Journalism in Portuguese India 1821-1961
By Henry Scholberg,
Former Director, Ames Library of South Asia,
University of Minneasota
Journals are like pastries: we must eat them as soon as they
come out of the oven. -- A nineteenth century Goan saying.
INTRODUCTION: Goa is an area of the approximate size of an
Indian district, and out of Goa came a torrent of well over
300 journals in the course of 140 years.
In this paper, the terms 'Goa' and 'Portuguese India' will
often be used interchangeably. The purview of this paper is *
Geographically, the territory known in history as Portuguese
India, and * Chronologically, from 1821 when Goa's first
journal was published, until 1961 when Goa ceased to be
Portuguese India.
However, journalist publishing by and for Goans was not
confined to the area known as Portuguese India, but should
include Bombay, which over the years has caught the brunt of
the Goan diaspora. And the world did not end in 1961.
Journalism today is as alive, well and thriving as it was in
the area when it was Portuguese India.
Goa has bragging rights for bringing the first printing press
to India in 1557, but Hickey's Gazette in Calcutta in 1780
was India's first periodical. Goa did not bring one out until
1821.
Joao Nicolau de Fonseca in his history of Goa explains the
reason for this delay:
From a document bearing the date 1754, it appears that
the Home Government was averse to the establishment of
printing-presses in the territory of Goa, either by the
local Government or by private individuals, and that
accordingly, instructions were issued to the then
viceroy, the Count of Alva, recommending the adoption of
stringent measures in the matter. For nearly a century,
this narrow-minded policy was rigidly followed,
regardless of the inhabitants of the settlement, and it
was only in 1821, the same year in which the
constitutional system of Government was introduced, that
a government press was established for the first
time.[1]
Since then, Portuguese India produced approximately 340
serial titles. This includes newspapers, magazines,
government publications, and annual reports of companies and
social organisations. Many of these periodicals are dying a
slow death in the Central Library of Panjim, due to the
humid climate of monsoonal India. Many are utterly lost and
their existence is known only because their titles appear on
someone's list.
A number of these periodicals were exceedingly short-lived.
At least two of them produced only one known issue. Many of
them lasted a year or less.
In his 'Subsidios para a Historia do Jornalismo na Provincias
Ultramarinas Portuguesas', Brito Aranha, writing in 1885
reported that:
The development of the press in the Portuguese colonies
began around the year 1829.... There was an epoch of
resistance in the Homeric period of their definitive
establishment of constitutional government in 1834.
After that it continued with some intermittence in
making itself remarkable available all in Portuguese
India, in Macau and in Angola, the vast regions where
the power and prestige of the Portuguese had to maintain
themselves in their energy and their luster. In the
space of fifteen years, we have counted 150 journals of
which 70 pertain to Portuguese India, 15 to British
India (Bombay), 40 to the four provinces of Portuguese
Africa (19 in Angola) and 24 in Macau and in the British
Asiatic possessions where there are Portuguese families.[2]
The fact of the longevity, or lack thereof, of these journals
begs the question: Porque?
A number of reasons might be given: bad journalistic
management, censorship, lack of advertising support, or,
simply, the lack of readership. But the real cause for the
downfall of numerous journalistic attempts during the
nineteenth century may have been the poor economy of
Portuguese India.
"On the economic front," writes Sarto Esteves in his 'Goa and
Its Future', "the Portuguese rule in Goa is a record of
complete disinterestedness if not dismal failure. There is no
serious attempt to industralize the place or even to
encourage and help people to exploit its natural resources.
Iron and managanese ores which were discovered as early as
1905 would have been sufficient to radically transform the
economic face of Goa." [3]
A significant indicator of the poor state of Portuguese India
may be found in the decision of the government to disband the
army in 1870. Writes Claudio Saldanha in his 'History of
Goa':
For economic reasons, the poor state of the finances
of modern Goa could ill afford such a huge army, whose
upkeep was a heavy drain on the treasury. Besides, one
could also not see why the army was necessary at all,
since all the surrounding territory was subject to the
British, who were age-old allies of the Portuguese [4].
