That (land) is a capital asset, and irreplaceable once lost. Much of which has been (till the very recent past) acquired compulsorily by governments for a pittance. While the comunidade/gaunkari system has its flaws and limitations (a millenia-old institution, obviously without today's perspectives of equality and fairness), to my mind it is anyday preferable to the land loot which has ascended a land where every other politician is also a realtor in one way or another.
This is what Madhav Gadgil -- described as a "researcher, teacher, institution-builder, policy influencer, activist, author" -- wrote (*A Walk up the Hill: Living with People and Nature*, Penguin Random House 2023, p.18-19) Pune has always been a socially vibrant city and the following month of > August 1961 witnessed the excitement of many public figures from Pune > preparing to march to Goa, possibly to face gunfire as they prepared to > cross the Goaborder to demand that the Portuguese quit India. The team was > being led by Senapati bapat who had been conferred that title by the > citizens of Maharashtra to his leadership of the satyagraha of farmers > whose lands were being submerged under the Mulshi dam. His second in > command was Mahadev Shastri Joshi. I had read with must interest Mahadev > Shastri's books on places in Maharashtra well known for battles and for > temples. More importantly, he had edited the ten-volume *Bharatiya > Sanskriti Kosh*, the Encyclopaedia of Indian Culture, which I had > referred quite frequently. He was born and brought up in Goa, although now > settled on a farm in the outskirts of Pune city. His daughter Krishna was a > classmate and close friend of my sister Sulabha, and we had visited his > farm on many occasions. I therefore asked him about my guess that Goa owed > its verdure and natural beauty to its village community-based management > system, gaonkari, about which I had read in Dharmanand Kosambi's Writings. > He confirmed that this was so and that these community management systems > were characterized by practices of prudence and conservation. > Goa's village communities also suffered from the evils of the caste system > as in other parts of India. The gaonkari was governed by settled > agriculturists. Before they established themselves, the terrain would have > been occupied by hunter-gatherer, shifting cultivator and fishing > communities that were pushed off the land and were assigned a lower status > in the caste hierarchy with rigidly fixed hereditary occupations. These > castes then came to serve as landless labourers, as artisans like > carpenters and potters and, even lower in status, as village guards or > leather workers. Goa's society also came to be constituted of endogamous > caste groups, with intermarriage being prohibited. The lower castes had > little chance of rising in the social hierarchy and the dominant landowning > community had scant concern for them. Nevertheless, they very effectively > conserved and sustainably used their own natural resources. Such village > community-based institutions prevailing all over India were destroyed in > British India to facilitate the colonizers' drain of India's resources, > including those inthe community-managed forests that were brought under the > control of the state forest departments. The Portuguese also attempted to > dissolve village community governance but gave up the attempt because it > led to substantial losses in agricultural production and consequently in > agricultural tax revenue. So, Goa had retained village community-level > governance, or gaonkari, termed the comunidade system by the Portuguese. > This was the secret of Goa's retention of its verdure, despite the > inequities of the caste system, till its liberation in 1961. : FN On Thu, 11 Apr 2024 at 11:59, John Nazareth <jhr_nazar...@hotmail.com> wrote: > Nevertheless, it is encouraging that the sale of land proceeds are being > passed to the gaunkars. > > But Marianne has a point that women are being left out. > > John > > > > *From:* goa-research-net@googlegroups.com < > goa-research-net@googlegroups.com> *On Behalf Of *Marianne de Nazareth > *Sent:* Wednesday, April 10, 2024 2:07 AM > *To:* goa-research-net@googlegroups.com > *Subject:* Re: [GRN] Understanding the clans of Goa... (John Nazareth) > > > > Ok! Thats good to know as I heard in Pilerne, its in the region of 14- 17 > k per person. > > Our tenants are holding the panchayat posts now! > > > > Marianne > > > > On Tue, Apr 9, 2024 at 10:08 PM Frederick Noronha < > fredericknoron...@gmail.com> wrote: > > Pilerne is an exception. The *zonn *is coming from the sale of their > permanent land assets to the industrial estate atop the village hillock. In > comunidades I know of, the zonn is about Rs 100 per year, and that too, > only if you register a year in advance. Not worth the time and trouble. > What is the *zonn* in the other areas? > > An interesting study would be to see how comunidades got treated since the > 1960s, when they were stripped of their powers and income, especially > during the era of land reforms across India... That was also incidentally > when large landholders in parts of Goa joined politics and didn't lose most > of their assets. FN > > > > > > On Tue, 9 Apr 2024 at 21:45, Marianne de Nazareth <mde.nazar...