The Denationalisation of Goans
An Insight into the Construction of Cultural Identity *
Nishtha DESAI,
Lusotopie 2000 : 469-476
Tristao de Braganza Cunha (1891-1958) [1], henceforth
referred to as Cunha, authored an essay, *The
Denationalization of Goans*, published in 1944 as a
booklet[2]. This essay gives a sharp critique of the
psychological dominance of Portuguese culture over the
educated people of Goa. It gives an insight into the
construction of identities in the context of Portuguese
colonial rule from the standpoint of an Indian nationalist.
This is the subject matter of this presentation. Cunha,
constructed a thesis of denationalisation, identifying it as
the main obstacle for the development of nationalism in Goa.
As a result of this essay, the term "denationalisation"
entered the vocabulary of almost every freedom fighter in Goa.
THE USE OF THE TERM "DENATIONALISATION"
It is not clear how Cunha came to use the term
"denationalisation". It was not a popularly used term, but
one has come across being used in two different ways. Keshab
Chandra Sen and Aurobindo Ghose have used the term to
describe the efforts of the British to alienate the Indian
people from their own culture[3]. The Portuguese state used
it to denote those who expressed any dissent against it. In
1914, arguing in favour of imparting primary education in the
mother-tongue, Konkani, rather than Portuguese, Menezes
Braganza asserted that it was the perceived "danger of
denationalisation " with which Portuguese officialdom was so
preoccupied,which prevented it from encouraging Konkani [4].
In the satyagraha of 1955 hundreds of Indians marched into
Goa to demonstrate against the artificiality of the border
separating Goa from India. Salazar referred to the Goans who
took part in this action as "denationalised Goans"[5]. One
cannot say whether Cunha's use of the term was inspired by
earlier nationalists or whether he adopted its usage in a
paradoxical mannerreacting to the Portuguese officialdom's
usage of it.
A BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE DENATIONALISATION OF GOANS
At the outset it is worth noting that Cunha's discourse in
general, and his thesis of the denationalisation of Goans in
particular are a product of the divided society in which he
lived and attempted to generate national consciousness.
He tried to unite the people by appealing to their identity
as Indians. His discourse is meaningful because it addresses
the fact of the communal divide without attempting to hide
its existence.
According to Cunha, Hindus and Catholics were both
denationalised, however because of the use of the Church by
the Portuguese state the denationalisation of the Catholic
Goans was more pronounced. Cunha argues that the Portuguese
state had achieved the alienation of the people from their
motherland through various agencies such as the Portuguese
system of education, the press which was under the rigid
control of the state and the Church which functioned as an
arm of the Portuguese state.
A major premise in Cunha's essay was that Goans had lost
their Indianness and their pride of race. National
consciousness was absent. In place of their own culture the
people of Goa, particularly the Catholic elite, had adopted a
culture that was imitative of the West. The process of
denationalisation had reduced Goans to being strangers in
their own land[6]. He identified the denationalisation of
Goans as the main obstacle for the development of nationalism
in Goa.
He asserted that the Portuguese created myths which dominated
the historiography of their rule over Goa. The result of this
was that Goans who had received Portuguese education grew up
believing Afonso de Albuquerque to be tolerant and in favour
of racial integration, and nurtured the belief that Francis
Xavier had effected conversions miraculously.
Portuguese historiography chose to ignore the fact that the
former was responsible for the massacre of thousands of
Muslims, while the latter had played a vital role in
introducing the inquisition in Goa. Anything pertaining to
India was excluded from the curriculum. Fed on myths such as
these most Goans were in awe of the Portuguese.
Denationalised Goans had lost their national dignity, he
argued. They had lost their traditional culture and were
deprived of the use of their mother-tongue, Konkani. They
held the belief that by aping the culture of the rulers,
their status was superior to their fellow countrymen.
The Denationalisation of Goans is often seen as an indictment
of Catholic Goans. This is not true. Highlighting the nexus
between the church and the state Cunha asserts :
"We do not fight religion but we expose the
exploitation of religion for the benefit of the
foreign rulers and to the disadvantage of India's
unity" [7].