It must be said of journalism in Portuguese India that there
was diversity. In addition to those in Portuguese there were
journals in Konkani, Marathi and English, and there were
political, literary, scientific, legal, historical and
religious journals. There were also periodicals devoted to
women, to sports, to hygiene, to agriculture and even to
satire.
This paper is divided chronologically as follows:
* First Period: 1821 to 1859.
* Second Period: 1859 to 1895.
* Third Period: 1887 to 1932.
* Fourth Period: 1932 to 1961.
THE FIRST PERIOD: In his section, 'The First Journal', da
Cunha tells us that 'Gazeta de Goa' was off to a good start
and was received "with much praise," but that after the death
of its second editor, Luis Prates de Albuquerque, it "became
a vehicle for dissension and animosity until 1826 when the
Junta... issued, on 29 August... a decree ordering th
ecessation of its publication ... on the ground that 'the
government has always gone without the press and without the
'Gazeta' until the unfortunate period of the revolution
[presumably the French Revolution[, and in these disastrous
times it has produced evils, and since the typefaces are
currently unusable, there is no disadvantage in suspending
the 'Gazeta'."' [5]
The 'Gazeta' carried government news such as treasury
accounts and proceedings of the Sentdo de Goa, along with
items from Portugal and international news. Though a
government publication, the 'Gazeta' occasionally attacked
government corruption. When it was shut down, its typefaces
and printing press were confiscated. Thus, there is a picture
of the administrators of the period being fearful of a
Revolution which occurred two or three generations earlier.
Nine years after the demise of the 'Gazeta de Goa' another
official journal appeared in Goa: the 'Chronica
Constitucional', which lasted a little over two years, from
13 June 1835 to 30 November 1837. The journal operated under
government restrictions which prohibited criticism of the
King of Portugal, the Viceroy or others in high position;
however, it campaigned for better representation of Goans in
the Cortes and for better schools.
The 'Chronica' was followed in December 1837 by 'Boletim
Governor da Estado da India' in response to a degree of the
previous December that a bulletin be published by the
secretary of the government.
Both the 'Gazeta' and 'Chronica' were weekly, as was the
'Boletim' which later underwent several name and periodicity
changes and became the longest lasting journal in Portuguese
India. Da Cunha mourned the changes that occurred with the
Boletim after 1899:
From 1899 on... it no longer published its news and
history section, which as its unofficial part made
those pages illustrious, especially in the days of
Cunha Rivara, Eduardo Balsemao and Tomas Ribeiro,
secretaries general... and as such, editors of the
official period who were truly of rare vigor and
admirable literary activity. [6]
In those early days of journalism in Portuguese India there
was little journalistic competition due to the paucity of
journals, and there was little excitement until Joao de Sousa
Machedo, a major in the Mocambique army, brought forth his 'O
Vigilante' in 1838. Sousa Machedo attacked government
officials, and, according to da Cunha, "O Vigilante had the
sympathy of most of the country, but it was not to the liking
of the powerful, and therefore its editor's life was at times
actually in imminent danger."[7]
Although there may have been a certain amount of political
excitement during the early period of Goan journalism, da
Cunha writes:
At this point it is necessary to know what influence
the political press exercised at that time ime the
Goan milieu. We must confess that our impression is that
it must have been profoundly negative. [8]
Until the advent of the private press in Goa the journalists
were often Europeans; however, many indigenous Goans were
becoming journalists of no mean ability. Vimala Devi in her
section on journalism in her work, 'A India Portuguesa',
looks upon the early years of Goan journalism from a
different perspective:
Upon appearing in its modern form in the nineteenth
century, the journal rapidly transforms itself
into a tremendous vehicle for progress and culture.
