On December 18, 2024, a scuffle broke out between beef traders and a cow vigilante group in Margao’s South Goa Planning and Development Authority (SGPDA) market. A self-claimed cow protection group stopped vehicles unloading beef. The group claimed that the “rules” of “selling beef in Goa” were not followed in this case. This escalated into a fight in which three vendors and two members of the cow protection group were injured. FIRs were registered against both groups at the Fatorda police station.
This incident forced Goa’s beef traders to go on strike. Ahead of Christmas, the absence of this meat on the dining table angered Goan Catholics the most. This also struck the tourism economy during the festive season in one of India’s top holiday destinations. But viewed from a longer lens, this latest controversy over beef appears to be part of a continuous attempt to communalise Goa.
Banning beef has been the socio-political agenda for BJP (which has led Goa for three consecutive terms since 2012) and for its mother organisation, the RSS, all over India. But in Goa, the BJP and the RSS have altered their agenda. Here, the BJP government has allowed beef to be procured only from the Goa Meat Complex abattoir. Chief Minister of the State, Pramod Sawant, has taken a stand that this is for the “hygiene” of the gourmands. Goa’s daily consumption of beef is around 25 tons. Out of this, 10 tons of beef comes from neighbouring States, mainly Karnataka.
‘Extortion gangs’
Margao’s scuffle happened as the cow protection group objected to one of the trucks that brought the beef from Karnataka. Shaikh Shabbir Bepari, vice president of All Goa Beef Vendors Association said, “Cow protection groups are extortion gangs. They have nothing to do with either cows or religion. They demand money from us all the time.” Shabbir added that if the cow vigilante had any objection to the meat they brought in, they should go to police.
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Senior advocate and activist Cleofato Almeida Coutinho called this disruption “economic terrorism against minorities and especially against Muslims. The festival season is the time when these communities earn some money. These so-called cow vigilantes purposely disrupt business during the season.”
But a member of a cow protection group from South Goa, Bhagwan Redkar, denied the charges. He said, “We did not attack the meat traders. There were doubts about the beef and we had come to just check.”He added that all the charges of cow protection groups asking for extortion money are false. “Let the police investigate these charges,” said Redkar.
In Goa, there are 75 beef-selling stores. A total of 250 vendors supply them with beef. All of them have licenses. Despite their legal status, beef traders face illegal “checking” by cow vigilante groups every now and then. Beef traders have complained multiple times to the Chief Minister. Anwar Bepari, general secretary of the Qureshi Meat Traders Association told Frontline that the association has asked for police protection several times. “We are ready to transport beef with police protection. This will save us from the harassment of cow protection groups. The strike before Christmas was out of frustration. We resumed the work only after CM Sawant assured us full protection. But this must be stopped for once and for all,” said Bepari.
The attack on beef traders is not aimed at Muslims alone. Members of the Catholic community believe this is a disruption to their lives too. Ronny D’souza of Benaulim, South Goa, says the cow protection groups are interfering in their choice of food. “What was the defence of the cow protection group this time? That they had so-called intelligence that the beef was not good? Who are they to decide? Customers who buy fish or mutton understand the quality of it. And it is the same with beef. Let customers decide,” said D’souza. Felix Furtado, an activist from South Goa said, “This is a clear plan to stop Catholics from eating what they like. We see such cases during every Christian festival, be it Christmas or Easter. Through this, they (cow vigilantes) try to control our food. Also, they want to communalize the Hindu community by making this issue louder again and again.”
Cows watch tourists lounging under beach umbrellas at Anjuna Beach, Goa. The recent attacks on beef traders affect both Muslim and Catholic communities, who see the vigilante actions as disrupting their traditional way of life.
| Photo Credit:
AFP
A political circle in Goa sees these incidents as a clear case of communalising the State. Leader of Opposition in the Goa Assembly, Yuri Alemao, said, “The BJP and the organisations in the RSS Parivar want to polarise the society. This is being done because their government in the State totally failed to perform. They have wasted 15 years in Goa. So, communalisation is the only thing left with them to hide their failure.” Vijai Sardesai, chief of Goa Forward Party and former ally of BJP in the State sees it as a conspiracy: “You saw a number of communal incidents in the last six months. Because, in this period, the scams that involved cash for job, land rule changes, and others have come to light. People are watching the corrupt face of the State government. To save their party, they have started polarising Goa. This is in a way an attack on Goan people and their unique culture.”
DNA test on a relic?
The beef controversy is not the only incident that has flared communal discord among Goans. In October 2024, former RSS chief of Goa, Subhash Velingkar, raked up another controversy. In a speech, Velingkar called for a DNA test of the sacred relics of Saint Francis Xavier, who is respected as the patron saint of Goa. This statement was condemned by all political parties, including leaders of the BJP from South Goa. Thousands of Goans, mainly Catholics, hit the streets the very next day. Every 10 years, there is an exposition of sacred relics of Saint Francis Xavier. Thousands of pilgrims from all over the world travel to Goa to visit it. The event was to have been held between November 21, 2024 and January 5, 2025.
Executive secretary of the Council for Social Justice and Peace, Father Savio Fernandes, issued a statement against Velingkar. It reads, “We appeal to the concerned government authorities to take necessary strict action as per the prevalent law against Subhash Velingkar for trying to disrupt the communal harmony in Goa by deliberately and mischievously putting one community against the other.”
The leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, too condemned Velingkar’s statement and demanded action. In the light of these statements, the Goan government asked the police to file a case. Former Chief Minister of Goa Churchill Alemao filed a complaint in South Goa against Velingkar. North Goa’s Bicholim police station registered an FIR under section 299 of Bhartiya Nyay Samhita for deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage the religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs. But no strict action has been taken in this case even after almost three months.
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On December 8, 2024, another provocative speech was made in Goa by BJP MLA from Telangana T. Raja Singh. In a rally organised by the Bajrang Dal in Curchorem, South Goa, Raja Singh appealed to Christians to join hands with Hindus to stop the cases of “love jehad.” “Love Jihadis don’t only target Hindus. I want to appeal to our Christian brothers from Goa. You should watch the Kerala Files movie even though the film doesn’t tell the entire story,” he said. The BJP MLA went on: “The movie shows how in the name of love jihad, Hindu and Christian girls were lured. Hindus have kept their doors open for Christian brothers to fight against love jihad. Do join hands… our strength will increase.”
As per the census 2011, Goa’s population is 14.59 lakhs. Out of this, 66.08 per cent are Hindus, 25.10 per cent Christian, and 8.33 per cent Muslim. The Christian population is mainly concentrated in South Goa, where Raja Singh made his speech. No major action has been taken against him either for his communal speech.
The inaction of the State government in communal cases has raised questions over the intention of the BJP. Activist Felix Furtado said, “Double engine sarkar (government) is a double hatred-spreading government. Centre and State, both spread hate to win elections and survive. So, it is futile to expect action against hate-mongers from these people.” Advocate Cleofato Coutinho said, “The BJP and RSS parivar want to keep the communal pot boiling. Goa is a small State. But its news value is high. National media immediately picks what is happening here. So, for their supporters both in State as well as at the national level, some kind of communal incidents are needed. This is ‘controlled communalism’, and BJP is testing the success of it again and again.”
The Goa Assembly election will be held in February 2027. By then, the BJP would have completed 15 years of rule in this tiny State. Right now, Goa’s opposition is a divided house. There is no strong challenge to the BJP on the State’s political horizon. Despite this, the BJP and RSS are pushing their ideological agenda through communal rhetoric—not once, but repeatedly. And this laid-back State, it appears, has serious communal threats ahead of it.
