating in it. This is the way Parrikar justifies North Goa MP Shripad Naik, who was projected as the chief minister during recent Assembly polls, participating in the Sanskruti Raksha Manch functions.

Perhaps because the Goa Church this time indirectly supported the BJP to win both the Lok Sabha seats, the Hindutvawadi party calls the Church progressive while the Manch is crystal clear about its anti-Church crusade they have begun nation-wide.

"The Portuguese rulers and the Church were hand in glove 400 years ago. But the Goa Church is seen going the positive way in the last 40 years", feels Parrikar, also the state opposition leader.

Though he does not deny several priests with colonial hangover functioning from the Bishop House here, he also believes that 99 per cent Goan Catholics as well as most of the priests are nationalists in nature.

But he appears to be more critical of chief minister Luizinho Faleiro, who has criticised the Goa Church for its pro-Brahmin casteist approach, in an interview published by one local Marathi daily here.

Even after conversions that had taken place 450 years ago followed by the inquisition against neo-Christians to detach them from Indian culture, the original caste system of Hindu religion still prevails among the Christians here, as strong as it is among the Hindus.

Pointing out at this, Faleiro is being quoted by the daily that he is being targeted by the Church because he hails from the lower caste. The Church has openly campaigned against the Congress candidates while it is also active in the peoples' struggle against the allegedly pollutant Meta Strips project in South Goa.

"The CM is losing his balance. He is instigating caste and class struggle within the Catholic community for his political survival. Such a communal attitude is deplorable", says Parrikar.

Asking whether Congress president Sonia Gandhi also shares Faleiro's views, the BJP is now planning to make it a national issue. He also alleges that this is the root cause of some Brahmin priests being beaten up in Faleiro's own constituency. "That cat is out of the bag now", he quips.

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