The ideological arguments of the period naturally
took advantage of its flexibility for the most
ardent controversies in which the destiny of the world
was at stake. In the cultural sector, nothing was out
of reach of the journal -- art, literature, science,
sociology -- and the terrible consequences of
super vulgarization and banalization of culture that
occur today were not yet to be feared. Nevertheless,
even in these heroic beginnings in which the
journal constituted a force of progress and culture,
one cannot afford it any literary merit. Journalism is
always too rushed and superficial for art to exist in
it. Nevertheless, it is not possible to deny the
great "literary" importance of journalism.[9]
THE SECOND PERIOD: As one searches for the defining moment in
the history of journalism in Portuguese India, the date 1859
stands out clearly, for in that year the first private press
was established in Goa. Journalists no longer needed to
publish their periodicals at the Imprensa Nacional in Nova
Goa. A private press was installed that year in Margao, to be
followed by the establishment of presses in Mapusa, Calangute
and Bastora. Tipographia Rangel at Bastora became one of th
emost prolific and illustrious publishing houses of
Portuguese India.
The journal, which inaugurated private journalism in
Portuguese India, was O Ultramar, founded by Bernardo
Francisco da Costa, one of the most illustrious journalists
of Portuguese India. Jaime Rangel in his 'A Imprensa em Goa'
writes:
By the mid-nineteenth century people in Goa already felt
the need to emancipate the periodical press from
official support. The first step given by Bernado
Francisco da Costa, a daring and enterprising spirit,
whose initiative took him to set up, in 1859, in Margao,
a shop where the first weekly journal, with its own
press, released on 6 April of the same year 'O Ultramar'
which, under the da Costas, had remarkable prestige and
a chequered life. [10]
The first issue of 'O Ultramar' was published with Bernardo
Francisco da Costa as editor-in-chief and his brother,
Antonio Anastacio Bruto da Costa, as assistant editor. Eight
years later Bernardo was elected to the Cortes, and Anastacio
took over as director and served in that capacity until his
death in 1911.
The initiation of the first private press is described in
glowing terms by da Cunha.
With the introduction of the first private typography by
Bernardo Francisco da Costa there began in 1859 the most
fertile period of the press and literary progress in
Goa. Typographic publications were rare up to the time,
as they could be printed only on the government press
[Imprensa Nacional] since there were no others. To the
progressive and enterprising genius of Bernardo da Costa
fell the everlasting glory of founding the first journal
on a private typography, 'O Ultramar', having the
advantage of turning out within a short time all kinds
of publications which he produced in great abundance,
giving free rein to literary activity which up to that
point of time had been totally unknown. [11]
In the decades that followed the first issue of 'O Ultramar'
there was a spate of seven journals which were published, one
of which, 'A India Portuguesa', achieved a long, if
on-again-off-again, life:
1. A India Portuguesa, Margao, 1861-1961
2. A Phenix de Goa, Mapusa, 1861-1862
3. A Aurora de Goa, Calangute, 1861
4. A Sentinella de Liberade, Benaulim, 1864-1869
5. Illustracao Goana, Margao, 1864-66
6. Almanac Popular, Margao, 1865-?
7. Jornal de Noticias, Ribandar, 1868-1869
And in the fifty years that followed the first private press
were a number of firsts:
* 1862, the first scientific journal: 'Jornal de Pharmacia e
Sciencias de India Portuguesa'
* 1862, the first journal for women: 'Recreio das Damas'
* 1872, the first Marathi journal: 'Dexassudharanetxu'
* 1872, the first journal with an English section: 'Gazetta
de Goa'
* 1885, the first English newspaper, 'The Times of Goa'
* 1900, the first daily newspaper, 'O Heraldo'
Nineteenth century Portuguese India was peaceful for the most
part, not being scorched as British India was with the Revolt
of 1857. However, there were moments of the tranquility of
the place was interrupted. In 1835, a massacre occurred at
Fort Tiracol, the scene, incidentally, for a slaughter of
'satyagrahis' more than a century later during Goa's last
freedom struggle. In 1852, the Ranes of Satari, headed by
Dipaji, revolted, and in 1870 the army revolted. But the
movement that had serious, if only temporary effect on the
progress of journalism in Goa was the Revolt of the Ranes in
1895.