@gmail.com> > wrote: > > Hi, > > The system is alive and well in my village in Goa for decades. Infact the > males who register get a very handsome zonn. > > To clarify ---this is in MY family property and NOT my husbands. By > Portuguese law everyone gets a share including the spouses. > > I am happy to look after the family homestead, as my connections to it are > strong. > > I just felt the zonn was meant to help maintain the property which due to > my gender I am not eligible. > > > > Marianne > > > > On Tue, Apr 9, 2024 at 6:55 PM John Nazareth <jhr_nazar...@hotmail.com> > wrote: > > Well, first of all, the system is now practically defunct so there would > be nothing left to reform. > > I guess at the time it was formulate the intention was that the woman > would join the communidade of her husband and as such she had access to her > husband’s zonn. > > Frankly, I have found that Goan women were/are very strong and often save > their men from themselves. > > (For a personal example, when Uganda exploded in 1972 I was thinking of > joining the guerrillas in neighbouring Tanzania to fight Amin. I got > married to girlfriend Cynthia Fernandes who was outside the country at the > time. That was the end of my guerrilla thoughts.) > > I have always joked with my friends that Goan society was the only > “patriarchal” society run by the women. > > This is only half a joke; it is a reality. Goan women have run their homes. > > The only thing is that they would do in their husband’s village. > > > > But further to that – I have noticed in my research on clans that a > significant percentage of cases the family unit has moved to live in the > village of the mother (while getting the zonn from the husband’s village. > > > > This too confirms my belief that God is a great joker, but the whole world > is afraid to laugh. > > > > John > > P.S. In the old days the Goan inheritance rules were that the villager’s > family property was shared between the male children. I believe that it > changed so that women also had inheritance rights. I am not sure when it > changed – someone else would be better positioned to say more. > > > > *From:* goa-research-net@googlegroups.com < > goa-research-net@googlegroups.com> *On Behalf Of *Marianne de Nazareth > *Sent:* Tuesday, April 9, 2024 2:29 AM > *To:* goa-research-net@googlegroups.com > *Subject:* Re: [GRN] Understanding the clans of Goa... (John Nazareth) > > > > What I feel sad about is that we daughters of the family -- who are the > ONLY ones looking after the family homes -- are not part of the Zonn. > > > > Isnt it time such patriarchy was changed to include us women inheritors? > > > > Dr Marianne Furtado de Nazareth > > > > On Mon, Apr 8, 2024 at 9:41 AM John Nazareth <jhr_nazar...@hotmail.com> > wrote: > > The relationship between the gavnkars, zonnkars, munddkars, and other > players in the gavnkari have been written about for many years and I was > used to reading about them. > > But when Leroy Veloso first showed me his work in 2007 about using the > Matricula – which was primarily for registering people who were to receive > some fraction of the zonn – to identify clans I immediately recognized it > as a valuable bi-product. I don’t think that was its intention but it is > important. > > And its simplicity is elegant. I was surprised that more historians were > not doing it. > > > > Of course, there is deeper work that can proceed from it and the master of > such work is Bernardo De Sousa in his book “The Last Prabhu”. > > Someone needs to create a how-to paper to work with the mahajans to > identify the root surnames the way Bernardo has done. That is not simple. > > But I wanted to point out how simple it is to work with the matricula, say > from 1940, to unearth the clans of a village. > > That is important because now that the Gavnkari has been treated so > callously by the new institutions of governance those documents are in > danger. > > Everyone needs to work quickly to work with their communidade to create a > clan list. > > > > Once the matricula ledgers go to the Panjim Archives it is all over. > > I couldn’t find anyone there who knew what they were and how to get access > to them. They are lost in the ether. > > Finding books of baptisms, marriages and deaths are easy, but you can > forget about the matriculas. > > So work with what you can find in the village communidades today. > > I sat in the Nachinola communidade for just 2 hours and was able to create > a table. Nachinola was my late wife’s village. > > I couldn’t thank them enough for their kindness. They wouldn’t even accept > a donation for their institution. > > But what I have created has been highly prized by my Nachinola friends. > > > > I stand in awe of the traditional system of village governance that stood > for over 1000 years and that is now in its twilight years. > > > > John Nazareth > > > > *From:* goa-research-net@googlegroups.com < > goa-research-net@googlegroups.com> *On Behalf Of *wrdsilva > *Sent:* Sunday, April 7, 2024 12:15 AM > *To:* Goa-Research-Net <goa-research-net@googlegroups.com> > *Subject:* Re: [GRN] Understanding the clans of Goa... (John Nazareth) > > > > My fieldwork in Goa shows the Matricula etc. have merit, but the 'clan' > system is difficult to describe the way it is often done. Ganvponn, > Ganvkari, Zonn, Zonnkar, Munddkar, Mittgaudde etc.etc. makes the rural > system a little more complicated than it is recovered from 'communidades' > accounts, or vangodd systems. We need good fieldwork complimented by > documents, Portuguese and local (Konkani, Marathi) in order to get a better > grasp of the system operating and changing over external interventions in > Goa. > > William Robert Da Silva > > On Thursday, April 4, 2024 at 1:34:30 PM UTC+5:30 Rowena wrote: > > Very exciting. I remember wanting to work on this decades ago. Glad > someone is 👍🏼 Regards, rowena > > On Thu, 4 Apr, 2024, 13:25 Frederick Noronha, <frederic...