Dear Sir, I have read with amusement and interest, the back and forth on your site about the book "Holy Warriors" which was the subect of fascinating discussion at the London School of Economics last night. The book includes a section on the erosion of Goan Catholic identity, as well as the story of the Inquisition in Goa under St Francis Xavier. Its subject is topical and relevant to our community. It explores what makes a holy warrior in India today, written by a Goan journalist. I enclose an extract from a speech by a Professor John Harriss, a director of research at the LSE and India expert, who spoke at a discussion on the book -- "The book is about religion and politics in contemporary India, and she writes about Christians and Sikhs, as well as Hindus and Muslims. "I think that some of the most interesting and also the most powerful parts of the book are about the dilemmas of Goanese Catholics, and the persisting pain felt amongst Sikhs over the desecration of the Golden Temple, the terror of the violence against them in Delhi following the assassination of Mrs Gandhi in 1984, and then over the agonies surrounding the disappearances of people that took place during the conflict in Punjab. "As a whole I think that the book conveys extraordinarily well, and with great sensitivity, how the construction of the Other as an object of fear, or a symbol of historic wrongs done against Us, creates its own effects, and gives rise to a spiral of fear and hate that, once it has taken hold, is extremely hard to check..." Perhaps one of our Goans can review this book. I think it's worth it. Mrs Da Silva
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