This is just a quick note to say that I too have been intrigued by Antonio's view on the query you raised about the "twice born."
I have been in touch with Antonio Mascarenhas for some time on email as he and I share an utter repugnance regarding Catholic Goan caste belief and practice. Indeed, I hope to send a substantial post to Goanet on this issue as soon as I have some spare time.
However, while we should let Antonio reply to your query, my interpretation/understanding of Antonio's position is that there were no 'true' Brahmins i.e those twice born as per Hindu mythology/belief, who became Catholics through conversion by the Portuguese. Thus, I think he is saying that the Catholic Brahmin hegemony in Goa, is fraudulently 'taken' by the non twice born Brahmins. We do need to note, of course, the many fine gradations among the Brahmins themselves, in India. The matter in my view, is made even more fraudulent when some crooked and undeserving progeny of the "twice born" have taken it for granted that they rightly 'inherit' the privileges of the original twice born, thus unwittingly taking on all the ramifications and properties of the concept of racism as now understood scientifically and internationally.
I would not be surprised at Antonio's view because when people from India took caste as part of their baggage to work in far flung parts of the British, Portuguese and other European empires, there were many rackets about all this caste humbug. I recall Naipaul, for instance, who refers to those (perhaps in his, An Area of Darkness) who were taken to Trinidad as indentured labour, after the black slaves who got their freedom refused to work on the sugar plantations. And incidentally, the plantation owners imprisoned many such ex-slaves on trumped up charges to thus obtain free labour for as long as possible. Naipul noted that the Indian and mainly Hindu replacement labour had included many charlatans who suddenly professed to being of the Brahmin caste when they were clearly not so. This was a hegemonic manoeuvre or process which worked where there were no fellow geographical or neighbourhood Hindus from India who would have known the truth of course. This has happened elsewhere, including London, fortunately, with relatively little success, especially as those labelled as lower caste Hindus and now invariably educationally and economically successful, generally give a damn about caste hegemony, in dense urban settings, thousands of miles away from caste infected India/Goa.
Likewise, a few Catholic Goans, I know, who have failed academically and in career progression in highly competitive London, have resorted to an ascriptive Brahmin appendage, in the final analysis, to salve their egos. However, such sods, fool nobody in the Goan Catholic community here.
Clearly, it would be helpful for a reply from Antonio Mascarenhas regarding your query.
Cornel DaCosta (London)