Cunha remarks that, more than any other imperialist rulers,
"the Portuguese used religion as a weapon of political
exploitation", and urges the Goan Catholic, to "be conscious
of and think over the role assigned to religion by
imperialistic politics". [8] However, he clearly states that
Goan Catholics Hindus had been denationalised and observes :
"In the name of religion, the Hindus were robbed and the
Catholics enslaved. Both were terrorised for the greater
security of the usurpers" [9]. He attributed to their
denationalisation the failure of Goans to protest against the
colonial rulers. He states in no uncertain terms:
"The regime of permanent violence of the people's
convictions produced a debasement of moral
qualities. And it affected both the Hindus and
Christians [...] It destroyed their self-respect
and enslaved them to the pointof rendering them
incapable of reacting to the tyranny of their
rulers" [10].
It is worth noting that in this essay, when Cunha has a
specific point to make about Goan Catholics, he refers to
"the Catholic population" or "Goan Christians". The more
frequent reference is to "Goans", inclusiveof Hindus and
Catholics.
By targeting denationalisation, rather than the tangible
enemy, the imperial state, Cunha showed an understanding of
complexities involved in advancing the nationalist idea.
"Nationalism" could only exist in the absence of
psychological and cultural enslavement.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE THESIS OF DENATIONALISATION
According to Cunha's thesis, the expression of
nationalism necessarily implied an assertion of
culture on the part of the colonised. Ashis Nandy
has cited Frantz Fanon (1926-1961), psychiatrist
and social philosopher, involved in Algeria's
liberation struggle, to be one of the first to
realise the psychological dominance of European
middle-class cultures in the colonies [11].
However, Cunha's essay, which emphasises the mental
enslavement of Goans by the Portuguese, was written
two decades prior to Fanon's first published work
[12]. Cunha and Fanon both believed that the
educated elites of their respective countries had
been subjected to a process of mental enslavement,
enabling the colonial rulers to sustain their rule
over the colonised with their consent.
Nandy is concerned with the colonisation of minds that
persists after the departure of the colonisers which results
in the generalisation of "the concept of the modern West from
a geographical and temporal entity to a psychological
category" [13]. Cunha's concern was with the strength,
persistence and even seeming popularity of ongoing colonial
domination because the mind of the people had been enslaved.
This concern is also reflected in the language of Amilcar
Cabral, a thinker-revolutionary fighting for Guinea Bissau's
liberation from Portuguese colonial rule. He asserted
"Liberation is an act of culture". He believed it necessary
to penetrate the "wall of silence" built around the colonised
people by the Portuguese colonisers and to bare the attempt
ofthe Portuguese to project the colonised Africans as "happy
Portuguese of colour." Cabral referred to "the ineffaceable
marks of colonialism" on the minds and bodies of the people [14].
Cunha asserted the necessity of Goans to affirm
their endogenous culture. This would facilitate the
growth of nationalism. "Forced Westernisation" had
resulted in the creation of "submissive
servants"[15] and their denationalised culture had
made the Goans "the tools of their own enslavement"
[16].
Consequently for nationalist consciousness to develop in
Goans it was necessary for them to identify with the "Great
India" from which the origins of Goa could be traced. For
Cunha, acceptance of the "Great India" is not just a
political concept but a cultural concept implying a rejection
of the superiority of the West and a vigorous reaction
against the colonial rulers in the "political, ideological,
social and economic fields, and even in the most everyday
habits of our life" [17].
POPULAR PERCEPTION OF THE "DENATIONALISED GOAN"
In the course of research for my doctoral thesis, a number of
freedom fighters were interviewed. For them, Cunha was best
remembered for his formulation of the thesis of The
Denationalisation of Goans. However it became clear in the
course of the interviews that their understanding of his
essay was informed by their practical experiences or their
biases and theyhad selectively appropriated parts of Cunha's
thesis in keeping with their own world view.
Most freedom fighters, including veteran freedom
fighters, Catholic by birth, saw the denationalised
Goan as synonymous with the Catholic Goan. As we
have already observed, Cunha's essay reveals that
he did not view Hindus as being exempt from the
process of denationalisation. Why then is the
Catholic Goan viewed as the denationalised Goan?
