Fred--
The question is more complex than I had realized when I dashed off that
little note about the thinking in Goa of our older folks (including my
grandmother) with the reference to Manoj Raikar's concerns. I am surprised
that it did not elicit more comment besides yours and Elizabeth's. When I
was growing up in Goa it was apparent to anyone with a pair of eyes of the
obvious divide and acceptance of that condition by both sides; and there
must be a soul or two at least in this forum who have had an experience akin
to mine.
Fast forward to the present. I was invited to be on the managing committee
of our local Goan Associaion in New York and in retrospect it was a huge
mistake to have acepted the assignment. When it was time for the yearly
election of a new committee a Hindu gentleman whom I had sponsored to the
committee decided to run for president and asked for my support which I
offered without hesitation. He was also encouraged by others on the
committee who were Catholics. As became apparent later with the exception
of one other it was just a veneer, if you know what I mean. When word got
around that this gentleman was in the running for pesident, all hell broke
loose. There were phone calls and private confabulations and the concern
among the community was "how can we have a konknno for president!" And the
then president who had encouraged the Hindu was himself up front canvassing
for the office for himself and spearheading the effort to smear. A meeting
was called by the now expresident and his cohorts (to be followed by a
picnic) where a new self-serving constitution was railroaded without proper
procedures and the necessary quorum. When questions were raised about the
procedures or lack of them, members, including myself, were shouted down
with expletives and threatened with physical assault. The proceedings were
rushed and a new Catholic defrocked priest installed as president! The
proceedings at the meeing and subsequent picnic are well chronicled in a
report from one Joy Braganza on Goanet. So the matter of trust and veracity
remains in question; I have also been falsely accused in this forum and
another by an ostensible Hindu, as being the author of that report --which
incidentally, is quite innocuous although this person who uses the pseudonym
Joy Braganza has a reputation for being a vicious character assassin in the
past. False accusations such as the one made against me does not exactly
engender trust and confidence and remove barriers.
I do wish to reiterate the need for reconciliation and a retreat from
smugness -- but the question remains, will it ever happen?
Chris
----- Original Message -----
From: "Frederick [FN] Noronha" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, March 28, 2006 7:25 AM
Subject: Re: [Goanet] Goan 'Kokno' used derogatorily
In theory, the word "Konknno" means "from the Konkan". So the term should
apply for all of us. But that's not the way it works.
In reality, a number of Konkani words have strong pejorative, class, or
demeaning connotations. For instance: poder (not just a baker), Gaudo
(I've heard this word used almost like a swear-word at the assembly, after
a journalist was threatened with a breach-of-priviledge action), Bamon
(not just a caste-name), Bardezkar (not just someone from a particular
locality), kharvi (not just a fisherman, but all the connotations of
class... any wonder why some young lad would prefer to work as a hotel
waiter instead?) etc...
What Chris talks about below also probably has a lot to do with class.
There was a time when Hindus in Goa were (except for a tiny, rich
business-landlord elite) largely socio-economically poor. There are
probably reasons for this. Robert S Newman, the Marblehead-based
anthropologist, says Hindus were disallowed from even holding a simple
schoolteacher's job in the government till the Portuguese (more
egalitarian) Republican Revolution of 1910. Hindu out-migration (abroad)
didn't happen in large numbers as among the Catholics too.
(I think Theo or some other historians have however also written about the
Hindu control of the colonial economy; but this of course did not cover
the majority of community. On the other hand, one also needs to point to
certain post-1961 trends where certain governments such as Kakodkar's and
Parrikar's sought to continue the old policy of discrimination ... but in
reverse. The issue of minority employment in government, specially in some
departments like the Police, are matters of largely-unaddressed concern
today.)
Anyway, that is another point....
Chris, was I mistaken when I read a trace of the suggestion that the
"mistrust" of your grandmum and her "compatriots" was somehow justified?
In my view, all communities in Goa, as in other parts of our complex
subcontinent, tend to have stereotypes about each other.
These steroetypes are, as the Xavier's Institute of Communication said in
a fascinating training kit against stereotypes, were "partly true and
wholly false".
There's no need for us to feel smug about this. FN
Chris Vaz chrisvaz at optonline.net
I would dare to suggest that the appellation "konknno" belongs to a
bygone
era when there was mistrust between Hindus and Catholics in Goa. My
grandmother (may she RIP) and her compatriots would never trust Hindus
even
though on the surface they appeared to be cordial, engage in commerce,
and
would caution us not to believe or consort with Hindus.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Frederick Noronha 784 Near Convent, Sonarbhat SALIGAO GOA India
Freelance Journalist TEL: +91-832-2409490 MOBILE: 9822122436
Skype/Yahoomessenger: fredericknoronha www.bytesforall.net
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