Catholics, Hindus oppose Muslim cemetery in Goa

Published Date: July 9, 2009

Muslims in Goa have accused the residents of a village of racism and communalism after a request for a new burial ground met with opposition from Catholics and Hindus.

Muslims form nearly 7 percent of Goa’s 1.3 million population but they have only four qabristan (cemetery) in this western Indian state. The largest is a century-old graveyard in Margao, the state’s commercial capital.

Muslims have faced local objections to a new cemetery for several decades, but things have come to a head now that the 15,000 square-meter Margao graveyard is full and the lack of space is forcing people to dig up old graves to bury new bodies. “This has led to disputes between the qabristan management and relatives of the deceased,” says Sheikh Bashir Ahemad, president of the All Goa Muslim Association and Jamaat (congregation).

The proposed new cemetery is at Davorlim, a village on the outskirts of Margao, but the residents are against it. Nearly 90 percent of the villagers are Catholics and the rest are Hindus.

On June 24, the Popular Front of India (PFI), a Muslim group, in a memorandum asked the Margao Municipal Corporation for land for a burial ground.

PFI spokesperson Iftiaz Sheikh says the local government´s handling of the issue has upset members of his community. “It is sad the people of Goa, including Catholics, have succumbed to racism and communalism. To worsen matters, politicians have joined hands with them,” he said.

Muslims also say the government is ignoring their demands so as not to displease the majority Catholics in the area.

Earlier, on June 20, the Davorlim village council summoned an emergency meeting after it became known the government planned to acquire 15,000-square meters of agricultural land for the cemetery.

Village chief Sandeep Verlekar, a Hindu, said there was “stiff opposition” to the plan. He said some villagers had said the plan would endanger their livelihoods because of encroachment on agricultural land, while others said they wanted to keep the land as a “green belt.” However, none specified the “real” reasons for their opposition, he added.

Father Leonardo Moraes, pastor of Our Lady of Rosary, Navelim, which oversees Davorlim, prefers to remain non-committal. “I am not in a position to talk on this issue. I can only say people are objecting to the idea,” he told UCA News.

Father Ivo Conceicao de Souza, a history lecturer, said opposition to the cemetery is a “cultural clash.” Local people fear the Muslims will come under the influence of militant Islamic organizations and their fears have deepened after swords were found a year ago in a Muslim area.

Local people also resent the way Muslims treat their women. Goan society, which is open and liberal, finds Muslim women wearing a veil “unpalatable,” the priest explained.

Muslim in Goa are immigrants from neighboring states and work mostly for a daily wage.

Ahemad says the anti-Muslim sentiments are politically motivated. “Our religion does not preach about killing,” he said, and noted that even mosques are attacked in Pakistan, which is a mainly Muslim country. He however acknowledged that a communication gap does exist with other communities which could have led to a sense of distrust.

Some prominent religious figures, who visited Goa recently urged the local people to allow the building of the cemetery.

Jesuit Father Cedric Prakash, a human rights activist in Gujarat, told Catholics that refusing Muslims land to bury their dead is a sin. Swami Agnivesh, a Hindu reformist leader, also urged Goans not to fear Muslims but learn to celebrate diversity.

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