Dear Sir, I fully agree with you, such happenings are common in most villages and cities and towns in Goa. Our elders and church leaders in fact encourage these happenings.
It is happening in Carmona, Salcete, Goa. Regards Tony Fernandes Message: 1 Date: Sun, 10 Sep 2006 22:44:25 -0400 From: "Roland Francis" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [Goanet] The PurpleYellow Confraria of The Cansaulim Church To: goanet <[email protected]> Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed I am rather surprised that Joegoauk being associated with the Church (is it the Cansaulim one?) for 20 years has done nothing about the confraria processions at Church festivities. If the Kunnbis have taken the white, Sudras blue and Chardos and Gaumcars red, I would have taken a chance on the purple. I would have marched behind the three and worn a long gold decorated cape with the words Gonadian Knight written on it. Who knows, they might have thought a new Papal Order has been brought into existence and wondered which caste I was. After much debate (read fights), I might have been given the life size statue and coffin to carry, being the neutral confraria. Mind you, both being too heavy to carry, I would have, with great pomp and circumstance, transferred the statue to the Kunnbis (they have the muscle), the cross to the Sudras (they are always given the thankless tasks) and some important-looking scroll to the Gaumcars (being Gaumcars they are always looking for titles to land in the gaunv). As for the fights going on at such solemn occasions, what's new about it? Shastikars are always fighting, no matter what. At the village social it's "my wife didn't get the patties", at the village school it's "my son didn't get the front desk " and at the village market it's why did they get the bigger crabs?" If fights didn't happen at the village Church, it would have surprised everyone. Joegoauk writes: It's true such caste system do exist even now among the catholics. Some churches/administrators are the worst. Few years ago, certain churches had 3 different type/colour confrad/opmus ? White Top for Gauddi, Blue Top for Sudras and Red top for Chardies & Gaumcars. I remember my friend from Cansaulim telling me that in their church, on Good Friday, they use to take out procession of the life size image of Christ/Coffin carried out and this was done traditionally by the Gaumcars only. Many years ago, people from other cast demanded to know as to why only them and not us ? Fight broke out and since then there is no procession and the poor Jesus Christ Image stays there closed all these years. Partly opened for public veneration on very first Friday of the month I think. And what more ? Such caste system even exist amongst the catholic priests themselves. As me, I have been associated with the church for 20 years. ------------------------------ Message: 2 Date: Sun, 10 Sep 2006 20:19:20 -0400 (EDT) From: Mervyn Lobo <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: [Goanet] Of rats, Gabe ... and the RAF To: "Goa's premiere mailing list, estb. 1994!" <[email protected]> Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 "Frederick \"FN\" Noronha" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > From Gabe, I learnt that he was a currency trader > in his earlier days. Oh wow, I thought, instantly. A Goan George Soros! A pang of gilt ran through my mind, as I multi-tasked and felt guilty about not having completed the book on George Soros loant to me by a friend. Since George Soros and me share similar biases as regards Open Source (except that I prefer the more radical Free Software idea), one will avoid > saying anything nasty about him here... on how he > crashed the UKP, or whatever. FN, George Soros did not crash the UKP. No individual is capable of doing so. The only people capable of crashing a currency are politicians. All Soros did was bet that the UK had an idiotic monetary policy. Soros currently has a massive position against the USD (for similar reasons.) > Now give > us all some tips on how every Goa netter can > become a millionaire, will you? If you are asking Gabe for tips, you better ask for tips on how to become a multi-millionaire. You may be surprised on how many millionaires there are on Goanet. And since I cant resist this, some of these millionaires do not have a God to thank. Mervyn3.0 __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Message: 3 Date: Mon, 11 Sep 2006 01:07:07 +0100 (BST) From: JoeGoaUk <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [Goanet] St Francis Xavier (Last day of the exposition with procession etc) Video Clip - II To: [email protected] Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Dear all, This could be you good souvenir as home video. No photgraphy or videography allowed now. Please pass this on to others too. Thank you. Video Clip part II (NEW) http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8301676772164572901&hl=en Last Day Read more on life of St. Francis Xavier here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Xavier Previous Video Clip (Part I) http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7122484059933678440&hl=en se Cathedraal Other Photos On SFX/Old Goa http://www.flickr.com/photos/joegoauk4/193348915/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/joegoauk4/193342907/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/joegoauk4/193347570/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/joegoauk4/193341921/ Did you know ? Over 107 viewed the Part I Clip in just less than 2 days. [EMAIL PROTECTED] for Goa & NRI related info... http://in.groups.yahoo.com/group/GOAN-NRI/ Konkani Songs, Goan Photos, Tiatr/Film VCDs, Bank interest rates etc etc (for updates etc click below) http://in.groups.yahoo.com/group/GOAN-NRI/files/ ___________________________________________________________ To help you stay safe and secure online, we've developed the all new Yahoo! Security Centre. http://uk.security.