By actively replacing divisive rhetoric with safe, constructive forums, communities can dismantle long-held biases and bridge deep divides
TELANGANA legislator and Hindutva leader T Raja Singh has claimed that around 66 per cent of Goa’s population is Hindu and 8 per cent consists of “jihadis.” Raja Singh does not live or know Goa enough to have the right to visit, speak and disrupt social relations in the state. In fact, he is miles off the mark and his only intent is to stir up hate and conflict. He has called on the BJP in the state to include a commitment to make Goa “jihadi-free” in its election manifesto. Such people should be banned from the state. It is only the Goa Forward which has rejected such forms of religious extremism in no uncertain terms.
Singh, a serialised hate speech offender from Telangana, is notorious for instigating Hindus and inculcating anti-Muslim sentiments. In all public spheres, Raja Singh is seen smattering divisive and communal ideology by moulding the history of the Maratha king. His unproved contention is that all Muslims in India are anti-national. Their guilt lies in carrying out various anti-Hindu offences like illegal cow slaughter and cow smuggling, forceful conversions, and “love-Jihad”.
Legal experts and watchdogs maintain that using highly charged language – such as calling to make an area “free of Jihadis” – stigmatises entire communities and frequently incites religious enmity.
Raja Singh further alludes that some spas and massage centres in Goa are being operated by Bangladeshi nationals and Rohingyas, and claimed that Hindu women working in such establishments are becoming victims of “love jihad.” In Raja’s view, every non-Hindu is a potential victim, and people of other faiths- notably Muslims and Christians – are perpetrators of evil in Goan society. Those who have worked within the industry with social goals, know one thing for sure; Raja Singh is up to mischief and scattering prejudice.
Spas and massage centres operate under the nose of the government and are even licensed by relevant government authorities. There are far more serious allegations made about spas and massage parlours. For example, they are dens for sexual offences. The government has two options here; one, to raid them and, if the facts point to mischievous intent, they must be delicensed, and shut down permanently. The fact they are sprouting with a rapidity, especially to cater to tourists, regardless of religious affiliation, presupposes that they have political cover – and that even the police either turn a blind eye, or profit from it.
To communalise this is absurdity beyond all proportions. Raja Singh comes from Telangana and must know that a good number of tourists to Goa come from his state. It is not as if Telangana does not have a sex-industry. Telangana has one of the highest concentrations of female and transgender sex workers in India, with operations spanning high-tech, online-coordinated rings in urban Hyderabad to unregulated, roadside operations along state and national highways.
The sex trade is prevalent in upscale localities such as Banjara Hills, Jubilee Hills, Gachibowli, and Madhapur. Many body massage centres covertly employ sex workers, operating on a commission or flat-salary basis. Organisers increasingly bypass traditional red-light districts by using messaging apps (like WhatsApp) and dating/escort aggregators.
Prostitution thrives along major national highways and transport hubs in districts like Sangareddy, Nalgonda, Suryapet, and Tandur. Sex workers from surrounding villages frequently solicit passing long-distance truck drivers. Trafficking rings frequently exploit vulnerable women from neighbouring states and neighbouring countries (such as Bangladesh) into illegal migration and sexual exploitation in Hyderabad.
The Telangana Police have established AHTUs in over 31 police districts and commissionerates. Despite frequent raids, human rights advocates and non-governmental organisations note that forced labour and minor exploitation remain significant challenges. Raja Singh must stay home and investigate his own backyard instead of travelling the world trying to clean up other people’s backyards.
My advice to Raja Singh, who is travelling the country as if on a religious undertaking, is to stay home, repair his own roof, and then come and show us his model – if he can even manage to make a single one happen.
In Goa, Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant, who has often persisted in prompting conspiracy theories of forced conversions by Christians in ‘remote areas, must verify his allegations after investigations by independent authorities, and, if found guilty, those held responsible must be punished. In Goa, there were several instances when preachers in independent churches were arrested and tried, only to be set free for lack of evidence.
Sawant is now developing the Koti Tirth Corridor on Divar Island (near Old Goa). Instead of building 1,000 individual temples, this project will construct a massive, centralised temple and memorial dedicated to the roughly 1,000 temples that were destroyed during the Portuguese colonial era. This will be located in the Divar Island, in the Mandovi river off Panaji and Old Goa. The goal is to serve as a lasting representative monument and spiritual corridor honouring the historical displacement of deities and demolished sacred sites. People of different faith traditions must learn to celebrate each other’s religious symbols. Religious spaces must not be museumised. If it carries a unique history, it can be accorded a heritage site.
In Goa, the state cabinet has approved the corridor development and allocated an initial outlay of around Rs 20 crore. Pramod Sawant noted that this initiative is part of a larger plan to shift the narrative of the Old Goa region from being exclusively known for its churches to also highlighting its Hindu temple heritage and spiritual tourism. It is hard to reckon with ‘religions in competition’!
Goa Forward Party, wisely interprets events featuring leaders like Raja Singh as calculated attempts to polarise society. This is frequently done to distract the public from pressing local issues, such as government failures or corruption, and to polarise society.
Swami Vivekananda envisioned religious unity not through uniformity, but through the harmonious acceptance of diverse paths. He famously declared that truth is one, but sages call it by various names, advocating for a “Universal Religion” that embraces all faiths
A spiritual pilgrimage is a deliberate, transformative journey to a sacred destination, distinguished from a regular vacation by its focus on inward reflection, devotion, and moral growth. It prioritises simplicity, slowness, and surrender, acting as an active enactment of the soul’s search for deeper truth or connection with the Divine. The Oneness of God is the foundational theological concept that the Supreme Being is an indivisible, absolute singularity. Across major world religions, it asserts that God has no partners, equals, or divisions in His fundamental nature, personality, or centre of consciousness.
Travelling to sacred sites allows people to experience history, architecture, and living traditions firsthand. It transforms abstract knowledge into a tangible, sensory experience. Many ancient and remote spiritual sites like those across Goa Tourism or major pilgrimage centres worldwide rely heavily on visitors for the preservation of their heritage, upkeep of the grounds, and the support of local communities. A pilgrim travels with humility and a desire for inner transformation. A “tourist” can sometimes treat a holy site merely as an aesthetic backdrop or a checklist item, which can disrupt the sanctity and atmosphere intended for worshippers.
Labelling a deeply personal, inward journey as “tourism” – a word historically tied to leisure, sightseeing, and commercial exchange – can certainly feel like a contradiction or a misnomer.
At its core, spirituality is about introspection, faith, and connection to the divine. For the individual, visiting a spiritual site is an act of devotion, not a vacation. The moment travel requires logistical support – transportation, lodging, food, and local guides – it enters the economic and cultural sphere of “tourism. When these two worlds collide, the dynamic shifts depending on the intent of the traveller and the management of the destination.
Inter-religious spiritual pilgrimages are journeys bridging multiple faith traditions to shared sacred sites or contemplative centres. These journeys are characterised by inclusive sacred spaces, collective solidarity across different belief systems, shared rituals like the veneration of common saints, and a mutual pursuit of spiritual transformation and inner peace
The multi-billion-dollar spiritual tourism industry can reduce sacred spaces to mere commodities, where the focus shifts from prayer and reflection to souvenir sales and maximising foot traffic.
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Ranjan Solomon is a writer, researcher and activist based in Goa. He has worked in social movements since he was 19 years of age. The views expressed here are the author’s own and Clarion India does not necessarily share or subscribe to them. He can be contacted at ranjan.solomon@gmail.com
