When you wanted
a cool atmosphere, instead of providing shade,
We cut trees and
gave you air conditioners
I am sorry,
extremely sorry. I believe the cry of the
Earth is also the
cry of our beautiful Children
– The Kindness Manifesto
How does one read Fr. Bismarque Dias’ The
Kindness Manifesto, which was used by him during campaigning for the Goa
assembly elections in 2012? Eschewing grand rhetoric about development – or such
other populist-phrases – the Manifesto sought
to make environmental degradation as central to politics. To begin with, we
have to contextualize the Manifesto with the contemporary political
realities in Goa. Being a priest, Fr.
Bismarque’s ethical understanding was also structured by theological and
spiritual influences, and one needs to look at these too. Given that the Manifesto
was primarily concerned with an ethical understanding of environmental
degradation and its redressal through electoral politics, a lot can be learnt
by reading the Manifesto.
Perhaps like all good ideas, The Kindness Campaign was too ahead of its times. Back in 2012,
when Fr. Bismarque convened his first press conference at Old Goa, under the
shadow of the Gandhi statue, the reporters seemed to be befuddled with his Manifesto. Compared to the manifestos of
other political parties, Fr. Bismarque’s Manifesto
lacked a point-by-point developmental agenda. As Fr. Bismarque’s foray into
politics was precisely an attempt to bridge the gap between spirituality/ethics
and the ground realities in Goa, it was quite
unfortunate that there was no deeper engagement in charting out a political
vision.
Though many people in Goa could easily see the link
between Fr. Bismarque’s Manifesto and
the ground realities in Goa, and sympathized
and admired his grit and determination, it did not translate into votes. Let us
again go back to 3 March 2012. On this day of reckoning for the Manifesto, it is interesting to consider
the testimony of a Catholic voter from Cumbharjua: Richard Gomes a Cumbharjua
voter said in an interview to Outlook,
“‘No
Catholic candidate can win in Cumbharjua, so we have to look for alternatives,’
…[because] ‘Hindus are communal, and will never vote for a Catholic in this
[Cumbharjua] seat. Since they are a majority, we all have to find a candidate
who is somewhat okay with us and responsive to our concerns’”.
Whether the logic of Richard Gomes is a false
equivalence or not, the issue here is about whether voters in Goa can make
choices that can empower them. The immediacy to survive in the current
political climate can render any attempts at better political visions ineffective.
Thus, the question that the Manifesto did
not engage with was why environmental degradation had to be fought first rather
than battling for political representation. This issue also needs as urgent attention as
environmental degradation, precisely because skewed political representation
enables anti-environmental policies and laws on the populace by giving power to
those that have very little concern for the environment.
The nature of ideas that the Manifesto articulated are not very new within the Catholic Church,
and have been around for at least a hundred years. Long before the current Pope
issued his Encyclical Letter, ‘Laudato
Si’: On Care of Our Common
Home’, in May 2015, trying
to raise awareness about environmental degradation, faulty governmental policies
the world over, and its impact on the poor of the world, Fr. Bismarque’s Kindness Campaign attempted to raise
awareness about these very issues. Despite his conflicts with the Church
hierarchy in Goa, Fr. Bismarque’s Manifesto
and activism need not be seen in isolation, but constituting a part of this
larger world of ideas and activism.
One needs to focus closely on the forgiveness the Manifesto sought to ask from the “children”
for destroying the “Earth”. The idea of asking forgiveness, I would argue,
draws its inspiration from conventional Catholic theology. Further on,
Franciscan spirituality with its emphasis on celebrating nature as God’s creation
and therefore lovingly preserving it, can be said to be the other influence. Interestingly,
the Manifesto is structured in the
form of a poem or a song, as opposed to the usual bullet-pointed claims that
one finds in other political/electoral manifestos. The Manifesto, therefore, can be linked to ‘The
Canticle of Brother Sun’ by St. Francis of Assisi (not surprisingly an inspiration for
the ‘Laudato Si’’, given that Pope Francis takes his name from the
author of the ‘Canticle’). Just like that document, the Manifesto argues for eschewing wealth and riches in favor of
poverty and simple living. The Manifesto sought to fashion a Goan self
that would relate compassionately to nature, as a political act. To vote for
Fr. Bismarque was therefore a vote to change one’s relationship with nature.
A reading of the Manifesto
with how electoral representation is structured in Goa
reveals that Fr. Bismarque had to deal with many tough and complex issues. This
is a predicament that many people face in Goa. Though the Manifesto emphasized the future of children, there was no attempt
to address social and economic inequalities as they occur on the ground – while
spiritual/theological understandings within the Christian Church clearly see
environmental degradation impacting social and economic inequalities. How to
bridge the gap between political vision and environmental degradation,
political inaction, and rising religious fundamentalism in Goa is not just a
question for Fr. Bismarque’s close associates and friends, but also for the
people of Goa, and the Church hierarchy – with whom Fr. Bismarque had a tortuous
relationship. This is needed if we do not want his ‘martyrdom’
to be worthless and in vain.
Illustration by Angela Ferrao
(First published in O Heraldo, dt: 25 November, 2015)
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