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A glory called GoaAlexandre Moniz Barbosa | November 20, 2010
It's been half a century since Goa was liberated from Portuguese occupation.
Even though some relics of the colonial past are being traded for new
acquisitions, the imprint of almost five centuries of colonialism - from music
to food, architecture to manners - endures in the golden land.
The walls of the erstwhile fortified 'Cidade de Goa' (City of Goa), for long
the capital of all Portuguese possessions in the East, have crumbled. The
Viceroy's Arch in Old Goa, once the main entry gate into the city, stands
forlorn. It is, in a way, an indication of the waning influence of Portuguese
rule on the land. As shrill voices demand that Goa's colonial period be
relegated to history books, just 49 years after the Indian armed forces ended
four-and-ahalf centuries of Portuguese rule in Goa, remnants of a historic past
are dwindling quickly. Almost five decades after the Portuguese were shipped
off by the Indian military, the dust raised by the colonisers is yet to settle,
making Goa at times brassy and at other times coy about its Portuguese
heritage.
"Goa has been denuded now, but what the Portuguese left behind was something
great. One example is the unification of the islands of Goltim-Navelim, Divar
and Malar. The Portuguese unified them after building the Linhares bridge, "
says Percival Noronha, member of the Goa Chapter of the Indian National Trust
for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH). The Linhares bridge is a 3. 2-km long
causeway that connects the state capital Panaji with Ribandar.
Not every Goan would, however, share the view that colonisation was good for
Goa. "Portugal did not do anything for Goa while it held the territory. In 450
years, only mining flourished. If you consider education, then during
Portuguese times, the literacy rate was 30 per cent, of which 20 per cent were
Marathi and English readers and only 10 per cent knew Portuguese. Goa would
have remained in this condition if not for liberation, " says columnist and
freedom fighter Flaviano Dias.
Development was almost unheard of during colonial rule and when liberation came
on December 19, 1961, Portuguese troops caved in without a fight, meekly
surrendering after having stubbornly held on to the territory Afonso de
Albuquerque had captured for them almost five centuries earlier.
Portugal's romance with Goa began in 1510. After a brief flirtation earlier
that year, during which the European nation held, for a couple of months, the
Island of Goa (today Tiswadi or Ilhas), the invaders were chased away by the
Shah of Bijapur. A monsoon on the island of Anjedive, off the south coast of
Goa, didn't diminish the Portuguese colonisers' lust for the land and having
regrouped they returned on November 25 and, in a single day's battle, captured
the island from a weakened Adil Shah.
There, on that island, the Portuguese settled for the next 451 years, elevating
it to the capital of their Estado de India (State of India). It was an affair
that lasted through the centuries and, depending on how one looks at
colonialism, either flavoured or tainted the local culture, and enriched or
impoverished native history. In a state where opinions are aplenty, views on
colonialism are contentious and many. There is currently a campaign opposing
even any hint of a 'commemoration' of this conquest. "You cannot celebrate
this. This was an invasion and resulted in colonial rule. If somebody has
committed some atrocities against your family, do you condone it? Anyone who
celebrates this is an antinational to me, " the BJP spokesperson in Goa,
Rajendra Arlekar, says.
And then there are those who hold a balanced view. "Goa, " says former Union
minister of state for law Ramakant Khalap, "benefited in various ways from
Portuguese rule. We got the first printing press in Asia, the first medical
school in Asia, and the first municipality in Asia along with a common civil
code. At the same time, there were atrocities and the Portuguese did not allow
the majority community to rise. " In the early years, persecution at the hands
of the colonisers led to a large number of Hindus fleeing the territory to
neighbouring kingdoms. "Many who had left Goa in the sixteenth century and went
to Sawantwadi returned to the new conquests in the nineteenth century. By this
time, the Portuguese were more tolerable towards the Hindus, and after the
establishment of the Republic in Portugal in 1910, Hindus were no longer
targeted, " says writer on church history, Fr Nascimento Mascarenhas.
Interestingly, the entire state of Goa did not endure colonial rule from 1510
onwards. The geographical boundaries of today's Goa did not exist until 1781,
the year the Portuguese annexed Bicholim, Sattari and Pernem. The new conquests
- Pernem, Bicholim, Sattari, Ponda (1763), Quepem, Sanguem, and Canacona (1764)
- added to their sixteenth century acquisitions of Tiswadi, Bardez, and
Salcete.
It is in the talukas of Tiswadi, Bardez, and Salcete that one can still see
examples of a distinct colonial architecture, and in certain areas, even hear
Portuguese being used as the lingua franca among residents. Not only was the
Portuguese influence in the new conquests far less, even the sparse development
seen in the old conquests was missing. Even today, the grandest display of
Portuguese influence in Goa lies in the village of Old Goa, where a cluster of
churches have been designated by UNESCO as World Heritage Monuments. It is the
area Albuquerque first conquered and which, in its prime as Cidade de Goa, was
described as one of Asia's greatest cities.
The city was once nicknamed 'Rome of the Orient' for the number of churches
that rose majestically from the ground, and also 'Goa Dourada' (Golden Goa).
But, was Goa once actually golden? "Goa was golden, perhaps economically,
during the heyday of the Kadamba period, during the pre-Portuguese trading era,
and for some decades of Portuguese rule until its decline and the decadence
that set in. But the economic benefits of this time (Portuguese rule) did not
percolate to the villagers surely, except perhaps those that administered on
behalf of the rulers. It was certainly 'golden' environmentally, until the
descent into the degradation we see around us (today), " says writer and
academician, Dr Maria Aurora Couto.
