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http://twitter.com/goanet --------------------------------------------------------------------------- In 1510 Portugal ''did'' us a great favour by conquering the city of Old Goa from the Muslim rulers of Bijajpur. In 1910 Portugal declared itselffree from the monarchy and became a Re;public . In 1961 Goa was liberated from the Portuguese hegemony. All these dates converge in 2010 as 500th, 100th, and almost 50th anniversaries of these events and hence some well meaning souls would have us celebrate with proper dignity in Goa Before we get into the celebration mood , it would be better on our part to assess the benefits that were accrued by the general population of Goa . Hence the comparison of the social, economic, religious, etc. conditions that existed in 1961 with those existing today in 2010 would be imperative for the proper assessment of benefits from the colonial rule. Yes, we , at least, the Goan catholics are definitely grateful that we have been Christians for five centuries, by now. There was some spiritual improvement, but was there any improvement in the general standards of living of Goan people ? I don't think there was any difference between the standards of living of the 16th century Christians an the the Christians of the mid 20th century.Literacy could have helped in better living but, in my personal opinion, the casteist clergy of colonial times would have none of it. May be it (the literacy) interfered with the smooth passage of souls to heaven. In other words, most Goan christians, of the mid 20th century lived as miserably as their ancestors did in the 16th century. Some one, I do not remember who, may be ''uma alma do outro mundo ''wants us to remember the 1910 transfromation of Portuguese monarchy into Republican administration. What does it mean to Goa ? Zilch , I suppose. I would not my fellow citizens of Goa to celebrate the 50th anniversary next year for we still have miles to go befor we become worthy citizens of the world at large. I shall only ask them to ponder over the social economic status of their parents and grand parents with the standards of living they are enjoying today.