Very well stated, Mr. Cardoso! On Sat, 30 Nov, 2024, 5:52 pm 'Nuno Cardoso da Silva' via Goa-Research-Net, <[email protected]> wrote:
> Unfortunate as it may be, the fact is that religion has more often been a > tool for violence and intolerance, than a tool for peace, love of one > another and tolerance. Much of what we Portuguese did wrong in our colonial > past was due to our fierce attachment to a particular religion. Just like > much of what is being done wrong today in India has to do with a fanatical > approach to religion by far too many people from all religious backgrounds. > > The Portuguese of the 21st century are not psychologically very different > from the 16th century Portuguese. The difference is that we were then > fiercely religious and care today very little about religion. As a result > we find no difficulty in fully embracing in our community Hindus from India > and Nepal, Muslims from Pakistan, Guinea-Bissau and Mozambique, Shiites > from the Ismaelite community, Orthodox Christians from Romania, the Ukraine > and Russia. Most of us demand only two things to accept people as > co-citizens: that they truly want to be part of our community and that they > speak Portuguese. We are in no way superior to the people of India, and I > have no doubt India would be as peaceful and tolerant a nation as we now > are, once you stop being intolerant about people's religious beliefs. One > may believe in God, but maybe one should stop thinking that God has any > preference for any religion. It's what we do which matters, not what we > believe in. Simple, but clearly so difficult to achieve, in Europe as well > as in Asia... > > Nuno Cardoso da Silva > > > *Sent:* Saturday, November 30, 2024 at 6:23 AM > *From:* "V M" <[email protected]> > *To:* "V M" <[email protected]> > *Subject:* [GRN] Manu Pillai: "There are No Heroes or Villains in > History" (O Heraldo, 30/11/2024) > > https://www.heraldgoa.in/cafe/manu-pillai-there-are-no-heroes-or-villains-in-history/416418 > > Religion and politics are an especially volatile mix in South Asia, > cleaved apart so painfully on the basis of religion in 1947, and roiled on > the same lines again in the 21st century, as majoritarianism surges on all > sides of the post-Partition borders. Here in India, the main divide remains > Hindu-Muslim, with painful consequences – from casual intimidation to > ethnic cleansing – playing out in different locations However, in recent > years, Sikhs and Sikhism have also been targeted as “anti-national”, and > Goa has experienced many silly and childish provocations about Catholics > and Catholicism, including recurring absurdities about who can and can’t be > considered Goencho Saib. > > These slurs haven’t yet added up to much, and it would be unwise to > overreact. However, the increasing conflation of myth and history by the > state is an unhealthy trend. As the distinguished political scientist > Niraja Gopal Jayal reminds us: “In effect, it is an attempt to construe > Indian citizenship as faith-based, in consonance with the idea of a Hindu > majoritarian nation, of which Hindus are natural citizens while Muslims, in > this view, properly belong to Pakistan or Bangladesh. Perfecting this > congruence is the object of the new project of citizenship.” > > Catholics in Goa – and Christians in India – have not been primary targets > in this scenario, and in fact Joseph Francis Pereira – a Pakistani of Goan > origin – was one of the first beneficiaries of the new Citizenship > Amendment Act, which allows Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Parsis, Christians and > Buddhists (but not Muslims) from the neighboring countries to become Indian > citizens if they entered before 2014. > > Yet, there are warning signs, as the senior academic Peter Ronald de Souza > shared in a recent column in *Indian Express*: “A few days ago, during an > argument (in a WhatsApp group), I was told to "go back to Portugal". Not > one to take such abuse without a fight, I responded and asked my adversary > to “go back to Afghanistan”. He was outraged. "I’m not from Afghanistan," > he roared. "Well, I’m not from Portugal," I said. Two things come together > in this brief exchange that are worth thinking about. My name and his > outrage. For him I was obviously the outsider and, equally obviously, he > was the insider. Both for him were self-evidently true. In this exchange, > my argumentativeness faced his righteous anger. He said he was confronting > me because I was evil. That we went to school together more than half a > century ago did not matter.” > > Palpably upset, de Souza writes “I must honestly admit I was surprised at > the vitriol. What began as a discussion on an Indian festival, soon > descended into a toxic spat watched by others who, in their silence, > appeared to endorse his views that it was inadmissible for me to talk about > things Indian, especially Indian culture. What did I know? And who was I > anyway? An Indian on probation! Now I know what Draupadi must have felt in > the assembly when she asked the custodians of dharma her question. They did > not answer. They remained silent.” > > “Who belongs? Who does not belong? What kind of state is being > re-engineered by Hindu nationalism, and where did the historical impetus > come from?” Precisely when it is needed most to help address these > questions, Manu Pillai’s lucid, brilliant new *Gods, Guns and > Missionaries: The Making of the Modern Hindu Identity *is an invaluable > primer on India’s encounter with Western colonialism, and “the context in > which Hindu nationalism – Hindutva, so dominant now in India – found its > *raison > d'être*. [It is] a survey of 400 years at most – a span that supplies the > historical setting and much of the emotional stimulus empowering > present-day Hinduism.” > > All serious students of Goan history are strongly urged to read Gods, Guns > and