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Message: 4 Date: Sun, 10 Sep 2006 23:51:00 -0400 From: Oscar & Hazel Lobo <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [Goanet] Melbournian Goans set themselves for massive celebrations on World Goa Day To: [email protected] Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Melbournian Goans set themselves for massive celebrations on World Goa Day People of Goa and their friends in Melbourne are preparing themselves to celebrate their fourth annual celebration namely World Goa Day scheduled to take place on 30 September 2006. This year's theme is to uphold their mother tongue "Konkani" and yet blend in the multicultural landscape of Merlbourne. According to Oscar Lobo, one of the organisers, "many people had missed out on last year's event due to limited number of seats at St. Anthony's Hall". To ward off such an eventualirty this year, the World Goa Day organisers have chosen Kingston City Hall, Nepean Highway, Moorabbin, which can accomodate a larger number of guests. For those who missed out on last year's carnival and others who wish to join in the celebrations of this year, can contact one of the organisers named below. The event is a Formal Dinner Dance with a renowned 9 pcs band 'Replay 6 with Sandra', who have promised a fantastic night, together with a colourful goan folk dance, delicious buffet provided by Silver Platter and a night of the warm Goan hospitality - a great night out for the whole family. For tickets, contact, Johnny Fernandes 97111533 / 0404 817533 or Salus Correia 97618531 / 0411 126624 or Oscar Lobo 95639918 / 0404 848345 ------------------------------ Message: 5 Date: Sun, 10 Sep 2006 21:55:45 +0300 From: "domnic fernandes" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [Goanet] AICHEA DISAK CHINTOP - Setembrachi 11vi, 2006! To: [email protected] Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed Viddi voddun tujea jivitacho dunvor korinakai. (Don't turn your life into smoke by cigarette-smoking.) Moi-mogan, Domnic Fernandes Anjuna/Dhahran, KSA _________________________________________________________________ Don't just search. Find. Check out the new MSN Search! http://search.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200636ave/direct/01/ ------------------------------ Message: 6 Date: Sun, 10 Sep 2006 23:33:13 -0400 From: Succour Heredia <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: [Goanet] Its time now to evict Big Brothers from the house of Goa Assembly - Some guidelines To: [email protected] Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 What Portugal????? I hope u know, Portugal is on the verge of Bankruptcy as opposed to India's blooming economy. It's time u wake up and accept India. Succour Heredia Dear Goan, let fight for Portugal, freedom had end name of India, Now c what is happen in india, c our Beautiful Goa no more let all beat the ministers send then to Portugal n let live the old life with Portugal. welcome Portugal to India Nerhu is no more..... viva Portugal Yours konkani lovers stephen fernandes muscat/Divar ------------------------------ Message: 7 Date: Sun, 10 Sep 2006 23:37:06 -0400 From: Herman D'Souza <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: [Goanet] Festachim Porbim CHINCHONKARANK To: [email protected] Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Hi Eddie Firstly thank you very much for your wonderful konkani songs. I enjoy listening to each and every single konkani song that you have sent to me also send if you have songs from C. Alvares (duets - C. Alvares was the King of Duets), Remo Fernandes, S. Lemos (good moral songs), etc. On Friday at St. Josephs church Wembley there was a Konkani Mass presided by Fr. Britto and two other priests. I was surprised to see that the church was almost full with konkani speaking people from Wembley London. SAIBINMAECHEM PORBIM - BOU FEST I remember the feast being celebrated in Bandra Bombay from Sunday to Sunday for one whole week with throngs with people coming there from all over Bombay. kind regards Herman D'Souza --- Edward Verdes wrote: > Sogleam Chinchonkarank Khoxeal borit Monte > Saibinichem fest aumdetam. > (Wishing all Chinchonkar Happy Feast ) ------------------------------ Message: 8 Date: Sun, 10 Sep 2006 16:30:02 -0700 From: Goanet News Service <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [Goanet] Goa news for September 11, 2006 To: [email protected] Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Goa News from Yahoo! News and Goanet.org Visit http://www.goanet.org/newslinks.php for the full stories. *** Goa set to be gambler's paradise (NDTV Profit) Ten new offshore casinos and Goa is set to become a gambler's paradise but casino companies are already asking for more. http://www.ndtvprofit.com/homepage/storybusinessnew.asp?template=&whichstory=n&id=33363 *** Cong