I do not have experience with being on other internet groups, but on Goanet I find that some who become defensive on an issue resort to all sorts of name calling. Mizeen's comment is as absurd as if someone were to accuse him of being 'fed' by the apologist for Portuguese rule to speak against the CD.
Anyway, to come back to the thread, let me repost my comment which started this thread.
QUOTE
I would like to respectfully disagree with the tone of the editorial in Gomantak Times. History has to be narrated the way it is, and it should not be falsified because some group may find it uncomfortable. The atrocities committed by the Portuguese in Goa, and many other places in the world, did happen. Not talking about them in fact makes things worse as far as the memory of the sufferers is concerned.
In the editorial, a question is posed as follows: "Are scenes of Nazi brutality shown to young Jews?"
The answer is: "No, it is shown not only to the young Jews, but also to all the people, Jews and non-Jews, old and young." And there is a huge holocaust museum where people can see the brutality.
And the ones who are in the forefront of this effort of not forgetting are the descendants of the very people who indulged in the brutality - the Germans. And they do so because it is their way of showing that they distance away from the actions of their ancestors.
Some time ago, a member on this list had posted that the BJP in Goa is asking for the return of the temple sites which were forcibly converted to churches. When I asked when this demand was made, the member did not respond - Fred, after some five days, said that perhaps it was a tounge-in-cheek statement. I found this strange.
The discussion also involved in denial that temples were destroyed. To the credit of many Christians on this list, they provided the list of such destructions. Even then, those who were denying, did not accept the information provided as facts.
The Pope has rightly apologised to the indigenous people in the Americas for the atrocities committed against them in the name of Christianity. The Pope has also rightly apologised to the non-Catholics for the atrocities committed against them in the name of the Roman Catholic Church. Such apologies can happen only when it is accepted that the events did happen.
Many in Japan did not want to teach their children about the atrocities committed by their army during the Second World War. The Chinese and the Koreans are upset about this. And every time a Japanese leader visits China and Korea, he has to make a formal apology for the events. In fact, normal diplomatic relationship between China and Japan happened when Japan made a formal apology. If there was no attempt to denial in the beginning, I do not think that the Japanese leaders would have needed to make the apology time and time again.
I know my Christian friends do not even mildly approve the atrocities. After all their ancestors suffered as much as my ancestors who did not convert. If there are facts in the video, it should be definitely deleted. I myself have not seen it. However, from the tone of the editorial, it would appear to me that the facts are correct.
UNQUOTE
If one were to accept the basic premise of the Gomantak Times editorial, then obviously the world is behaving in an uncivilised manner in asking the Germans to apologise, the indigenous people in the Americas are behaving in an uncivilised manner in asking the Pope to apologise, the Chinese and South Koreans are behaving in an uncivilised manner in asking the Japanese to apologise, etc.
I think a civilised society does not distort the truth of its history because some group may get upset about it. If one were to look at the John Wayne movies of the 1950s, one would have got an impression that the indigenous Americans were a barbaric lot. However, today very few Americans would hold to this view, and efforts have been made to rectify the effort - even to the extent of the government apologising to the community. Similarly, the fact that the Australian government does not apologise to their indigenous people has upset many Australians.
Some members on this list have posed a question as to whether the present day Christians are to be held responsible for the crimes of the Portuguese. This question is valid only if the Christians believe that they are the descendants of the Portuguese. I think the vast majority do not, and so there is no question of asking them to even consider an iota of responsibility.
History is history. Forced conversions took place not only in India but all over the world. The problem is really not when one records the facts, but when one tries to deny them. In this denial one is asked to ignore the suffering of one's ancestors. This is definitely not the way a civilised society behaves.
I will not make any further comments which are not relevant to this thread, or where people are trying to deny the history.
Sachin Phadte.
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