If this perception existed only among the Hindu freedom
fighters one could attribute thisview to bias. But this is
not the case. Catholic freedom fighters also shared it.
Perhaps the answer in part lies in understanding the
relationship between religion and nationalism. It is relevant
to look at what one freedom fighter had to say in this regard:
"The basis of nationalism for Hindus differed from
the basis of Nationalism for Christians. The
nationalist sentiments of Hindus were often
inspired by religion. Many Hindus derived their
nationalism from nationalists like Veer Savarkar
and Lokmanya Tilak, who were exponents of Hindu
nationalism." [18]
According to him, Christians first had to develop an
"anti-church" consciousness. This did not necessarily mean
the giving up of Christianity, but it was part of the process
of developing an anti-Portuguese conscious-ness. He also
stated that many nationalists were compelled to look Westward
for their nationalist inspiration, as conversions had served
to sever their connection with their "Indian heritage" ;
Western thought, as epitomised by the French revolution,
contributed to the shaping, of the nationalist consciousness
of many Goans.
In the case of Christians there was a direct relationship
between religion and denationalisation resulting in the
perception of the Christian as the denationalised Goan. In
the case of Hindus, the relationship between religion and the
process of denationalisation could not be easily established.
All Goans, Hindu and Christian had been denationalised. They
were deprived of the educational, literary or cultural use of
their language -- a point that Cunha stresses time and again.
However, to fill the vacuum created by the state of
"inculture" to which Hindus were reduced, unlike the
Christians, they did not have to look Westward. Instead
theyappropriated the culture that was most accessible to
them, this being the dominant culture of the neighbouring
province later to become the state of Maharashtra.
Probably because the Marathi culture with which the Hindu
identified was a part of the "Great Indian Culture" which
Cunha viewed as the ideal, he is not as critical of the Hindu
Goan as he is of the Christian Goan, who imitated the culture
of the colonisers.
This being the case, one would have expected to
find few nationalists who were Christian by birth.
However, when asked whether the numerical strength
of Christians in the freedom struggle was
significantly smaller than that of Hindus, most
freedom fighters felt that the relationship between
religion and nationalist consciousness could not be
quantified in such definite terms[19], although
many felt that sympathy for the movement was
greater among the Hindus than the Christians.
Christian nationalists also narrated the initial
difficulties they faced convincing fellow
Christians tojoin, but stated that as the movement
progressed more Christians participated in it.
THE DIFFICULTIES INVOLVED IN DEFINING A NATIONALIST
There are also cases of individuals whose nationalism was
spurred on by their religious belief. In the case of Cunha's
predecessor Francisco Luis Gomes (1829-1869), one finds that
his nationalism is constructed on the framework of his
Christian religious belief and his faith in the superiority
of Western civilisation.
Gomes states: "The most powerful instruments of
civilisation are two: the Christian religion, and
education" [20]. He goes on to discuss how
conversions could be achieved in British India. He
gives importance to the use of tact and suggests
that Britain learn from Portugal: "Portugal
converted a portion of India to the Catholic
religion with the arms of her soldiers, with the
blood of her martyrs, with the miracles of her
saints, and with the fires of her Inquisition.
Those who were vanquished in this struggle became
Christians and Portuguese. England might imitate
the example, except as regards force... "[21].
Gomes, in a similar vein to Jyotiba Phule in Maharashtra, was
acutely aware of the social evils of his time and saw
European civilisation as a possible panacea for these evils.
He comments: "Cholera and the Thug were born in the same
country and in the same year. India is their native land..."
All impartial men desired "India for India"
according to Gomes. At the same time he asserts:
"To men of liberal principles and to mankind it
isperfectly indifferent whether India is called
English or Brahmanical; what they cannot consent to
is that the domination be exploitation instead of
paternal tutelage".
He believed that because India was ridden with rivalries of
different dynasties, caste hatred and religious antagonisms,
it had been possible for England to conquer her; "With only
one religion, only one dynasty, only one caste, India would
have been invincible." [22.]
