NT Reporter
Panaji
A peaceful solidarity meet held on Saturday at Azad Maidan condemned the recent attacks against minorities in India and renewed calls for the formation of a State Minority Commission in Goa while opposing the state government’s proposed enactment of an anti-conversion law. P 2
The meet was organised by the Council for Social Justice and Peace of the Archdiocese of Goa and Daman, in collaboration with several civil society organizations, including Goa needs Minority Commission a coalition of different organisations, Citizens Initiative for Communal Harmony and Catholic Association. It was attended by Archbishop Filipe Neri Cardinal Ferrao, Auxiliary Bishop Simiao Fernandes and citizens.
Participants unanimously resolved to submit a petition to the government.
The petition, which was read by Fr Savio Fernandes, executive secretary of the Council for Social Justice and signed by those who gathered, referred to the recent arrest of two Keralite nuns and a tribal man in Chhattisgarh as “one of the latest in a spate of persecutions of minorities in India”.
It stated said the Chhattisgarh legislation is being amended along the lines of the Uttar Pradesh anti-conversion law, which includes shifting the burden of proof to the accused and broad definitions of conversion that could hinder charitable work by minorities. It stated similar laws in other states have been criticised for violating constitutional rights, with the Karnataka High Court warning against their misuse by vigilante groups.
They said Chief Minister Pramod Sawant’s announcement of an anti-conversion law lacked evidence to justify such legislation, noting that his reference to an inter-state conversion racket did not involve any activity in Goa. They argued that instead of introducing such laws, the government should address the long-standing demand for a State Minority Commission to safeguard minority rights and address grievances.
