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ANTI-CONVERSION BILL TARGETS CATHOLICS, MUSLIMS!
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ANTI-CONVERSION BILL TARGETS CATHOLICS, MUSLIMS!

Aug 28- Sept 04, 2026, Stray Thoughts August 28, 2026 , by

AND a few stray thoughts for yet another Saturday. For a Saturday following the week when the Pramod Sawant government started a fresh attack on the Catholic community in Goa. For a Saturday following the week when Chief Minister Pramod Sawant claimed that the Goa Medical College & Hospital will be soon converted into a five star complex. For a Saturday following the week when it was seen that there is growing opposition to the reservation of four seats in the Legislative Assembly for Scheduled Tribe community in Goa. For a Saturday following the week when there was a belated recognition that there is an H1N1 and flu epidemic in Goa.

ATTACK ON CATHOLIC COMMUNITY

AND a few stray thoughts on the Pramod Sawant government starting a fresh attack on the Catholic community in Goa. On August 25 the Goa government passed the anti-conversion bill. The anti-conversion bill threatened severe punishment for not just Catholic priests but also Muslim maulanas for alleged “forced conversions.” The punishment for forced mass conversions can be as high as life imprisonment. The fines range from Rs50,000 to Rs5lakh.
Curiously, the proposed anti-conversion bill which is likely to be tabled in the forthcoming monsoon session in the assembly on August 31, seeks to give special protection to women and Scheduled Tribes from attempts to convert them to Christianity or Islam. Now the notorious love jihad which historically was targeted at Muslims is now being extended to the Christian community in the country as well. The proposed bill which has already being implemented in BJP-ruled states like Uttar Pradesh now includes a Christian version of love jihad.
Of course, in theory action can only been taken if conversion is not voluntary, or if force or bribes of any kind are used to convert Hindus to Muslims or Christians. While the draft bill mentions Catholic priests and Muslim maulanas it does not mention all the sadhgurus and Ram Rahims and the other Hindu godman like Asaram Bapu, many of whom have been convicted on rape charges.
The most dangerous aspect of the conversion bill is that anyone, meaning any “andha bhakt” (blind devotee), can lodge a complaint of forcible conversion. So much so that your local parish priest or mosque maulana can be arrested if a BJP or RSS fanatic lodges a complaint. The fear psychosis has already set in. Some Protestant priests in Palghat and other villages in Maharashtra have started asking people attending their sermons to give a written declaration that they are attending voluntarily and are not being forced.
The anti-conversion bill comes closely in the wake of the foreign contribution bill. It may be recalled that the Diocesan Society of Education and the Diocesan Society of Social Action were served notices by the Home Ministry. It is surprising that not a single one of the 10 Catholic MLAs supporting the Pramod Sawant government has protested against the introduction of the anti-conversion bill. Prominent leaders of the Catholic community, including the former Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court, Justice Ferdino Rebello, have remained silent. So have MM Shaikh, the senior-most Congress leader, and Congress president, Girish Chodankar.

GMC TO BE 5-STAR COMPLEX!
AND a few stray thoughts on Chief minister Pramod Sawant claiming that the Goa Medical College old complex will soon be a 5-star complex too. The chief minister made this absurd statement at the inauguration of the new lecture hall complex, when he announced that Rs1,000 crore will be spent on promoting GMC as a 5-star medical facility. The scheme includes underground cabling, an over bridge to link the super-specialty block to the other buildings in the complex, a new hostel for resident doctors to move Generation Z and of course more sophisticated and expensive equipment. In the wake of the disaster of online registration the CM is now promoting online OPDs.
No doubt soon he will start recommending online MRI and online surgeries. The ground reality is that the Casualty room of the GMC is overcrowded and poorly equipped. The ground reality is that the sole MRI machine in the GMC is ancient and needs urgent replacement. The ground reality is that there are no clean and well-maintained washrooms for patients attending the crowded OPDs. The ground reality is that high-end equipment, including a simulation lab, has been installed. The ICU in the super-specialty block has yet to start functioning as the necessary staff has yet to be recruited.
The chief minister must force Health Minister Vishwajit Rane to focus on five-star healthcare for Goan patients and particularly senior citizens, instead of wasting tax-payers money on new buildings and equipment which offer huge kickbacks to him. The CM should also liberate patients and their relatives from the dadagiri of the Sattari MTS staff.