chants satyagraha (Deccan Herald) With the BJP deciding to cash in on the Vande Mataram controversy by making it one the main planks of the partys campaign during the forthcoming assembly elections in five states “ Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Punjab Goa, and Manipur “ the Congress has planned a new strategy. http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/sep112006/index212512006910.asp *** UB venture harvesting rainwater to tackle Goa water crisis (The Hindu) PANAJI: United Breweries Ltd, Goa, a venture of Mr Vijay Mallya-led UB group, is harvesting rainwater in the state to tide over water crisis. "Scientific rainwater harvesting has helped us to cope with the water demand. http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/businessline/blnus/27091406.htm *** UB venture harvesting rainwater to tackle Goa water crisis (New Kerala) Panaji, Sep 9: United Breweries Ltd Goa, a venture of Vijay Mallya-led UB Group, is harvesting rainwater in the state to tide over water crisis. "Scientific rainwater harvesting has helped us to cope with the water demand. http://www.newkerala.com/news4.php?action=fullnews&id=19224 *** Goa govt not keen to have too many casinos: Rane (The Economic Times) PANAJI: Soft-peddling the issue of setting up of off-shore casinos, the Goa government has said that they were not keen to have too many of them in the state. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1970168.cms *** Goa approves pension liability fund (New Kerala) Panaji, Sept 8: Injecting fiscal reforms in the system, Goa cabinet approved creation of pension liability fund with a provision of Rs 135 crore for the current financial year. http://www.newkerala.com/news4.php?action=fullnews&id=18632 *** Goa govt not keen to have too many casinos: Rane (New Kerala) Panaji, Sept 8: Soft-paddling the issue of setting up of off-shore casinos, the Goa government has said that they were not keen to have too many of them in the state. http://www.newkerala.com/news4.php?action=fullnews&id=18613 *** Goa Football League: Anthony stars in Dempo's win (New Kerala) Duler, Sept 9: Anthony Pereira's hat-trick guided Dempo Sports Club to an emphatic 4-1 victory over Vasco which helped them move to the top of the table in the Goa Football Association Professional League, played at Duler Ground, Mapusa, today. http://www.newkerala.com/news4.php?action=fullnews&id=19345 *** Goa police on high alert (Navhind Times) Panaji, Sept 8: With the central government sounding alert all along the west coast following blasts in Malegaon in Maharashtra, the Goa police force has been put on high alert geared up to face any eventuality. http://www.navhindtimes.com/articles.php?Story_ID=090918 *** Churchill convenes convention of Cong workers from S Goa (Navhind Times) Margao, Sept 9: Expressing displeasure over the functioning of his own partys government in the state, the South Goa MP, Mr Churchill Alemao, has called for a convention of Congress workers from South Goa on September 23, in Margao, to chalk out future course of action, in an apparent bid to consolidate his position. http://www.navhindtimes.com/articles.php?Story_ID=091025 Compiled by Goanet News Service http://www.goanet.org/newslinks.php ------------------------------ Message: 9 Date: Sun, 10 Sep 2006 23:30:57 -0400 From: CARMO DCRUZ <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [Goanet] Leander's U.S. Open Victory Temporary Solace from World Cup Hockey Debacle To: [email protected] Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Balbir Singh-ji, Leander's U.S. Open Men's Doubles Victory has provided much needed temporary relief for me from the grief of the Indian Hockey Team's World Cup debacle in Germany. Losing to England (when did this this last happen ? in the early 1900s ?) and tying with underdogs South Africa should not be considered acceptable results in India. I know Bhaskaran did his best with what he was given. But we really need to do a Root Cause Analysis about this setback and come up with assignable causes and countermeasures to overcome them by the time of the Beijing Olympics in two years and the next World Cup in four years. I sincerely believe that meticulous application of Systems Engineering Principles has the potential to resusitate our Hockey Team. Sacking the coach at this juncture would be disastrous for Indian Hockey. We need a holistic new approach, not necessarily a new coach. I will be discussing root causes of this debacle with some of our players and former coaches when I am in India in Dec 2006. It was quite coincidental that I received the book "Soccer Systems and Strategies" by Jens Bangsbo and Biirger Peitersen today. This is a thoughtful analysis of the various attacking styles, defending styles and regional styles that are characteristic of the various soccer powers by two former Danish national coaches. (BTW I am a big fan of Danish Soccer. They are very thoughtful and scientific in their approach to sports. In fact their national soccer goalkeeper Niels Bohr even won the Nobel Prize for Physics in the last century). In this book the authors are concentrating on Smarter Coaching, Sharper Execution and Superior Teamwork. I believe that should be our approach too as we try to induce Systems Level Thinking into Indian Hockey. Do give us your opinions and analysis of India's World Cup Hockey debacle. I am copying our fellow authors Dr. Muzaffar Shaikh