Hi Godfrey JI: I'm not sure the caste origins of those named below are particularly relevant in discussing business achievement. What is the point you're trying to make? Other than the obvious reality that the big guns in the world of business came from diverse backgrounds?
gonsalvesgodfreyji at yahoo.co.in >Goa's economy is synonymous with the three V's. >Mr Vishwasrao Dattajirao Chowgule, a Maratha, born 15 >August 1915 ancestral home in Kolhapur, Maharashtra, >who started life as a tally clerk,in Mormugao Harbour. >Then late Mr Vasudev M Salgaocar,a Gaud Saraswat >Brahmin born 13.5.1916 to 13.10.1984 a native of >Finally late Vasantrao S Dempo receipient of >Padmashri, a Gaud Saraswat Brahmin born with a silver Having said that, my doubts that you have mixed up on the Marathi-Maratha labels seems to be confirmed by this Wikipedia entry: Quote: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maratha Maratha is a kshatriya (warrior) caste of Marathi-speaking people primarily residing in the plains and hills of India's western state of Maharashtra. Marathas and Marathis are confused by many people to be one and the same. It must be noted that Marathis are any people speaking Marathi language while Marathas are only people belonging to Maratha caste. The Marathas attained historical primacy in the Maratha empire during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, when the Bhonsle family took control of much of western and northern India. The Maratha empire was allied to the British, but then fell out with them and fought a series of Anglo-Maratha Wars. End of quote. A number of caste groupings in Goa, following the Sanskritisation trend, add Kshatriya (e.g. Kshatriya Bhandari) or Brahmin to their name. While this sounds "better", it doesn't change the reality of a rather rigid caste hierarchy. It is important for us not to give credence to theories of caste-based superiority and inferiority, though sometimes caste can be useful to understand the context better. Anyway, I do believe that peoples' often-irrelevant backgrounds are also used and misused to build arguments which aren't particularly true. Goa's business class has morphed much over the years, across caste and community, as the list of who was at the helm of the ninety-year-old Goa Chambers of Commerce and Industry (with a different name earlier) would make clear. But what would perhaps be more interesting is a study on the links between the dominant political forces and the business elite, both in the pre-1961 and post-1961 eras. Also, I'm not sure everyone would agree with the lavish praise you shower, which seems to go along with the view that kings, prime ministers, business elites and other dominant forces are the main players that create history. Tens of thousands of nameless and faceless people of Goa have also done so. And, above all, history has been created (specially in Goa's case) by a whole set of happenstances over which this small state had absolutely no control. For instance, wouldn't Goa's history have been different if the Japanese didn't lose World War II and didn't need all that iron ore to rebuild their ruins? Would tourism have grown (even if mainly numerically and not sustainably) if Kashmir and Sri Lanka (the main competitors) didn't have their insurgencies around the same time in the 'eighties? Just a little thinking aloud... FN -- ---------------------------------------------------------- Frederick 'FN' Noronha | [EMAIL PROTECTED] Independent Journalist | http://fn.swiki.net Goa, India | +91(832)2409490 Cell 9822122436 ----------------------------------------------------------