Time and space do not permit going into detail here
concerning this event, but to summarize: The Revolt was
brought about when Dada Rane led a campaign in support of
Hindu sepoys who objected to being shipped to Mocambique.
In 'O Brado Indiano' one finds the beginning of genuine
Indian protest as indicated in its title. Founded by Antonio
Francisco Xavier Alvares and edited by Bernardo da Silva, it
called upon Goans to go on the attack against the Portuguese
authorities. In one of its editorials in 1895, it cried:
"Spit in the faces of Europeans who call themselves
Portuguese. Drive these beggars out. Viva Independencia."
[12]
THE THIRD PERIOD: The journalistic effect of the Rane Revolt
was the suspension of the publishing for a period of two
years. Thus, the end of da Cunha's second period is 1895, but
the beginning of the third period does not occur until 1897,
when the Conde de Mahem founded 'A Era Novo', that any new
journals would appear in Goa.
This was followed in short order by two journals of varying
subject matter: 'O Portuguez', edited by Francisco Mourao
Garcez Palha, and 'A Athleta', edited by Joaquim Casimiro
Araujo. the former came out in 1897 and the latter in 1899.
However, the major event, which initiated the history of
journalism in Portuguese India in the twentieth century, was
'O Heraldo', founded by Aleixo Clemente Messias Gomes
(1873-1957) and making its first appearance 22 January 1900.
According to Frederick Noronha, a Goan journalist:
'O Heraldo' is still publishing a this writing (31
January 1998]. it switched, in 1983, from being a
Portuguese tabloid paper to being an English-language
daily... at that time, it was claimed to be the only
Portuguese daily to be published in Asia, if one
recalls rightly. But it had to switch languages, since
the number of Portuguese speakers was not growing due
to the lack of education in that language and other
factors. On the contrary, English was being more widely
used. [12]
Messias Gomes directed the journal until 1901, after which a
number of distinguished journalists and writers edited and
contributed to 'O Heraldo', among them: Antonio Maria da
Cunha, F X Sales de Andrade, Zacarias Dias, Alvaro de Santa
Rita Vaz, Amadeu Prazeres da Costa and Evagrio Jorge. Writes
Vimala Devi:
Though 'O Heraldo'... have passed the best Goan
journalists of our century, and it was collaborated
on by the most important writers. Its role in the
social and cultural life of Goa has always been very
important.[14]
Another journalistic light of the twentieth century was Luis
de Menezes (1884-1962) who had founded the Konkani journal
'Amcho Gao' in 1929 as a supplement to his 'Diario da Noite',
which he founded in 1919. 'Diario da Noite' lasted until May
4, 1967 after which he founded a monthly, 'O Globo'.
Another famous journalist of the modern period was Leopoldo
Cipriano da Gama (1843=1920) who collaborated on 'A
Conviccao' and 'A Vida' and participated in many political
controversies of the time. Luis de Menezes Braganza is quoted
as saying of him:
A journalist in the legitimate sense of the word.
Rapidity of mental elaboration, energy of a fighter,
slid and... cutting way with words... His articles
revealed with each step his humanistic education. And
history! How he knew how to evoke it in his luminous and
suggestive international vignettes, in appropriate
parallels, not in the undigested mush of facts, but in
his profound reaching, in his long repercussions. In
polemic he was a jouster, one to be feared. he was the
argument that convinces, the sarcasm that diminishes and
the burst of laughter that disorients. [15]
'O Heraldo' in its early days called for the Indianization of
Goan Christians, and in this placed itself in opposition to
members of clergy who urged Goan Christians to distance
themselves from Indian customs and wearing apparel.