GROWING OPPOSITION TO RESERVATIONS
AND a few stray thoughts on the growing opposition to the reservation of four seats in the Legislative Assembly for the Scheduled Tribes of Goa. The ST comprising Velips, Gaudis, Kunbis and Dhangars comprises 15% of the population of Goa. Proportionately, it has been decided to reserve four seats for them in the LA. Interestingly, even without the benefit of reservation there are already four ST MLAs in Goa. They include Govind Gaude, former minster for culture, Ramesh Tawadkar, Canacona BJP MLA, Ganesh Gaokar, Sanvordem MLA and Antonio Vaz, Independent MLA from Cortalim.
Ironically, the opposition to the reservation of seats for the ST comes from the dominant Kshatriya Maratha community. The powerful Kshatriya Maharashtra community includes Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, Health Minister Vishwajit Rane, Social Welfare Minister Subhash Faldesai, besides Ulhas Tuenker the Navelim MLA, Rajesh Faldesai, Cumberjua MLA and Chandrakant Shetye, Bicholim MLA. Ironically, the Kshatriya Maratha community has been demanding OBC status in Goa.
Most of the prominent caste groups in the country like the Marathas in Maharashtra and the Jats in Punjab, are agriculturists. Unfortunately, Generation Z wants to become engineers, doctors and wants government jobs. This is driving the battle for reservations in the country. The consequence is that, in the case of medical colleges, for instance, in Goa, more than 50% of the 250 seats in the GMC are reserved for OBCs, STs, and economically weaker sections. So much so even Saraswats who have over 90% marks cannot get into the GMC. There is a countrywide movement to demand that admission to professional colleges and government jobs should be entirely on merit and not on caste and other considerations.
The argument is that the schedule tribe caste and OBCs have enjoyed reservations for 70 years since Independence and many of them have reached the upper layers of society. There is a belief that the suicides in the professional colleges, including the IITs, mostly featured backward class students who cannot cope with the academic pressure.

FLU EPIDEMIC?
AND a few stray thoughts on the belated recognition that there is an H1N1 and flu epidemic in the state of Goa. The Directorate of Health Services Dr Medha Salkar has sounded an alert on the increasing number of cases of flu. The veteran Dr Pinky Paliencar has revealed that it is an alarming increase in the number of children complaining of flu symptoms.
Dr Pinky even suggests that children are transmitting the virus to their parents and grandparents. However, Dr Pinky insists that there is no need to start children anD adult on expensive antibiotics. She suggests traditional remedies like inhalation and honey, with an emphasis on complete rest.
Apparently, there is mass absenteeism at the primary level due to the flu epidemic. All the doctors link the present flu epidemic to the humid, hot and cold weather in Goa for the last two months. Indeed, the Goan weather has become like the weather in England. There are a few showers followed by bright sunlight and heavy showers again in a cyclical pattern. Meanwhile, the FDA has strictly banned the administration of combination drugs, including Dolo, to children under 4.

`TAJ MAHAL’ FOR MUMTAZ
AND a last stray thought on a rich businessman building a modern version of the famous Taj Mahal in agra for his very own Mumtaz. The most prominent of the modern day Shah Jahan was the late Capt Krishnan Nair of the Leela Hotels. Capt Nair built half-a-dozen super luxurious hotels like palaces all over the country, including Goa, and named them after his beloved wife Leela.
 In Goa the Cidade da Goa was a gift from Goan Audhut Timblo to his Punjabi wife Anju Timblo. Victor Albuquerque, originally of Alcons, built the Dona Sylvia five-star property in Mobor and named it after his wife. It is not widely known that the Marriott hotel chain is named after Alice Marriott.

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