Dear Goanet Readers: I have been member of Goanet for over a week, and I do see a trend that leads me to ask following question: Why are we as Goans bashing Portugal, instead of accepting the historical facts without living in past?
Portugal , yes it was a colonial power and yes , India invaded Goa in 1961 and did not give a choice to Goans. Were Goans asked if they want to join the Indian Union , were actual plebiscite done? India like any modern state exhibits double standards. I see these double standards in daily dealings with India's minority dealings. Muslims and Catholics are often marginalized. Where is the secularism of India when it comes to Ayodhya Babri Masjid issue. Well, the Archaelolgical Survey of India can not tell in certaintly if actual temple existed. Now back to Goa, I think we as Goans must stand united in order to preserve our language, culture and religions. Indians from other parts of country are rampantly settling in Goa, buying our land. Where is the united voice needed for the preservation of our cultural heritage and historical identity. Why people are bashing Portuguese for their Evangelism? Jesuits as a matter of fact our codifyed the konkani language, if not for them who knows? We would have been speaking sister language of Marathi? Yes, there were forced conversions...and yes there was a willing acceptance. Hinduism as we claim to be original religion with all its bigotry and castes was also brought by Aryans with their Vedas. So what right we have to bash Portuguese? Please be united in our cause of helping Goa and its plight. Yes, Goa was handed on plate by Portugal in 1974. Yes, Portuguese like Vassalo e Silva protected Panaji from its doom, while suffering in Salazar's Prision. Was he awarded any Presidential award by India? One must do the reality check, before bashing Portugal. I am not Portuguese, and I am not Catholic. I am Hindu and I am ashamed of Hindu bigots using religion to advance their own material purposes in todays so called Secular India. Rui Collacao please continue to express your feelings about the issue of Indianization of Goa...This is a charm of democracy. Please never stop expressing your opinions on this forum. You see that I am amazed by the fact that Goans bash Goans.Well that is called multiplicity of opinions. Only one request, please do not attack person, but tackle the issue... Namaste, Kind Regards, Liladhar Pendse USA __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free, easy-to-use web site design software http://sitebuilder.yahoo.com ########################################################################## # Send submissions for Goanet to [EMAIL PROTECTED] # # PLEASE remember to stay on-topic (related to Goa), and avoid top-posts # # More details on Goanet at http://joingoanet.shorturl.com/ # # Please keep your discussion/tone polite, to reflect respect to others # ##########################################################################
