By Bosco de Souza Eremita and Jose Kavi
Panaji, Oct 5, 2024: Protests erupted in Goa’s Catholic-dominated southern region on October 5 after a right-wing Hindu leader questioned revering Saint Francis Xavier as the patron of the western Indian state and called for a DNA test on the saint’s relics.
People, cutting across religions, joined political parties and social organizations to stage protests in Margao and Canacona, demanding the arrest of Subash Bhaskar Velingkar over his comment on the saint.
The Hindu Raksha Maha Aghadi (grand front to protect Hindus) chief wants the DNAs test to ensure the relics belong to a European, not a native.
The protesters reportedly marched to the police station in Margao, the commercial capital of Goa, and blocked roads, forcing tourists and local people to walk several kilomters to reach their destination. The administration has imposed traffic diversions in Margao, 35 km south of Panaji, the state capital.
In Canacona,47 km south of Margao, hundreds of people gathered outside the police station and sang hymns honoring St Francis Xavier.
The police in Bicholim, 63 km north of Margao, have issued notice to Velingkar to appear for questioning. On October 4 night, the police reportedly searched his residence in Panaji
Meanwhile Jose Maria Miranda, an activist in Goa, regrets that the protesters have played into the “hands of divisive forces” and given Velingkar “undue relevance and importance.”
“Issues like sale and destruction of Goa by this government are paramount for me, not a stupid remark. It is solely meant to divert our attention from pressing issues. And, like fools, we have fallen into this trap,” he told Matters India.
Swapnesh Sherlekar, a right to information activist, says Goa Chief Minister Promod Sawant, with RSS roots, seemed “happy at the protest in Margao because the people are reacting just as he wanted them.”
Velingkar, who brought Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) to Goa, had made the same demand two years ago, alleging that Saint Francis Xavier (1506-1552) was instrumental in bringing Inquisition to Goa during colonial rule by the Portuguese.
He objected to the title of “Goencho Saib” (Goa’s patron) given to the 16th century Catholic missionary from Spain. Instead, he wants the title to be given to Hindu sage Parashurama, who, according to the Hindu mythology, retried the western coast, including Goa, from the sea.
Velingkar’s latest demand came as the Archdiocese of Goa and Daman prepares for the decennial exposition of Francis Xavier’s relics.
The exposition is scheduled between November 21, and January 5, 2025 at Old Goa, and it expected to attract hundreds of thousands of people from around the world.
The last exposition was held in 2014-2015.
Two years, people such as Viresh Borkar, a Revolutionary Goans Party member in the state legislative assembly, had accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of being involved with Velingkar in creating the controversy. The BJP heads Goa’s coalition government.
Then, the chief minister distanced from the controversy saying his government was focused on keeping harmony and equality, which is characteristic to Goa.
Marian Rodrigues, the convener of the Trinamool Congress in Goa, denounced Velingkar’s statement as both unnecessary and divisive. He stressed the secular fabric of Goa and the peaceful coexistence among its people.
“We are a secular, peaceful state with communal harmony where people of every religion coexist peacefully,” Rodrigues said in a press statement in 2022. He also said that Velingar should do his parents’ DNA instead of using religion to disturb peace in Goa.
More than 66 percent of Goa’s 1.58 million people are Hindus. Christians form more than 25 percent and Muslims 8.33 percent.
The relics of St. Francis Xavier are kept in a silver casket in Bom Jesu Church, which was built in 1605, in Old Goa. During the exposition the casket is brought down for public veneration. Many consider the preservation of his body as a sign of his sainthood and the miraculous nature of his life and work.