Writers, academics, politicians and the general public have all rallied behind former MLA and social commentator Uday Bhembre after his residence was besieged by vigilantes allegedly affiliated with the organisation that calls themselves the Bajrang Dal. The protesting vigilantes, reportedly took offence to comments that Bhembre made, via his YouTube channel, in which he attempted to fact-check Chief Minister Pramod Sawant for a speech he made on the occasion of Shiv Jayanti. On the occasion, the Chief Minister -- as he has done in the past -- credited the founder of the Maratha empire for bringing a halt to Portuguese conversions in Goa, thus saving the Hindu way of life in Goa.
As Bhembre pointed out, in his video response, the Portuguese took over Goa from Adil Shah of Bijapur in 1510 and conversions began in right earnest in 1521 or thereabouts after the ascension of Joao III of Portugal, nicknamed The Pious, whose decree stated that the subjects would have to follow the same religion as the King. Shivaji was born in 1630 and his rule began in 1674, so the heights of Portuguese conversions and Shivaji’s rule didn’t coincide. That said, it cannot be denied that the Marathas presented the Portuguese as their most formidable foe, capturing from them long-held territories like Bassein (Vasai) in the north and even threatening to capture the city of Old Goa, which miraculously survived.
On one hand, the Chief Minister is attempting to interpret history to suit his political agenda while on the other Bhembre is attempting to poke holes in the theory. Lost in the middle is an acknowledgement of what’s playing out before the people of Goa. With his utterances made on the occasion of Shivaji Jayanti as well as on previous occasions, combined with utterances in the past in which he has called on us to “wipe away signs of the Portuguese”, or to promise to rebuild temples destroyed by the Portuguese (which were already rebuilt by the people of that era in the Ponda taluka), Sawant is making clear who he considers to be his ‘enemies’.
While it may seem that he is targeting the erstwhile colonial rulers, his comments target a particular section of the society and attempt to delegitimize the authenticity of their citizenship. The messaging is not overt, but it is most certainly there. This manifests itself in many ways -- not just during his utterances on Shivaji Jayanti. From failing to effectively act on those who were attempting to trespass into the Sancoale church property, to encouraging the activities of the Bajrang Dal with the transfer of the South Goa Superintendent of Police who sought to gather intelligence on their activities, and the failure to rein in the violent gau rakshaks, all point to only one thing: An increasingly fraught communal situation in Goa, tacitly encouraged by the powers that be.
Such an attitude cannot be countered through fact-checking or attempting to present a set of facts before the public. Statements of political intent need to be fought politically and not in academic fora or through history debates. They need to be fought with political will to call out the intent behind the statements and not the statements themselves. They need to counter the narratives of hate with politics of constitutional values.
