Caste rivalry threatens to disrupt harmony in Goa

The Catholic Gaonkars, Kshatriyas by caste, have always had anuneasy relationship with the backward castes. Despite their small numbers,around 3,000 in a community of 20,000, the Gaonkars have traditionallymonopolised the Confraria do Santissimo Sacramento and Nossa Senhorade Saude (Confraternity of Most Blessed Sacrament and Our Lady of Health), a body which celebrates feasts, processions and other religious ceremonies.

Members of the Confraria are also privileged to wear the opa murca (red and white robes) during religious proceedings. Attempts by the former Portuguese rulers and the authorities of the Catholic Church to bring about equitable representation in the Confraria were strongly rebuffed by the Gaonkars.

Relations between the upper and backward caste Catholics worsened in 1998 when two non-Gaonkars were admitted into the Confraria as substitute members. A former parish priest of the Cuncolim church suffered a nervous breakdown after angry confrontations with the Gaonkars.

"They walked into my office and threatened to cut me into pieces if the two members were not removed," present parish priest Father Soccoro Mendes toldThe Indian Express. The two members themselves are facing subtle pressure from their high-caste neighbours. "The Gaonkars have always wanted to dominate us. Our forefathers were threatened with murder when theyfirst tried to be members of the Confraria in 1945," says Bibiano Fernandes one of the two substitute members.

Social ties between the two groups have also been strained. The Cuncolim football association has become defunct as members are divided into Gaonkar and non-Gaonkar camps. So is the church choir. "Gaonkar parents are forcing their children to break off from the choir and youth activities," says Bena D’Costa, a choir member.

Incidentally, D’Costa’s own family members cut across both the groups. "Our relationships are drifting apart," adds Bena, a school teacher.

With tension increasing between the two groups, the non-Gaonkars decided earlier this month to stay away from the Church feast and held their prayers at another site. Later they went in large numbers to the Archbishop Raul Gonsalves to submit a memorandum protesting against the discrimination against them.

However, the Goankars are adamant about denying equal rights to the backward caste worshippers. "Traditionally, membership of the Confrarias were restricted to only the 12 vangors, or gotras of one caste (Kshatriyas)," says Advocate Pio Lawrence, who is the leader of the Gaonkars.

Some time back, an associate of Lawrence, Josico Fernandes, hit the headlines when he threatened to convert to Hinduism if non-Gaonkars were admitted into the Confraria.

The Gaonkars are also attempting to draw in their counterparts fromthe Hindu community in support of their cause. "If we the 12 vangorslose out to non-Gaonkars in the Church, our Hindu brothers will lose control of the Shanta Durga temple as well," states Lawrence. The famous Shanta Durga temple located at Fatorpa draws devotees from both the Hindus and Catholics in large numbers though the vangor system is still in vogue there.

This has the potential to sour relations between the Hindu and Catholiccommunities as the latter has decided to boycott traders belonging to theformer group. "We will have no choice but to boycott them if they interferein our affairs," says a member of the eleventh vangor which is opposedto Pio Lawrence’s leadership of the Gaonkar community.