RAMNATHI village in Goa is the headquarters of the Sanathan Sanstha, which operates from a luxurious large complex close to the ancient Ramnathi temple. On October 11, 2015, the villagers of Ramnathi village held a historic public meeting demanding a ban on the organisation and further demanding that the Sanatan Sanstha be banished from the village, because of its dubious activities and the disrepute that it is bringing to the village. Taking on the Sanatan Sanstha on its home turf is not an easy task. The wife of the local MLA, Sudhin Dhawalikar of the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party, is closely associated with the Sanatan Sanstha in an administrative capacity. But Ramnathi village is also the home turf of the villagers, who are proud of Goa’s syncretic cultural traditions, and who abhor the violent activities of the Sanstha. Opposition to the Sanstha has been growing steadily in recent years. Almost all the residents of the village have signed a petition opposing the Sanstha. But this was the first public meeting held in Ramnathi village against the Sanstha. The meeting was organised by the Ramnath Yuvak Sangh, a youth organisation led by Saurabh Lotlekar, whose family has lived in Ramnathi for several generations. Saurabh’s mother Sharmila Lotlekar is a panchayat member. The local district administration went out of its way to get the meeting cancelled. Permission for a rally was first given, and then withdrawn. Permission for using a loudspeaker was denied. But the determined villagers could not be deterred. The meeting was held less than 200 metres away from the Sanstha complex on privately owned open ground , without a loudspeaker. The enthusiasm of the organisers was boosted when the CITU activists arrived wearing caps “Aamhi Saare Pansare”, (We are all Pansare) carrying a large banner with the same slogan. Over the next three hours, a cross section of speakers eloquently and emphatically criticised and condemned the Sanstha , as well as the support that such elements receive from the BJP government in Goa. Saurabh Lotlekar, stated that the residents of Ramnathi are fed up with the Sanstha and want it out. He challenged the MLA Dhawalikar to take the Sanstha HQ to his own villages like Madkai or Nagueshi if he was so enamoured with it. He narrated the many ways in which the district administration had tried to obstruct and prevent the meeting. “We will not be deterred”, he said “We have held the meeting as planned. We will now go forward to organise a movement here like the movement which threw out the Nylon 66 project of Dow Chemicals”. Social activist Ramesh Gawas said that the headquarters of the Sanshta was not an ashram but a palacious building like a five star hotel. He asked why large numbers of condoms are being delivered to a place claiming to conduct spiritual activity. He said that the Sanatan Sanstha spokesmen are fooling the people in the name of spiritualism. ST leader Govind Gawde praised the work of Comrade Govind Pansare, Dr NarendraDabholkar and Prof Kalburgi. He asked why the Parsekar government is taking no action against the Sanstha after the Maharashtra police have arrested Sameer Gaekwad, a ‘sadhak’ of the sanstha for the murder of Com Pansare. Sahitya Akademi award winner Konkani writer N Shivdas , who is a resident of the Ramnathi village asked why the visitors to the Sanstha are not required to fill a C form and register their names with the local police station, since they are all outsiders. He challenged the Sanstha administration to produce even one ‘sadhak’ who is from Ramnathi village. He announced that he would be returning his Sahitya Akademi award in protest against the failure of the Sahitya Akademi to protest against the killing of another award winner Prof MM Kalburgi. He stated that the people of the village will no longer tolerate the ‘dadagiri’ of the Sanstha HQ inmates. CPI leader Christofer Fonseca emphasised that it was the democratic right of the citizens to criticise nefarious activities of the Sanstha in public meetings with loudspeakers and if the district administration denied that right, the next meeting would be held in defiance of that ban. CPI(M) Secretary Adv. Thalmann Pereira stated that it was the constitutional duty of the Goa government to take firm steps to curb the illegal activities of the religious terrorist organisations like the Sanatan Sanstha. Speaking on behalf of the CITU, Vivek Monteiro congratulated the people of the Ramnathi village for coming out against the Sanatan Sanstha. He said that this fight is not a local fight or restricted to Goa. It is a national fight against terrorism based on religious hatred. He named those Sanatani activists who were killed while planting bombs in Goa in 2009, and those convicted for planting bombs in theatres in Thane and Vashi. “What further proof does the Parsekar government want?” he asked. The record of the Sanstha shows that it is not a religious organisation, but a ‘dharmaandh dahshatwaadi’ organization. Organisations which kill and murder Indian citizens through bomb blasts and bullets are anti-national and it is the duty of all Indians to oppose such anti-national organisations. He stated that communal terrorism has political support from right wing parties in power, and that therefore the fight against communal terrorism is a political fight for which all progressive forces must come and work together. CITU activists have already distributed more than 50,000 handbills containing the writings of Pansare all over the country. We will ensure that Comrade Pansare’s thoughts are taken to every village in Goa. He raised the slogan “Pansare, Pansare”, to which the crowd roared back “Aamhi Saare Pansare” (We are all Pansare). The slogans resounded through the entire village making the absence of a microphone irrelevant. Rashtra Seva Dal activist Jawahar Barve, AITUC leaders Raju Mangueshkar and Adv. Suhas Naik also spoke at the meeting. Sharmila Lotlekar concluded the meeting with a vote of thanks.