Am still searching for links on this topic, as there seem to be gaps in understanding Goan history. There are pointers to FreeMasonry in Portugal and some other colonies, but finding links to Goa itself seems a bit of a challenge. Yet, we do know that some of the prominent writers of, say, the 1920s (such as Antonio de Noronha) came from this side of the ideological spectrum. It would be fair to say it influenced their perspective, their writing and even the subsequent debates in Goa, some that continue till this day.
Closer to the 1940s (even a bit before) and before 1961, many of the critics of Portuguese colonialism in Goa were influenced by the global Left (Tristao braganca Cunha and many of the dozen-and-half freedom fighter groups too) or the Indian extreme religious Right (Priolkar, Lawande, etc). But, the ideological moorings of the thought leaders from periods before that in Goa are clearly yet to be understood. There is some confusion because of the original links of Free Masonry with Scotland and British colonialism, but available scholarship does point to its links with the Portuguese (and French) colonies too. The secrecy of the Freemasons is a thing of the past, and today they have online references to their activities in Ramnathi, Margao or Porvorim. But in the past, it was more or less a secret society, with its records and membership lists not accessible, much like the RSS has been for much of its existence. Given the role that Freemasons played in influencing the overall Indian discourse (among those claimed to be Freemasons in India are Motilal Nehru, the Maharaja of Patiala, ex-President Frkruddin Ali Ahmed, the Nawab of Rampur, Masoor Ali Khan Pataudi, the Maharaja of Kapurthala, olympian Dhyan Chand, the Maharaja of Bikaner, the now famous and politically supported Swami Vivekananda, the first President of India Dr Rajendra Prasad, the last Governor General of India Dr C Rajagopalachari, the Indian industrialist of the British Raj Sir Dorabji Jamshedbhai Tata, cine star Ashok Kumar, the Maharaja of Scindia, Madhav Rao Scindia, nobleman and art collector from Hyderabad-Deccan Nawab Salar Jung, among others https://rglni.org/well-known-freemasons/ ) it would be indeed surprising if this group was wholly absent from shaping the history of Goa. There are vague references about Freemasons competing with the Church, as rival centres of power. The Pilar Seminary Museum page [ https://pilarmuseum.org/portuguese-conquest/] talks about "Freemasons and atheists" being behind the expulsion of the Jesuits and religious Orders in the 18th and 19th centuries. But not much else. Would be grateful for any pointers that refer to such ideological trends specifically in a Goan context. Thanks, FN On Tue, 7 Nov 2023 at 03:46, Frederick Noronha <[email protected]> wrote: > Am just curious to know what was the role of Free Masons, if any, in > pre-1961 Goan politics. Was Freemasonry influential in Portuguese > mainstream politics at some point in time, including during the Republic? > Has any study been done, especially in the context of the colonies? Thanks > for any pointers you could offer. FN > -- > > FN * +91-9822122436 * 784 Saligao 403511 Bardez Goa > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Goa-Research-Net" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/goa-research-net/CAMCR53LF2fF6o4w0WUrYt01AYoHjqBAJq%3DQUjBOtsN1GizJ97w%40mail.gmail.com.
