Excellent article, Frederick. In Portugal, only communists really fought against fascist regime. The PCP (Portuguese Communist Party was an underground party and was able to fight Salazar and Caetano. Socialist Party didn't exist (it was founded just in 1973, one year before the revolution). Communists participated in all liberation movements. In South Africa, the South African Communist Party has an important role. Yusuf Daddo, who Presidente during apartheid regime, was of Indian origin... We may not agree with communism but we cannot deny the important contribution of communists and you, Frederick, are well aware of this fact...
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If you received this e-mail in error or without authorization, please notify us immediately by reply e-mail and delete the e-mail from your system; information protected by professional secrecy contained in the Statute of the Bar Association of the Portuguese Republic. Thank you in advance Frederick Noronha <[email protected]> escreveu no dia terça, 19/12/2023 à(s) 14:55: > This thread prompts me to argue that the history of the Left in Goan > politics had hardly been adequately noticed, commented upon or researched. > From the under-the-radar Communist cells in Salazar-ruled Goa (I believe > there were some who were active in the Escola Médico Cirúrgica de Goa, is > that right?) to the post-1961 trade unionists and campaigners. Or, those > among the diaspora and a section of freedom fighters too, and even among > some student activists of the 1970s and 1980s.... > > Then, there was the influence of the Socialist parties as well, which at > one time were big players in pan-Indian politics, especially in North > India. This region is a terrain which has been largely occupied by the > religious hard Right and Hindutva politics in recent times. > > Such groups might not have been dominant players in Goa's politics (unlike > in other ex-Portuguese colonies), but they certainly did make their impact > felt. Read recently some references to the Praja Socialist Party having > helped the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party in their campaign for the first > elections (1963). This was, incidentally, at a time when hardly any > politicians in Goa were aware of how an Indian-style election campaign was > run and contested. The MGP stayed on in power till 1979. > > The article above refers to a time when the parliamentary Left was the > main Opposition in quite a few parts of India. While Goa's politics of the > 1960s has been characterised as "India's first democratic revolution", the > Communists in Kerala shocked the world by coming to power through the > ballot-box. That too, at a time when Nehru and the Congress was > unquestionably holding sway over almost the entire country. (The Goa > election results of 1963 were a shocker for the Congress, but that is > another issue.) > > Quite a few expat Goans -- including those coming from prominent, landed > and affluent ("landlord") families -- were at one time attracted to > Leftwing politics. A few of them went on to play a significant role in > global politics too, such as Tristão de Bragança Cunha, Pio Gama Pinto, > Sita Valles, Aquino de Bragança, and those mentioned on this list just a > few days ago. It was once said that after the Whites left Africa, the > Browns would take over. This seems to be happening in a small way (having > influence far beyond their numbers) though only for a short while. > > The run-up to Goa's anti-colonial struggle could also be interpreted as a > combination/clash between campaigners of the Left and the Right. Since the > Right was not much involved in India's campaign against the British, it was > an opportunity to catch-up on lost time for them too. This strange alliance > also influenced the soft Hindutva politics of the MGP, though over time the > influence of the Left waned here. Not very surprising as Goa's first > generation of post-1961 top political leaders traced their roots to the > capitalist or mercantile class themselves. > > In the 1970s, there was a growth of environmental activism -- which, in a > way, might be seen as a continuation of this trajectory. Of course, then > young leaders like Matanhy Saldanha made it clear that they did not see > their politics as Left-oriented, though others like Christopher Fonseca > very much did.... and still does. > > The influence of Liberation Theology on Goa is also poorly understood. So > is the influence of trends from within progressive Ecumenical groups, on a > religion which had been long known for its Conservatism in Goa. For > instance, some of the tourism critiques, which came to Goa early, were > shaped by the thinking of global Protestant-led tourism critique groups... > Even though the State chose to misinterpret this as attempts by rival > tourist destinations (Sri Lanka or Thailand) to disrupt Goa's tourism > sector, which was indeed far from the truth. > > Like in the rest of India, the parliamentary Left got incorporated within > mainstream or ruling parties. They would find their (mostly honest) leaders > in demand for forming and leading trade unions, but very few citizens would > vote for the same when they contested elections. The Press, which was > mostly connected to mining firms then, was understandably not sympathetic > too. > > Still, this doesn't mean their influence was not without impact. > > FN > > > > -- > 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/CAMCR53%2B3OTgbK%3DfHUjXa%3DFiZX7z7zoaszvKseuJ2ayhYeVWBbQ%40mail.gmail.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/goa-research-net/CAMCR53%2B3OTgbK%3DfHUjXa%3DFiZX7z7zoaszvKseuJ2ayhYeVWBbQ%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- 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]. 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