Perhaps the most distinguished of all the journalists of Goa
was Luis de Menezes Braganca (1878-1938), after whom
Instituto Vasco da Gama was renamed. He fought in the
'Nacionalista' and in his own weekly, 'O Debate', and in
'Pracasha' ideals of progress. He was not afraid to take on
the established church or government. writes Vimala Devi:
He was a polemicist of great vigor, of sharpened
irony -- one of the most important figures of Goan
journalism. He was such a dominant figure that when
a wave of anti-Lusitanism swept Goa after the
invasion, it was necessary to change certain
nomenclatures. While it was not enough merely to
suppress the word 'Portuguesa' in the title
'A India Portuguesa', it was his name that arose to
replace Vasco da Gama, producing the Menezes
Braganca Institute. [16]
Menezes Braganca in 1911 founded 'O Debate', perhaps in
celebration of Portugal becoming a republic the previous
year. He also wrote in the Marathi journal, 'Pracasha',
editorials critical of the church and the government.
THE MARATHI JOURNAL: The Marathi journal has a long history
in Portuguese India, dating back 126 years to 1872. The first
Marathi journal, 'Dexassudaranetxu' or 'Desudharanecchu'
(difficult to pronounce for persons not fluent in that
language) is translated into Portuguese as 'Amigo do
Progresso da Patria' and in English as 'Friend of Progress of
the Fatherland'.
It was founded by Atmarama Purxotama Sunctancar. Beginning as
a monthly periodical, its first issue appeared in January
1872 and its last issue of the first series appeared in
September of that year. A second series began March 1, 1877
as a weekly and continued until January of the following
year. Published in Ribandar, it contained a section in
Portuguese. It was critical of the government's educational
policies and, like other Marathi journals, strove to make the
government understand the Hindu community.
A number of short-lived Marathi journals came forth in the
succeeding years, each with sections in Portuguese and each
with Portuguese titles or sub-titles:
* Journal das Novas Conquistas, 1882-1886
* Aryabandhu. Arya Bondu. Irmao Aria, 1885-1886.
* O Goatma. A Alma de Goa: Jornal Dedicadeo a Defensa dos
Interesses Hindus, 1885-1890.
* Govapancho. O Goapancha: Revista Mensal, 1885-1892.
* Gomantac. 1890-1891.
By the time da Cunha wrote his article on journalism in
Portugese India in the early 1920s, over 30 Marathi journals
had been or were being published.
A Glitch occurred early in the twentieth century when "some
extremist in British India tried to wage, in the Marathi
journal... 'Satsang', a campaign of hostility against British
sovereignty, which they could not sustain with impunity in
British territory." [17]
The life span of 'Satsang' was from 1902 o 1922. Founded by
Laxman Padma Bhandari, after 1908, it was edited by
Ramachandra Nayak Kharand Shastry who vigorously championed
the message of the Congress party in British India.
Most of the journalists of Portuguese India have been men,
but some women were outstanding. One of these was
Sarasvatibai Vaidya, editor of 'Prachi Prabha: A Luz do
Oriente', a literary magazine in its second series, which
began in 1921. Her husband, Ramchandra Vaidya had founded the
journal in 1909. Sarasvatibai was the first woman to make her
mark in language and literature in Portuguese India.
The Marathi journal was aimed at the Hindu community of Goa,
and it has been as varied in its output as its counterpart in
Portuguese. 'Govapancho', and 'Goa Punch' in its later title,
was devoted to satire. 'Pathea-Bodh: Instruccoes Higienicas',
was a medical journal, as its title suggests. 'O
Niyaya-Cacxu: Olho da Justica' was a legal journal, 'Halad
Cuncu' was devoted to women, and a number of journals were
dedicated to spiritual or religious concerns.
* Kalikadarshan: Visao de Kalika
* Sudarshan: Disco de Vishnu
* Chitacarxan: O Bem Estar Espiritual
* Hindu-Mat: A Opinao Hindu
There was even a journal for minstrels, 'Gadgadat: A
Trovado', which came out with a single number in 1921 as a
supplement of 'Pragati', and one for barbers, 'Napitoday:
Progresso da Classe Napita'. Many of the Marathi journals
contained sections in Portuguese, but left no space for
Konkani.