Missionaries for the way it begins alone, a deft and masterly treatment > of colonialism and conversion in the Estado da Índia. This brave young > author – he was born in 1990 – pulls no punches, but also refrains from > cheap shots. This clear-eyed, sure-footed approach is both refreshing and > absolutely required, because the subject is such a potent mix of history, > religion and politics. Here is just one passage, for flavour: “the > Portuguese came into everyday contact with Hindus, armed with scarce > knowledge but copious pre-judgement. The encounter took barely a generation > to turn violent. One factor was that the colonizer’s rigid religiosity had > grown stiffer still in reaction to the anti-Catholic Reformation occurring > in Europe. That is, with the emerging Protestant movement accusing the > Catholic church of perverting the faith, Catholic powers had a special > necessity to demonstrate unequivocal Christian credentials. And here, their > newly acquired Indian enclaves offered a parade ground, packed as they were > with devil-worshipping pagans.” > > To be sure, all this is familiar ground to historians, but serious > scholarship about these episodes is almost never knitted together, > understood or presented with as much panache and storytelling flair as *Gods, > Guns and Missionaries*. Via email, Pillai told me that “history in our > country--and perhaps elsewhere too--is not merely a rational, academic > inquiry into the past. It is an emotional, political affair. My very first > book invited a Rs 5 crore defamation notice, so I know the risks and perils > involved in presenting complexities from the past. In this context, > historicising religious identities can provoke all kinds of responses. "The > truth" pales here in comparison with how people interpret history to create > "their truth" in the present or as groups; to find meaning by reading > history a certain way. This is true of all communities and identities > everywhere in the world. But today we are also seeing an active cultivation > of animosity by exacerbating elements of divergence in these narratives. > So, when writing a book on modern religious identity formation, yes there > is a fear that some of its contents can be hijacked. Similarly, one can > also be "cancelled" by different sides for not reinforcing their respective > ideological positions. One chapter in the book might annoy the Left and > please the Right. Another might achieve the reverse. But this is the risk > of doing what I do today. One can't do history if worried about reactions. > Even when one is aware of the risks involved in these reactions.” > > As the topic is especially relevant in this Exposition year, I asked > Pillai what to make of the paradox of “Saint” Francis Xavier – an > unstinting zealot who believed in the superiority of his faith – becoming > converted after death into an all-inclusive Indian holy man, who is > addressed by pilgrims from every religion to answer their prayers. He > responded thoughtfully: "We must always view historical figures in their > time and context. Xavier and his proselytising work stemmed from a vision > of the world that emerged from his cultural background, the history of his > part of the world, his education etc. The responses of his brown > interlocutors were also similarly influenced. There is also in this > equation the political power of the Portuguese and their own imperial > goals, which skewed the field in favour of one side over another. We should > be able to speak of this transparently while also recognising that > historical dynamics also evolve and change. The same Portuguese state's > attitudes shifted over time; the memory of Xavier and his work also > changed. These too are real historical processes. History is full of > contradictions. In the battle between "sides" today we can lose sight of > this. There are no heroes and villains in history. Often the same > characters in different contexts can look heroic or villainous, depending > on the prism, the location of the viewer, and so on.” > > Pillai acknowledges that it is difficult to have honest and open > discussions about historical-religious-political issues in India at the > moment, but they must occur nonetheless: “I think conversations help. > Remember that outside of certain political constituencies, most human > beings can take a sensible view of things. It is this mature, reasonable > tendency that must be cultivated. By reacting to others, and their setting > of the terms, we play into their game. Instead, we must engage in dialogue, > speak of Xavier the complex, sometimes "negative" figure while also > recognising the equally historical phenomenon of Xavier as he came to be > recognised and reinterpreted in these same communities, not just by > Catholics but also Hindus. I always say that most things in history are not > a case of "either/or". The word we must embrace is "and". But this is > admittedly easier said than done. I don't know if I have a solution other > than dialogue, and engagement in good faith.” > > > -- > 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, visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/goa-research-net/CAN1wPW65jLiSwu-Zp-NFhDSLJ40Lp4Ua_5KH2urrQdBm2Lhxng%40mail.gmail.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/goa-research-net/CAN1wPW65jLiSwu-Zp-NFhDSLJ40Lp4Ua_5KH2urrQdBm2Lhxng%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]. > To view this discussion, visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/goa-research-net/trinity-9fad9968-f92c-46e7-9502-353eb886cd1c-1732968621731%403c-app-mailcom-bs07 > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/goa-research-net/trinity-9fad9968-f92c-46e7-9502-353eb886cd1c-1732968621731%403c-app-mailcom-bs07?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Goa-Research-Net" group. 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