For Phule, the advent of the British signified a freedom for
the people from the tyrannies of the cruel Brahmanical rule
of the Peshwas. It gave the people a chance to organise
themselves and struggle for their betterment. While Gomes
bemoaned the loss of India's great cultural heritage he
believed that colonial rule offered the people an opportunity
for civilisation. An oft-quoted letter to French poet,
Lamartine, is illustrative of his mode of thought:
"I was born in the East Indies, once the cradle of
poetry, philosophy andhistory and now their tomb. I
belong to that race which composed the Mahabharata
and invented chess... But this nation which made
codes of its poems and formulated politics in a
game is no longer alive! It survives imprisoned in
its own country [...] I ask for India liberty and
light; as for myself, more happy than my
countrymen, I am free -- civis sum " [23].
Perhaps because of the desire to project Gomes as a
nationalist the lastline is often not quoted [24]. This line
clearly reveals Gomes's perception of himself as "free" on
account of his being able to live in Portugal as a Portuguese
citizen and consequently better of than his fellow
countrymen. Does this mean that he was not a nationalist?
There is a need to realise the varying modes of nationalist
thought. Just as some nationalists sought to strengthen
India, the nation, with the help of Hinduism, Gomes
envisioned the building of an invincible nation with the help
of Christianity and the liberal values of "enlightened"
Europe. Acutely aware of the enemy within, he sought help
from the pater who would leave once his period of tutelage
was over to achieve progress for the nation. Acutely aware of
the enemy without, Cunha sought to galvanise a divided people
into a nation.
THE DENATIONALISED GOAN, AND THE IDENTITY OF GOA AS DISTINCT
FROM INDIA
Four hundred and fifty years of Portuguese rule served to
distinguish the position of Goa from the rest of India, that
position was further distinguished in a number of ways.
In 1928, the Goa Congress Committee (GCC) was formed and
represented the first attempt made to forge an organisational
link between the interests of the people of Goa and the
Indian independence movement as it sought and gained
affiliation to the Indian National Congress (INC). In 1934 as
part of its decision to derecognise branch committees of the
functioning in foreign territories like London and New York,
the GCC was treated in the same category [25].
This act of derecognition by the INC further contributed to
distinguishing the position of Goa from the rest of India.
Goa's liberation came fourteen years after India's
independence due to the intervention of the Indian army.
At the time of Goa's liberation, America and many countries
of Europe termed the action of the Indian army as an act of
invasion. Within Goa, there was a multiplicity of responses.
The majority of Goans probably welcomed Goa's union
with India and the prospect of development in the
form of electrification of villages and more
opportunities for higher education. Communal
tensions prevailing in India possibly caused some
anxiety in a section of the Christian population.
Nationalists believed Goa's liberation was long overdue and
some were critical of the Indian government for dragging
its feet over removing the remnants of imperialism from India.
A small section comprising Hindus and Christians which had
prospered under Portugueserule were concerned about the fate
of their fortunes and was now keen on currying favour with
the new rulers and demonstrating their loyalty to them.
Three years after Goa was liberated, the Goa Freedom Movement
was established with the objective of ending Indian
"imperialist" rule over Goa. Although this organisation was
formed in Paris, mainly by non-resident Goans, it would be
wrong to assume that this trend of thought enjoyed absolutely
no sympathy within Goa.
The historiography of the nationalist movement
seeks to deny the existence of the affinal feelings
towards Portugal that exist in a small section of
Goans. The Christian content of Gomes's nationalist
discourse receives little space when tracing the
development of the nationalist idea in Goa. The
voice of the lusitanised Goan is seen as a source
of embarrassment. A more honest historiography
which gives validity to the different trends of
thought will enable us to grapple better with the
enigmatic phenomenon of Goan identity.
Almost four decades after Goa's liberation, people in the
rest of India believe Goa to be Westernised with Christians
in the majority. Actually 65 per cent of th e population
comprises Hindus and 30 per cent Christians. The Indian
government has in part been responsible for feeding these
myths in its tourism promotion publications.