THE KONKANI JOURNAL: If the Marathi journal has a long and
varied history, the Konkani journal has one that is longer,
but perhaps not as varied. In fact, the Konkani journal, slow
to appear in Goa, predates many of the journals from
Portuguese India; for the home base of many of the Konkani
periodicals was not Goa, but Bombay.
The first Konkani journal, 'Mensageiro Bombayense', was
published just ten years after Goa's first journal, 'Gazeta
de Goa, and four years before Goa's second journal, 'Chronica
Constitucional de Goa'.
The Konkani periodical titles, if one is searching them in
the da Cunha lists, may be found in those labeled 'Jornais
Publicados em Bombaim, Concanis e luso-concanis'. Da Cunha
begins his list with 'O Concanim', which did not start
publication until January of 1892. However, it may have been
the 19th Konkani journal to have been published.
It is the part of irony that not until early in the twentieth
century did any Konkani journals appear in Goa, Konkani
being, currently, the state language of present-day Goa. Here
are a few titles:
* O Bardezano -- Mapuca, 1904-06. In Portuguese with a
section in Konkani.
* Niz Bharati: O Crente -- Bastora, 1930-31. In Konkani and
Portuguese.
* Vauradeancho ixtt: O Amigo dos Operarios -- Pilar, 1933-?
In Konkani with sections in English and Portuguese.
* Jivit S Juanv Britachem: O Crente -- Pilar, 1947--? In
Konkani, devoted to the life of Joao de Brito.
* A Vanguarda: Seminario Informativo e Doutrino -- Mapusa,
1954-1958. In Portuguese and Konkani.
* Sahitya -- Margao, 1968- In Konkani with Kannada script,
published by the Bharatiy Konkani Sahity Parisad.
It is evident, from the study of Goan journalism, that one of
the languages that comes into play, besides Portuguese,
Marathi and Konkani, is English. The fact is that the
most-read journals in Goa today are those in English.
The first journal to dabble in English in Goa was 'The Times
of Goa', published by Antonio Francisco Xavier Alvares. It
lasted about four years, beginning in 1885. Ten years later
came 'O Liberal', the journal of Aleixo Casimiro Lobo.
Portuguese, English and Konkani, and the first journal out of
Goa to accord any space to Konkani. 1913 'Jornal da India'
had an English section, as did 'A Vida Nova', also a 1913
newspaper. Bombay was much kinder to the English language.
THE FOURTH PERIOD: With the coming to power of Salazar in
1932, press censorship became the order of the day. A decree
of 3 January 1934 required that anything to be published in
Goa must first be submitted to the government for review.
When an attempt was made on the life of Salazar in 1938, all
the newspapers of Goa congratulated him on his escape -- all,
that is, except the Marathi journal 'Pracasha'.
Even 'O Heraldo', which had been founded as an independent
journal, became ardently pro-Portuguese and anti-Independence
in 1948.
A difficult period for journalists in Goa was that which
existed between 1946 and 1961, a time identified with the
movement to bring the blessings of Independence to Goa. Thus
it was that Bombay became the place for "freedom literature"
which was often smuggled into Goa. Some of it was
pamphleteering. The major journals were the 'Goan Tribune',
published between 1956 and 1960 by Aloysius Soares and
Lambert Mascarenhas, and 'Resurge Goa', published by Telo
Mascarenhas. Other periodicals included the 'Goa Tribune' and
T B Cunha's 'Free Goa'. Cunha also brought out a Konkani
newspaper with the title 'Azad Goa', meaning 'Free Goa'.
Freedom fighting journalists who dared to operate in Goa were
subject to imprisonment. The noted crusader, Evagrio Jorge,
was jailed in 1946 and again in 1947, on the latter occasion
for three years.
