I find the argument in Adv. Radharao Gracias' article entitled "A Goan First" in Herald to be unconvincing and absurd. I have pointed out some of the errors in fact and logic below. His article can be accessed at this link:
http://www.heraldgoa.in/Edit/Opinions/A-Goan-first/78350.html QUOTE Goans, were the subjects of the Bahamani sultan, until the Portuguese defeated Adil Shah and replaced the Bahamanis on 25.11.1510, at the “invitation” of the local people, under the leadership of Thimaya Naik. UNQUOTE …..Adv. Radharao Gracias According to the above quote, and from the rest of the article Adv. Radharao appears to be claiming that we are Goans first because of political and historical reasons. But the funny thing is his history of Goa begins with the Bahamani Kingdom and the conquest of the city of Goa on 25.11.1510. But recorded historical facts tell us that Goa, as we know it today did not exist as a whole or as a unified state with the current political boundaries either during the Bahamani times or in 1510. Only the city of Goa or the island of Tiswadi was conquered by the Portuguese in 1510. Why would a person from Canacona be called a Goan on this basis? Moreover, if this is the basis for me as a native of Tiswadi to be called a Goan then why can I not be called a Central Indian since the Bahamani kingdom stretched over a vast region of Central India, or a South Indian because before the Bahamanis, my ancestor’s homeland Ela and my father’s and grandfather’s birth place Chimbel were part of the South Indian kingdom of Vijayanagar? Indeed Goa with its present political boundaries did not exist before 1788. And by the way, if we go by political boundaries and historical precedents then the first kingdom to rule parts of Goa was that of Bhojas as early as 500 or 600 B. C. E. The Bhoja kingdom also stretched to large parts of Central India. QUOTE And the final question: Are we geographically Indians? The answer is a huge ‘Yes’. We are part of the landmass that constitutes the Indian Sub Continent and all parts obviously come together. UNQUOTE …..Adv. Radharao Gracias This should settle the question of why most Goans call themselves Indian, but Adv. Radharao has conveniently left out an important reason for the fact that we are Indian, namely genetics. Every single one of us is genetically most closely related to other Indians. Our ancestors populated our lands i.e. Tiswadi, Bardez, Salcette, Ponda, Satari, Canacona, etc. after migrating from other parts of India during prehistoric and historic times. So we are unquestionably genetically Indian. Several molecular genetic studies have now established this fact, including one in which I was a facilitator and a research subject. QUOTE And in case any part comes ahead of the others then it must be Pakistan which is the cradle of ancient Indian Civilisation (Harappa and Mohenjo Daro). And the river Indus, which gave the country its name, runs through that country. UNQUOTE …..Adv. Radharao Gracias The Indus Valley Civilization extends from the north of Delhi in the north and east to Gujarat in the south and almost to Iran in the west. Two of its largest cities are in Gujarat, namely Dholavira and Lothal. Please see: http://asi.nic.in/asi_exca_2007_dholavira.asp for Dholavira excavation. So the above claim of Adv. Gracias is erroneous and pointless. QUOTE And above all Taxila generally acknowledged to be the forerunner of all universities in the world, is also in that country. It is the university that gave us, Chanakya the political analyst, Charaka the father of Ayurveda, and Panini the grammarian, all of whom are considered to be our icons. UNQUOTE ……Adv. Radharao Gracias It is unclear how the above facts dictate whether or not we are Indian. All they say is that some of our ancient Indian culture and knowledge originated in a place of learning that is now located in Pakistan. Indeed if we go back further some of it might have originated in Ukraine or Turkey or Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan or Tajikistan, the route thought to be followed by Chanakya’s, Charaka’s and Panini’s predecessors. Several other universities or places of higher learning were located in India, such as Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh and Nalanda in Bihar where Chanakya was born. QUOTE To conclude, there ought to be no doubt that we are Goans first and always and are Indians as a consequence of what the Supreme Court says: “True annexation by conquest and subjugation”. And the legislation that followed. UNQUOTE ……Adv. Radharao Gracias The above statement makes no sense from the standpoint of what I have just said. There is no ancient historical or political precedence that compels us to call ourselves Goans. The only reason we are called Goans is because we come from parts of the Indian subcontinent that were lumped together under the current political boundaries by conquest and annexation by the Portuguese in 1788, and later by conquest and annexation by the Republic of India, reconstituted now as the state of Goa. Please note though that the Portuguese themselves called these conquered parts Estado da India. So go figure! Cheers, Santosh