In popular representations, Goa continues to be
represented as the Rome of the Orient. In Hindi
films,the Goan man is usually a Robert or an Albert
inseparable from his bottle of booze, while the
Goan girl is bold and westernised. Even the floats
approved of for the Republic Day Parade often
feature youth exclusively in Western attire. Goa,
land of the Shigmo and Narkasuras, the toiling
peasant women and the kashti clad men remains
unrepresented. The image of the denationalised Goan
persists.
--
* This paper contains ideas from my doctoral thesis, Tombat,
Nishtha (alias Nishtha Desai), Tristao de Braganza-Cunha
(1891-1958) and the Rise of Nationalist Consciousness in Goa,
Dept of Sociology, Goa University, February 1995.
1. Tristao de Braganza-Cunha (1891-1958) is popularly known
as the Father of Goan nationalism.He established the Goa
Congress Committee in Goa in 1928 which represented the first
organised attempt to achieve Goa's liberation from Portuguese
colonialism.
2. See T.B. Cunha, Goa's Freedom Struggle, Bombay, Dr T.B.
Cunha Memori al Committee, 1961 : 55-98.
3. In the mid-1870s Keshab Chandra Sen remarked: "Truth is
not European, and it would be a mistake to force European
institutions upon the Hindus, who would resist any attempt
todenationalise them" (P. CHATTERJEE & P. GYANENDRA,
Subaltern Studies. VII : Writings on South Asian History and
Society, New Delhi, Oxford University Press, 1993 : 40).
Around 1910, Aurobindo Ghose in an editorial in Karmayogin
lamented on how Indian intellectuals were unfamiliar with the
"deep knowledge" of their forefathers : "... so well has
British education done its total denationalising work in
India " (V. GROVER, Political Thinkers of India. Vol II: Sri
Aurobindo Ghose, New Delhi, Deep and Deep Publications, 1992).
4. Menezes Braganza Memorial Committee, Biographical Sketch -
Menezes Braganza, Panaji, self published, 1972 : 58.
5. Salazar Says - The Question of Goa, Statement from the
Presidency of the Council of Ministers, Secretariado nacional
da informacao, Lisbon, 1955 : 5.
6. T.B. CUNHA, op. cit.: 59.
7. Ibid. : 57.
8. Ibid. : 77.
9. Ibid. : 76.
10. Ibid. : 96.
11. A. NANDY, The Intimate Enemy : Loss and Recovery of Self
Under Colonialism, New Delhi, Oxford University Press, 1983: 4.
12. Fanon's noted works are Black Skins, White Masks and
Wretched of the Earth, published in 1952 and 1961 respectively.
13. A. NANDY, op. cit. : xi.
14. B. DAVIDSON, The Liberation of Guinea-Bissau and Cape
Verde, Aspects of an African Revolution,London, Zed Press,
1981: 3.
15. T.B. CUNHA, op. cit. : 96.16. Ibid. : 90. 17. Ibid. : 97.
18. Personal communication, Panaji, Flaviano Dias, 1990.
19. Aside from religion, caste also appeared to be a factor
influencing the participation of Goans in the nationalist
movement. Christian freedom fighters believed that chardos
were more receptive to nationalist thinking than were the
bamonns.
20. F.L. GOMES, Selected Works of Francisco Luis Gomes,
Memorial Volume, Bombay, The Centenary Committee, 1931 :
147.
21. Op. cit. : 148.
22. Ibid. : 147.
23. Ibid. : 368.
24. A.K. PRIOLKAR, Goa Re-discovered, Bombay, sef published,
1967 : 4 ; A. Da CRUZ, Men andMatters, Vasco da Gama (Goa),
Ashok Printing Press, 1974 : 1-2.
25. A.M. ZAIDI & S.G. ZAIDI, eds, The Encyclopaedia of the
Indian National Congress. Vol 10 : 1930-1935, The Battle for
Swaraj, New Delhi, S. Chand & Co., 1980 : 400.
March 1999
Nishtha DESAI
V.M.S. Salgaoncar Law College
SOURCE:
http://www.lusotopie.sciencespobordeaux.fr/desai.pdf
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