THE POST-INDEPENDENCE PERIOD: Today English has become the
dominant language of journalism in the former enclaves of
Portuguese India, if the basis of readership. In newspapers
in Goa as follows: [18]
English, 6; Marathi, 4; Konkani, 3; English, Konkani
and Portuguese, 3; English, Konkani and Marathi, 1;
English and Konkani, 1; English and Marathi, 1, and
English and Portuguese, 1.
What is the state of journalism today? This question is
relevant because today's output is the result of 140 years in
which first the Portuguese, and then Goan journalists,
produced over 300 periodicals: some below par, some above
average, and some brilliant.
'Navhind Times', founded in 1962, boasts rightfully of being
the oldest English daily in Goa. It also has the largest
circulation. 'O Heraldo' is the second-largest daily in Goa,
and the third is 'Gomantak Times'. 'O Heraldo', sometimes
referred to simply as 'The Herald', switched in 1983 from
being a Portuguese language tabloid to becoming an
English-language broad sheet.
'Goa Today', a monthly magazine in English, is published by
the Salgaocars, a mining house. It was founded in 1966 by the
noted novelist and freedom fighter, Lambert Mascarenhas.
There are three Marathi newspapers in Goa today: 'Gomantak'
and 'Navprabha', published in Panjim, and 'Rashtramath' from
Margao.
A Konkani daily, 'Sunaparant', is also published in Margao.
Another Konkani newspaper, 'Novem Goem', came out after 1961,
but died, as did two English journals, 'Goan Weekly' and
'West Coast Times'.
In assessing the situation today, Frederick Noronha, who
provided much of the above data concerning post-1961
journalism in Goa, reports that "Goa currently appears to
have a large number of papers for a state with just 1.3
million or fewer inhabitants. But the circulation is small of
most papers, with the largest hovering around 25,000
copies-per-day mark."[19]
It is sad to relate that as of this date the 'Boletim', the
scholarly journal of the Instituto Menezes Braganca, has been
out of circulation for the past year because of conflict
between the Institute and the Government of Goa.
CONCLUSIONS: Most of the journals discussed in this paper
have been weekly newspapers; that is, weekly in the sense
that they came out every seven days, and not weakly meaning
that they were not strong. Some obviously feel under the
second definition because they were so short-lived. More than
one of these produced only one issue.
We know that many of the older journals existed only because
a writer has discovered they existed and has told us so.
Therefore, we are left to depend for our knowledge of them on
secondary sources.
What is appalling to the unsuspecting observer is the journal
titles in a colony ruled by a foreign power. One finds in
this list, as one translates them into English, the spirit of
the French Revolution -- the yearning for liberty, for
justice, for progress, for independence; and, yes, even for
friendship for and affinity with India. Here is a sampling:
Friend of the People, Friend of the Goan People, Democracy,
The Independent, Journal of the People, The Goan People,
Progress, The Progress of Goa, The Periodical of the People,
The Goan People, The Voice of the People and, perhaps most
telling of all, The Sentinel of Liberty.
As for Goa's identification with India, consider: "Bharat
Mitra' (Brother India), The Indian Bulletin, Indian
Civilization, Echo of India, Gazette of India, The Indian,
Journal of India, Reporter of India, The Voice of the People
of India, and, after Independence, 'India Portuguesa'
becomes, simply, 'India'.
But the salient impression that is left after delving into
the world of journalism in Portuguese India is that here was
a people eager to write, to report, to publish, d ultimately
to read the printed word in newspaper, magazine and journals
of every kind: political, scientific, literary, religious,
satirical and scholarly.
e is also left with the felling that the ugly censorship hung
over the heads of journalists during the Portuguese period.
Granted, for many years considerable leeway was allowed
reporters and editorialists, but the threat of the printed
word was something that caused Portuguese administrators and
occasionally high-ranking clergy to have moments of anxiety.