Today, many may deceive themselves into believing that what the cornered
Portuguese abandoned in 1961 are only monuments as sentinels of their presence
- churches, forts and houses. They are the more visible vestiges because of
their lofty dimensions and distinct architectural styles, but there stands out
in Goa a way of life that is in sharp contrast to that in the rest of the
country. This socio-cultural difference that exists in the state today is a
legacy of the Portuguese, and has catapulted Goa on to the world tourism map
and also given Goa some notoriety. Goans, as Couto puts it, are "more open
socially, which unfortunately is misinterpreted and abused by those who come
from a socially restricted environment and seek release of their inhibitions
when on holiday, leading to media condemnation."
One field in which Goa gained tremendously through its association with
Portugal is in law and judiciary. Portugal was, in this aspect, a rather
generous coloniser, implementing in its colonies the same laws it had for its
people on the mainland. As a result, the Portuguese common civil code, a law
well ahead of it times, was introduced in Goa. Even today, the unamemded family
laws of that civil code remain in force in the state.
During the mid 1990s, Khalap, as Union minister of state for law, initiated a
debate on the possibility of having a uniform civil code for the country, and
the Portuguese code applicable in Goa was being considered as the core around
which to build the new law.
"The common civil code applies uniformly to all citizens, irrespective of caste
and religion in Goa. There is no distinction permissible under that law, and by
it, a homogeneous society is possible, and uniformity can be achieved. It is a
very good thing to have happened to Goa, " says Khalap, explaining why he had
adopted this view between 1996 and 1998.
One of the lasting effects of Portuguese rule in Goa has been the conversion of
a large chunk of its population to Christianity. The Portuguese came as traders
but their crusading zeal was high as well. To this day, some 26 per cent (2001
census) of the population practices Christianity. There is no doubt that all
those who converted did not do so voluntarily. Many were coerced into joining
the Christian faith and the infamous Inquisition is an example of the methods
the Portuguese used in Goa. "The Inquisition was a black spot in Goa's history.
It was aimed more towards the Christians who would not leave the customs
associated with the Hindu religion," admits Mascarenhas.
The perceived high Christian population in the state often leads to some
questioning a Goan's Indianess. "We could call Goa a meeting point of the East
and West. From 1510 onwards, some Western culture was imbued into Indian
culture, some of which like music and manners are plus points. Many of these
remain till today. But by giving the converts Portuguese surnames, their
pre-Portuguese identities and histories were compromised. Despite this,
Christians have remained sons of the soil albeit with European surnames, " says
Mascarenhas. Goa's unique culture, while setting it apart from India, however,
does not isolate it from the nation. It adds a dash of spice to India's
multi-cultural diversity. A spice that would not have been possible but for the
long and harsh colonial rule. alexandre.
RELIGIOUS DIVIDE
A tale of loss and gainNovember 20, 2010
A brief look at what Goa gained from the Portuguese, and what they robbed its
people of.
Every tourist to the coastal state of Goa breezes past the complex of churches
at Old Goa that UNESCO has designated as a World Heritage Monument. In that
hasty tour, the magnificence of the structures, the artistic wealth within
them, and their historical significance is often lost on the traveller. "These
monuments, " says the UNESCO website, "were influential in spreading forms of
Manueline, Mannerist, and Baroque art in all the countries of Asia where
missions were established. " Apart from spreading art forms, many have unique
designs that are an amalgamation of Indian and Portuguese art heritage.
If these are a visible and lasting legacy of the Portuguese rule, then there
are other areas too where Goa gained. "Some areas come to mind. The first is
the welfare services that were introduced in Goa, like the Casa de Misericordia
(House of Misery ), that looked after the destitute. One could also cite the
improvement of the status of women, and not just through the abolition of sati
but in various other manners, " says Xavier Centre for Historical Research
director, Dr Delio Mendonca.
Among the first Acts passed by the Portuguese administration under Afonso de
Albuquerque was the one to abolish the practice of sati, and to found a
hospital that had an endowment fund attached to it that would support it
financially. Just months after capturing the island, Albuquerque, in April
1511, established a municipal council called the Senado de Goa that
administered the city of Goa. By 1518, this municipal council was treated on
par with the municipality of Lisbon in rank. In 1544, the Portuguese
established the 'Relacao da India (high court of Portuguese-Goa ). Ten years
later, in 1554, schools were established in the colony.
The printing press was introduced to Goa in 1556, and a Konkani grammar text
was published in 1640. It was the first of its kind in the East, and of any
Indian language, and was written by Jesuit priest, Fr Thomas Stephens. In 1842,
the first medical school in Asia was established in Goa and a few years later,
the common civil code of 1867, which was in force in Portugal, was made
applicable to the territory. In contrast to these highs, Konkani suffered the
most due to Portuguese rule. The colonisers desire to impose European culture
on the island led to the destruction of a large number of texts, most of them
in Konkani.
In 1684, viceroy D Francisco de Tavora banned the use of Konkani, and imposed
several penalties on those found using the language. It was only in 1858 that
Joaquim Heliodoro da Cunha Rivara, who was chief secretary of the Portuguese
government, initiated measures to promote Konkani. There was also no economic
development and consequently no employment was easily available in the colony.
"Portuguese education did not give jobs, so people migrated. In 1960, there
were 3. 5 lakh Goans in Bombay, who went there because there were no
opportunities in Goa. By remaining in Portuguese Goa, there was nothing to gain
except for a shot at one of the 1, 500 government jobs available, " columnist
and freedom fighter Flaviano Dias says.
Besides, human rights violations and restrictions on civil rights, the latter
more noticeable after the dictatorship that was imposed in Portugal in 1926,
have left a bitter feeling, which lingers when discussions on the colonial
period are held. "Anyone who believes in freedom cannot be happy about
Portuguese rule, " BJP spokesperson in Goa, Rajendra Arlekar, asserts, and
there are many who readily agree.
