VHP sees a Kashi of the West in Goa
By Sanjay Banerjee, The Times of India News Service
PANAJI: With the Ram temple at Ayodhya still a distance away and the "conquest" of Mathura and Varanasi on hold, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad has set its sights on Goa. If it had its way, Goa will be Kashi of the West, rather than Rome of the East.
A glossy booklet circulated by the Sangh Parivar seeks to establish that an important Hindu temple was destroyed by the Portuguese and a church built in its place.
Also, the booklet claims that Goans' have a north Indian heritage. Raising a question about the spread of Christianity in Goa, it raises a question that most people already have an answer to. It asks: "How can anybody deny that siblings of certain families are both Hindus and Christians? There are many books that trace the history of its people to the North of India."
This is not the first time VHP has focused on Goa. It wanted to take out an all-India march from the island of Diwar in October 1999. The plan never got off the ground but Diwar has remained a fixation for VHP leaders.
The booklet quotes Jesuit historian Fr Francisco da Souza, author of Oriente Conquista, as saying: "Diwar was as much venerated by the Hindus as the Holy Land is by us on account of a temple of many indulgences and pilgrimages, and even at present on a certain day of the year, the Hindus hopefully flock there to bathe themselves."
The VHP booklet says: "The temple on the island is relocated at Narve in Bicholim taluka after the original was destroyed by the Portuguese. It was rebuilt by Shivaji in 1668. The temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva as Shri Sapta Koteeshvara. The holy lingam, made of an alloy of seven metals and consecrated by seven sages, was believed to grant freedom from sin by sight and salvation by touch. Thus, the tradition of pilgrimage is traced to unknown antiquity."
Combining its argument "with the tradition of Vedic and Sanskrit learning recorded in various copper plates", the literature concludes that "Goa is equal to Kashi as a centre of pilgrimage as well as learning".
The booklet also throws "light" on the origin of the name Goa. It says Shri Parashurama, the sixth incarnation of Vishnu, created the seven Konkans; one of them being Gomantak (Sindhudurg-Goa-Karwar).
The name Goa, according to the book, originates from Goparashtra-Govarashtra in Mahabharta from the Gopas of Krishna. "The Bhoja Yadavas, who established their small kingdom with Chandrapur (Chandor), is mentioned in Ashoka's rock edicts on the sea coast on the southern border of his empire."
Goa's date with Indian history also includes the Buddhist monk Punna who is believed to have come here and lived in caves, the remains of which are seen at Rivona, Netravali and some other places. "There are (also) ruins of Jain settlements at Naroa and Bandora."