The egregious shutdown of Goa's first journal, 'Gazeta de
Goa', after only five years of its existence and the
confiscation of its printing press might have been a portent
of things to come: the suspension of publication from 1895 to
1897, the censorship of Salazar and the imprisonment of
Evagrio Jorge.
One could rest in a state of euphoria if convinced that
censorship left India with the British and the Portuguese.
Goa is now a part of India, and the ugly tentacles of press
repression still exist in India:
* Witness the period of dictatorial rule imposed by Indira
Gandhi in the 1970s.
* Witness the banning of Salman Rushdie's 'Satanic Verses' by
Rajiv Gandhi.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: The author is indebted to a number of
people who have helped him along the way while preparing this
paper. He acknowledges with thanks Marilena Mattos and Blair
Bateman of the University of Minnesota Spanish and Portuguese
Department for help with translations, Eddie Fernandes and
Frederick Noronha of Goa-Research-Net, Gozago da Gama of the
University of Minnesota and Dr George V Coelho of Bethesda,
Maryland for consultation.
[1] Fonseca, Joao de. An Historical and Archaeological Sketch
of Goa (1878) pp.58-61.
[2] Brito Aranha, Pedro Wenceslau de. Subsidios para a
Historia do Journalismo na Provincias Ultramarinas
Portuguesas (1885) p 2.
[3] Esteves, Sarto. Goa and Its Future. (1966) p 17
[4] Saldanha, Claudio. A Short History of Goa (1957) p 148
[5] Cunha, Antonio Maria da. A Evolucao do Jornalismo na
India Portuguesa in 'A India Portuguesa', v 2, p 507
[6] ibid, p 509
[7] ibid, p 510
[8] ibid, p 111
[9] Vimala Devi. 'Jornalismo' in 'A Literature Indo-
Portuguesa'. (1971) v 2, p 250
[10] Rangel, Jaime. 'A Imprensa em Goa'. (1956) p 50
[11] da Cunha. Op.cit. p 512
[12] Xavier, P.D. "Role of the Press in the Freedom Struggle
in Goa' in Goa Wins Freedom. Pp 94-95.
[13] Frederick Noronha. E-mail correspondence, 31 January
1998.
[14] Vimala Devi, ibid p 253
[15] ibid, p 255
[16] ibid.
[17] ibid p 550
[18] Panandikar, V.A. & Chaudhuri, P.N. Demographic
Transition in Goa and Its Policy Implications, p 28
[19] Noronha, Frederick. E-mail correspondence, 31 January
1998
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Ali, B. Sheik
Goa wins freedom. Bambolim, Goa: Goa University, 1986
(Has article 'Role of Press in the Freedom Struggle in
Goa,' by P D Xavier)
Brito Aranha, Pedro Wenceslau de, 1833-1914
Subsidios para a historia do jornalismo na provincias
ultramarinas Portuguesas. Lisboa: Imprensa Nacional,1885
(Contains comprehensive listing of the early journals.)
Cunha, Antonio Maria da, 1863-1947.
A Evolucao do jornalismo na India Portuguesa.
(In India Portuguesa. 1923. v2; pp 503-594)
Fonseca, Jose Nicolau da
An historical and archaeological sketch of Goa...
Bombay: Thacker, 1878.
(A small section is devoted to journalism.)
Rangel, Jaime.
A Imprensa em Goa. Bastora: Tip. Rangel, 1956
(Contains a list of more than 300 journals in the
Panjim Public Library.)
Scholberg, Henry.
Bibliography of Goa and the Portuguese in India.
New Delhi: Promilla, 1982.
(Contains a list of more than 300 journals in the
Panjim Public Library.)
Vimala Devi.
A literatura indo-portuguesa. Lisboa: Junta de
Investigacoes do Ultramar, 1971.
2 v.; Part II: Antologie, pp 250-258
(Like da Cunha's essay, a standard work.)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The writer is Former Director, Ames Library of South Asia, University of
Minneasota and author of the 'Bibliography of Goa and the Portuguese in
India'. New Delhi: Promilla, 1982.
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