@gmail.com> > wrote: > > A paper by *John Nazareth* <jhr_na...@hotmail.com>, Canada-based > statistician and history enthusiast. Check it out below. He writes: > "These tables can be gleaned from the Matricula, while is the ledger > within the Communidade office on which they log the gaunkars who are > registering for their zonn." He says while his work covers only a few > villages, others could do so for more. "I got one of my friends to do the > necessary in Anjuna in just two days." > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Goa-Research-Net" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to goa-research-n...@googlegroups.com. > To view this discussion on the web, visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/goa-research-net/CAMCR53J0ZVMvJshaYnnvNNeceRcNt55AKEG%2B%3D9CyUo0m2cVBxQ%40mail.gmail.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/goa-research-net/CAMCR53J0ZVMvJshaYnnvNNeceRcNt55AKEG%2B%3D9CyUo0m2cVBxQ%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Goa-Research-Net" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to goa-research-net+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > To view this discussion on the web, visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/goa-research-net/19cf537c-3cb9-4170-b53a-67501262ed34n%40googlegroups.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/goa-research-net/19cf537c-3cb9-4170-b53a-67501262ed34n%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Goa-Research-Net" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to goa-research-net+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > To view this discussion on the web, visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/goa-research-net/IA1PR11MB61470DDD7B560D4074E0729EFF002%40IA1PR11MB6147.namprd11.prod.outlook.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/goa-research-net/IA1PR11MB61470DDD7B560D4074E0729EFF002%40IA1PR11MB6147.namprd11.prod.outlook.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > > > > > -- > > > > Dr Marianne de Nazareth > > Former Asst. Editor, The Deccan Herald, > > Freelance Environmental Journalist > > Fellow UNFCCC, UNEP, UNWater > > Editor Romantic Getaways https://www.bellaonline.com/ > > http://mariannedenazareth.blogspot.com/ > > > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Goa-Research-Net" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to goa-research-net+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > To view this discussion on the web, visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/goa-research-net/CAOqQHeK0AkswyPG0F3T5P1yFvuUJg0KOAMyWcOfFTv-uMQ-rKg%40mail.gmail.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/goa-research-net/CAOqQHeK0AkswyPG0F3T5P1yFvuUJg0KOAMyWcOfFTv-uMQ-rKg%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Goa-Research-Net" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to goa-research-net+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > To view this discussion on the web, visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/goa-research-net/IA1PR11MB61470436A8A4DC24F64FBDF6FF072%40IA1PR11MB6147.namprd11.prod.outlook.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/goa-research-net/IA1PR11MB61470436A8A4DC24F64FBDF6FF072%40IA1PR11MB6147.namprd11.prod.outlook.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > > > > > -- > > > > Dr Marianne de Nazareth > > Former Asst. Editor, The Deccan Herald, > > Freelance Environmental Journalist > > Fellow UNFCCC, UNEP, UNWater > > Editor Romantic Getaways https://www.bellaonline.com/ > > http://mariannedenazareth.blogspot.com/ > > > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Goa-Research-Net" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to goa-research-net+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > To view this discussion on the web, visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/goa-research-net/CAOqQHeKAMuuo9cAih9_5FOjVxxxom3MtgEgchd%3D_YmA1hksUfg%40mail.gmail.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/goa-research-net/CAOqQHeKAMuuo9cAih9_5FOjVxxxom3MtgEgchd%3D_YmA1hksUfg%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Goa-Research-Net" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to goa-research-net+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > To view this discussion on the web, visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/goa-research-net/CAMCR53KnAPrPCSB20odRKfhKz4yrWbq0zNfQURjTAxMZeOOAyg%40mail.gmail.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/goa-research-net/CAMCR53KnAPrPCSB20odRKfhKz4yrWbq0zNfQURjTAxMZeOOAyg%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > > > > > -- > > > > Dr Marianne de Nazareth > > Former Asst. 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