Given the contentious
nature of the issues Fr. Bismarqe Dias was fighting for it is no surprise that
malicious rumours are being spread about him, that the cause of his death dismissed
as accidental, and worse even born of his own negligence. One has to merely
look at the backgrounds of the persons spreading these rumours to know that the
inspiration lies either in the Hindutva groups, or those who seek more
’development’ in Goa. That these rumours
emerge from these two camps is, once again, no surprise. Ever since Modi has
seized the reins of power it is increasingly evident that Hindutva mobilizes
all manner of people to push an agenda that will disempower the very people who
form the rank and file of the Hindu nationalist movement. Hindutva under Modi
is geared solely to the benefit of the corporate princes who have bankrolled
Modi’s rise to power.
But we would be
no better than the rumour mongers if we only flung muck, albeit well-deserved,
at these persons. Rather, we need to address the crux of the issue, rather than
engage in non-issues. The issue therefore is: does it matter if Fr. Bismarque
was killed or died accidentally? I would argue that it does not. The manner of
his death itself makes no difference to the fact that Fr. Bismarque is now a
martyr and a symbol for right-thinking Goans everywhere.
What makes Fr.
Bismarque a martyr is not the fact that he may have been killed, but the fact
that he died in the field, with his boots on. His death has left us with the
sense that his was a life snuffed out, whether accidentally or by design, well
before his time had come; that he left us when his promise was as yet
unfulfilled.
Fr. Bismarque is
a martyr because his departure has animated us even further. His death may have
deprived us of a charismatic leader, but in the upheaval that has followed his
passing has demonstrated that there are many who are willing to carry his
cross. This churning has also demonstrated that these followers are not
entirely lacking in the persons willing to lead them forward.
Indeed, like
many martyrs, Fr. Bismarque’s passing has made us aware of the larger problems
with the system that we need to fix if Goa,
Bismarque’s beloved, is not completely laid to waste. Take, for example,
the facts shared by the leaders of the movement for justice for Fr. Bismarque.
A complete forensic evaluation cannot be completed in Goa because the state
does not have an equipped laboratory. In what must surely be a bad joke, the
state of Goa has an empty building with some amount of equipment recently
arrived. Nor has there been an appointment of skilled staff to effectively make
use of this equipment As Caroline Colaço, one of the lawyers following the case
lamented that a state ought to have had this infrastructure in place,
especially in the scenario where crime rates are increasing. To ensure that
these rates are kept down it is imperative that justice is quickly served.
Unfortunately, not only does policing seem to be lax in our state, but we lack
the essential systems necessary to maintain basic law and order.
The biblical
lesson that “the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak” highlights that the human
body is a poor vehicle for the spirit it bears. There is often much that we
would like to do, but are unable to undertake because of the limitations of our
physical frames. When trapped within his physical frame Fr. Bismarque was able
to undertake a variety of activism spread across the face of Goa. And yet, even
he would have acknowledged that his actions were not enough. Goa, which was
once a simpler place, is no longer innocent, and the forces that threaten us
are overwhelming. The fact that Fr.
Bismarque’s death is being used not only to address the issues that he
addressed in life, but to take on issues that he did not have the physical
capacity to do is testament to the power of his death. This is the mark of a
martyr, where death does not simply mean an end, but the seed for work in the
future.
There is another
manner in which Fr. Bismarque has achieved martyrdom. Before it was imbued with religious meaning,
the word martyr was used to identify one who has given witness. As we all know,
Fr. Bismarque’s relationship with the hierarchy of the Catholic Church in Goa
was somewhat troubled. Various restrictions were placed on him such that people
have often come to the belief that he was not a priest anymore. This is, however, not true. The teaching of
the Catholic Church, however, is that once consecrated, one is a priest for
life until actively laicised by papal decree. This was not the case with Fr.
Bismarque. On the contrary, through his daily actions, where he poured out his
time and energy for others, Fr. Bismarque gave witness to his faith, both as a
Christian and as a priest. In his dying while actively involved in what he
clearly saw as his mission, he has died a martyr. If his death is established
to have been caused by murder his passing will only bring us more grief, it will deepen our commitment to see justice done; it
will not, however, take away from the fact that he died a martyr.
Thank you for
your music Fr. Bismarque.
(A version of this post was first published in the O Heraldo on 13 Nov 2015)
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