Fragmentation seems to be increasing in Indian society, I am curious considering it’s reputation how well off are the average Goans compared to neigbouring states.
Goa’s Catholics under threat?
By Zubair Ahmed
Forty years after the Portuguese left, the western Indian state of Goa hangs on to an unusual legacy of imperial rule.
It is India’s only state with a uniform civil code.
This means that the Hindus, who make up 60% of the population, the Catholics, who account for 35%, and its tiny minority of Muslims are governed by just one, uniform, set of family laws.
The code has worked well enough for centuries - but now there are fears for Goa’s fabled communal harmony.
Despite its strong Catholic cultural roots, Goa currently has a right-wing Hindu nationalist government.
For Goans, Christianity has long been a fact of life.
But sections of the Hindu community have begun making increasingly bold - some say dangerous - statements expressing the view that Christianity is an alien faith, imposed on Indians during the colonial era.
A Hindu cab driver told me: “All Goans were Hindus before the Portuguese came here.”
He had a simple explanation for why the state’s Catholic population was increasing: “You know, when children are born into Catholic families, they are converted to Christianity after a week or so.”