From: Frederick Noronha <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: Sat Jul 13, 2002 1:36 pm
Subject: [Goanet] Portuguese laws, polygamy... and
what the law actually states
[My point is that the law allows for it under certain
conditions; I didn't say I know or knew of anyone who
took or plans to take advantage of the law (as far as
I know, it is still not revoked).
The law *did* permit "simultaneous polygamy" under the
quaintly-named 'Usages and Customs of Gentile Hindus
of Goa' -- see page 156 of 'Family Laws of Goa, Daman
and Diu - Volume I'. Contrary to the widespread
belief, the "uniform" family laws of Goa contain
provisions which are surprisingly un-uniform. They not
only have differing provisions (in some aspects) based
on people's religion, but even based on their caste!
It is another matter that these laws today have a
strong lobby to support them on ideological grounds
('If Muslims can do without polygamy being allowed in
Goa, why can't we enforce a similar law on them across
India') or very strong economic grounds (some can pay
lower taxes on the claim that the husband and wife
have supposedly, or at least in theory, equal
shares to the income and wealth).
Check what Article 3 approved by Vsicount of S.
Januario, Secretary of the State for Naval and
Overseas Affairs assented on December 16, 1880:
However, the marriage contracted by a male Gentile
Hindu by simultaneous polygamy shall not produce civil
effects, *except* in the following cases only:
(i) Absolute absence of issue by the wife of the
previous marriage until she attains the age of 25
years.
(ii) Absolute absence of male issue, the previous wife
having completed 30 years of age, and being of lower
age, ten years having elapsed from the last
pregnancy....]
=======================
Dear Fred,
May I suggest that the Cordigo Civil Portugues of the
Portuguese Civil Code (PCC) was introduced in Goa in
1870 as a tacit acceptance to the prevailing situation
of Polygamy which existed among the Muslims and Hindus
in Old Goa & the Novas Conquistas WAY BEFORE the
Portuguese Colonialists arrived in Goa?
AND THAT your sentence [PANJIM, July 12: Decades back,
it was grounds for legally permitting
polygamy in colonial Goa].... is actually misleading.
Why...only....'colonial' Goa? IF ....it was there
BEFORE the Portuguese colonialists and continues (on
the books) AFTER the Portuguese colonialists?
Do read what YOU wrote in the following article
[PORTUGAL HELPED PUSH GOA DOWN REFORM PATH, SAYS
SCHOLAR By Frederick Noronha
PANJIM: Portugal, inspite of getting a bad image as
the colonial ruler, also undertook some welfare
authorities in parts of the Konkan occupied by that
country in past centuries. Historian Dr Fatima da
Silva Gracias, in a research paper presented recently,
says that these welfare activities were promoted
through the State, the Church and social organisations
too.
......Reforms were also implemented to DO AWAY WITH
PRACTICES LIKE sati, child marriages, tonsuring of
widows and POLYGAMY. Albuquerque is credited with
ending sati -- buring in the pyre of the dead husband
-- soon after his conquest of Goa. (CAPS are JC's)]
==
I submit further that IN an environment which paints
everything Catholic and Portuguese as depraved and
decadent, you could have worded your sentence
differently.
you further write:
[On a related issue, in response to JC's criticism of
the Manusmriti, it is perhaps rather easy to criticise
someone else's religion... The fact is that almost all
(all?) forms of religion tend to be, to some degree or
the other, rather anti-woman, and even antiquated by
today's standards.]
I beg to seriously disagree with your above assertion.
While I will normally criticise ANYBODY who
discriminates on the basis of Caste, Religion or
Ethnicity, my response to Subhash was MERELY to point
out the contradictions in Manusmriti as far as the
role of the woman was concerned.
Nothing More......Nothing less!
[Religion at various points of time has been
manipulated to support not just the caste system, but
also racism, slavery and colonialism.]
NO question about that!
[Maybe the biggest challenge before all of us is to
begin by criticising the wrongs in the religion we
ourselves belong to (a more diffficult task!), so that
we overall work to a more humane face for the potent
force called religion. FN]
please visit the following URL (Incomplete as the site
is....it attempts to do exactly as you suggest)
http://www.colaco.net/3/VFTB-welcome.htm
good wishes
jc
=====
Recommended Goan Sites in Cyberspace
Goa-World at http://www.goa-world.net
The Goan Forum is at http://www.colaco.net
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