ENACTING an anti-conversion law in Goa on the lines of those in UP, MP, Rajasthan and other BJP-ruled states will be strongly opposed by Goans, according to some insiders from some of the regional and national political parties like the Congress and the TMC. This is to further the national agenda of the ruling BJP to allegedly scrap the twin words “secularism” and “socialism” from the Preamble of the Constitution which was a pet peeve of former Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar.
Although Trajano D’Mello is not an official spokesman of the TMC in Goa as of now, he said his political party would not support such an anti-conversion law if it was introduced in Goa. Mamata Banerjee has never supported such a law given her secular credentials, he said.
Goa Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant on Monday said there was a need for an anti-conversion law in Goa to deal with “forced” religious conversions. He announced this while replying to a calling attention motion on the first day of the Goa Legislative Assembly’s monsoon session.
The chief minister said, “Forced conversions are not allowed under the anti-conversion law in Uttar Pradesh. Several states have passed such laws. I feel we too need a law so that forced conversions do not take place. There was denial about ‘love jihad.’ We have noticed cases of ‘love-jihad’ in this state. If you want, I can give you details later.”
However, when the question of the so-called “love jihad” was raised some time back in Parliament, the reply given to the MP was that no law had defined what constituted love jihad and ipso facto, no statistics had been compiled about this offence called “love jihad.” This appears strange because this same expression was raised in the Goa legislative assembly.

CONVERSION RACKET
POINTING to the recent arrest of one S B Krishna, alias Ayesha, from Goa by Uttar Pradesh Police in an alleged illegal conversion racket, BJP MLA Premendra Shet and AAP MLA Cruz Silva had moved a calling attention motion, claiming an “international network” had been operating in Goa “funded by international operators.” They questioned the steps taken by the government to neutralise the “transnational network.”
Pramod Sawant has been accused of promoting Marathi over Konkani which is the official language of Goa as it is spoken by almost 90 per cent of Goans. He has been accused of toeing the defunct MGP line of Marathi over Konkani. After the Opinion Poll of 1967, Dayanand Bandodkar, who was accused of telling the politicians in Maharashtra even after the Opinion Poll, that it was only a matter of time before Goa merged with Maharashtra, had to make a volte face after winning the elections in April 1967. Despite winning 14 seats, Dr Jack Sequeira refused to join hands with the Congress to form the government.
Dr Jack Sequeira has been touted as the father of the Opinion Poll who has been credited with keeping Goa separate. However, after the Opinion Poll in 1967, his United Goans Party split into several groups, so that they ultimately lost out to the MGP in the long run.
What is not known is that although the French Revolution is credited with the break-up of empires and the rise of the nation state with the war cry of liberty, equality and fraternity, the Pinto revolt in Goa occurred before the French Revolution. The Pinto revolt, also known as the Conspiracy of the Pintos, took place in 1787. The French Revolution, on the other hand, began in 1789.
The Pinto revolt was a conspiracy by Goan clergy and officers to overthrow Portuguese rule in Goa. Like the French Revolution which began much later, the Pinto revolt was sparked by racial discrimination and resentment towards Portuguese dominance in the church and government.
The revolt aimed to incite disorder and potentially lead to an invasion by Tipu Sultan of Mysore. However, the plot was discovered, and the conspirators were arrested, with some executed and others imprisoned or deported.

FRENCH REVOLUTION
THE French Revolution, a period of radical social and political upheaval in France, began with the storming of the Bastille in 1789. This event marked the beginning of the revolution, which ultimately led to the end of the French monarchy and the rise of a republic.
Therefore, the Pinto revolt planned by the Catholic clergy in Goa, predates the French Revolution by two years. It laid the foundation stone for equality and non-discrimination in 1787, nearly 160 years before the Indian Constitution was written with Article 14 guaranteeing non-discrimination by the state. The enacting of anti-conversion laws is another form of religious discrimination which violates Article 25.
What is more astounding is that before Goa attained statehood on May 30, 1987, there were only three chief ministers — Dayanand Banddokar, Shashikala Kakodkar and Pratapsingh Rane. Immediately after attaining statehood in 1987, Goa saw seven chief ministers within just five years. Churchill Alemao has been credited with toppling the Pratapsingh Rane ministry because he was denied the sports portfolio which he coveted.
What is not known is that till the recent elections, votes were bought and sold so that one woman who had three daughters allegedly demanded Rs 9,000 for each of her three adult daughters whom she wanted to marry off by giving them dowry. “Give me Rs9,000 if you want four votes from this house,” she is alleged to have told the wannabe MLA who was canvassing door-to-door. In some cases, even houses were built and handed over by those who were contesting elections.
Leaving all that aside, it is Salcette with its predominantly Catholic population, which ensured the UGP won the Opinion Poll with 56% votes in 1967 and launched the Konkani agitation for Goa to attain statehood. Bandodkar died in 1973 and was cremated at Miramar Beach, where a memorial was built. Sequeira lived to see his dream of Konkani being declared the official language fructify and also his dream of Goa becoming a state come true.
Dr A Freddy Fernandes has done exhaustive research in his book “Cabinet Government Union Territory to Statehood,” in which he dissects all the governments from 1963 onwards with a rich repertoire of data. He has mentioned that Nath Pai was part of the think tank of Maharashtrian intellectuals who formulated the policies of the then MGP government on the assumption that it was just a matter of time before Goa merged with Maharashtra. Thankfully, that black day never came about.