and Dr. Ashok Pandit on this note too. Best Regards, Dr. Carmo D'Cruz, Indian Harbour Beach, Florida. ------------------------------ Message: 10 Date: Sun, 10 Sep 2006 23:35:19 -0400 From: Alfred de Tavares <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: [Goanet] Hospitality begins at home To: [email protected] Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Querida Flor, How you make me envy the intrepid Cecil! How could I qualify. Here in Sweden I have, over nigh four decades, picked up not inconsiderable expertise in consoling ... comforting...cajoling harried...harrassed...heated housewives. Could render worthy service to revive bloom into jilting lilies your side. Would that qualify moi for your sireship a la Cecil??? And since our Helga, Selma and other gourmets are castigating the noble mayonnais, for its metamorphosis from putrification, I promise to add piquant variety to your festive smorgasbord by introducing the famed Swedish piscine delicacy: surstroming, herrigs in pretty advance stages of decomposition. The malodour it exudes is so extremely stark that even addicts hold their nose fast before opening their mouth to relish a morsel of their beloved delicacy. None dares to open a can of surstroming indoors; it take much effort, time and detergents/perfumes to expunge the most enduring it leaves behind: no skunk worth its reputation can hold a candle to it.The operation is carried out in the remotest corner of the garden or, in a nearby park. For rendering this exquisite service to your homewifely otgies I hope, and devoutly pray, that you do not deal with me as your stern namesake dealt with poor Acteon for beholding her charms that sweet Venus would have ever so willingly unveiled for him... Yours, ever so hopefully & prayerfully, yet to be dubbed, Alfred >From: flower2 > >Cecil, > >On behalf of the Association of Harried Housewives (Goa chapter) I write to >formally thank you and express our gratitude for your very practical and >timely tips about revolutionizing >the hospitality business in Goa. We hereby dub you honorary member of our >Association and hereby bestow upon you the Order of "Valiant Knight of the >Harried Housewives" our very highest honour mind you. > >Diana ------------------------------ Message: 11 Date: Sun, 10 Sep 2006 23:29:57 -0400 From: "Goa's Pride www.goa-world.com" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [Goanet] Bid to revive Young Goans Club, Bahrain To: [email protected] Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Bid to revive Young Goans Club, Bahrain One of the oldest expatriate clubs in Bahrain is hoping that members will help them find a new home. The Young Goans Club (YGC) have been "homeless" since suffering a sharp decline in membership. Officials are now hoping to revive interest in the club, which was in the past amongst the most active social establishments in Bahrain. "It is our hope to bring back the YGC to the way it was years ago," said club president Andrew Fernandes. "The YGC for years served as a 'home away from home' for many Goans in the country. "It offered sporting events, other than the popular social events." The YGC has been without a premises since it was forced to vacate from its Hoora location, near the Omar Khayam Hotel, following an order issued by the then Labour and Social Affairs Ministry in March 2004. The club received many complaints from neighbours, who strongly objected to the selling of alcohol at the bar inside. The YGC also ran up a debt of up to BD7,000 in 2004, but officials today assure that it is now in the clear. Formed in 1952, the YGC is one of the oldest expatriate clubs in the country and has in the past been at the forefront of several charitable, cultural and sporting activities. The Hoora premises was the club's second. It was asked to shift from its earlier location in the Shaikh Abdulla Road, in the suq area, in February 2003, after spending 50 years there. Neighbours had also complained then, saying that the club was located too close to a mosque, which has regular religious processions. "The YGC had more than 1,000 members at one time," said Mr Fernandes. The membership is now down to 120 members. Despite being homeless, the club is organising social events - many of which help raise funds for local charities. The YGC's Bandra Fair has been moved from September 8 to September 22. It will be held at the Baan Saeng Thai Auditorium, in Adliya. The programme features traditional game stalls, food stalls, live bands, dance competitions, fancy dress competitions, a DJ and the Tapori Contest, or the underworld don contest. Food and sweets are being especially flown in from Mumbai for the occasion. Entrance is free for all members of the Indian Community Clubs and invited guests. For more details contact the club General Secretary Mr. Francis Correia on 39659539. G.R. Crasto (Bahrain) [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.goa-world.com/ ------------------------------ Message: 12 Date: Mon, 11 Sep 2006 04:02:03 +0100 (BST) From: joseph fernandes <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [Goanet] Goanet and religion bashing To: [email protected] Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" On 7 Sep Santosh Helekar wrote: Every summer this Joe Vaz character performs an annual exercise of verbal abuse against me on Goanet. This time around he has ostensibly taken precious time off from his busy schedule to write a total of 5 trashy posts with the sole purpose of abusing me........ =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D My comments: Dear Santosh Prior to Mario Goveia joining Goanet, you used to lord over goanet and even hound members out (Alfred Tavares will = attest to it) It will take time to sink in your mind that (as Gilbert Lawrence has adverted in a previous post) there is another Goan more smarter than you. Its refreshing to note that its pay back time now and is confirmed by the whining that you have resorted to lately which was unthinkable a year ago. Joe Vaz has given a couple of examples from the archives about your abusive posts but you continue your tirade = against him perhaps believing in the adage: Go on throwing mud, even if it does not stick, the stain will remain. Regards Joseph Fernnades Mumbai = --------------------------------- Find out what India is talking about on - Yahoo! Answers India = Send FREE SMS to your friend's mobile from Yahoo! Messenger Version 8. Get= it NOW -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/goanet-goanet.org/attachments/20060911/b5d663c0/attachment.= htm ------------------------------ Message: 13 Date: Mon, 11 Sep 2006 00:12:37 -0400 From: Bosco - Goanet Volunteer <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [Goanet] In Memoriam: Dr. Alvaro de Loyola Furtado To: [email protected] Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 IN MEMORIAM By Eduardo Faleiro We commemorate this year the twentyfifth death anniversary of an illustrious son of Goa, Dr. Alvaro de Loyola Furtado. He passed away on August 21, 1982. Dr. Loyola Furtado was a leader of the United Goans Party and a senior member of the first Legislative Assembly of Goa Daman and Diu. He was an outstanding parliamentarian. His learned interventions and impeccable dignity and decorum are recalled to this day. I met him barely two months before his demise. He had then spoken to me on the need to introduce some amendments to certain pieces of Central legislation which, he felt, were defectively drafted and I had to admit that there was much substance in his studied arguments. He asked me to take up the matter in Parliament. This was typical of the man. His concern was the concerns of the people. Not once, in the decade and half of our acquaintance, did I ever find him seeking personal advancement. His integrity and total involvement in the welfare of the community could never be questioned. He was the epithome of the gentleman ? politician. Dr. Loyola Furtado left behind a plethora of scholarly writtings. His two major publications relate to issues that continue to besiege us. In " O Direito na Propriedade Rustica das Comunidades Aldeanas" he dealt with the status and problems of our Comunidades. The Report of the Goa Land Reforms Commission (1963) states that some centuries ago, long before Goa came successively under the domination of Hindu, Muslim and Portuguese rule, a large number of families from across the Western Ghats abandoned their original homesteads on account of war, epidemic or famine and settled in Goa. They formed themselves into cooperative associations governed by heads of family who were known as gaunkars. These gaunkars reclaimed and brought under cultivation marshy and other village waste lands. The foundation of the Comunidade (or gaunkari, its original name) is based on collective ownership of land by a group of villagers. From the total produce a certain portion was earmarked for village welfare. The Government share in the produce was kept aside. The balance was distributed among the members as dividend ("jono" in Portuguese). Over a period of time, the Comunidades lost their original characteristics and declined into mere societies of rights holders (gaunkars) who are members only by accident of birth. The non-gaunkars who came subsequently and also contributed to the development of the village have no say in the Comunidade. The "jono" is paid to the descendants of the gaunkar even when they no longer reside in the village, are not concerned with the working of the Comunidade, nor render any service to it or to the village. It is estimated that at present over fifty percent gaunkars reside outside the jurisdiction of the Comunidade from which they take "jono". Furthermore, the right of membership does not extend to the women in the family. The Comunidades have ceased to be collective farming societies. The village development activities once the preserve of gaunkaris, are now entrusted to the gram panchayat. The opinion as to how our Communidades should be reformed differs. Dr. Alvaro de Loyola Furtado wanted the autonomy of the Communidades to be fully restored and that Government should cease to interfere in their administration. Dr. H. D. Halarnakar, who has done extensive research on the subject, recommends that the Comunidades should be reorganized as agricultural cooperative societies. Whilst experts might differ as to the solution, there is agreement as to the need to review the Comunidades system so that they may truly fulfill the objectives that justify their existence. In "Os primordios do jornalism em Goa e no resto da India", Dr. Loyola Furtado recalls the saga of the Konkani language. The offensive of the maratha troops led by Sambhaji on Santo Estevao, Salcete and Bardez almost put an end to the Portuguese rule in Goa. But for the sudden arrival of the mogul army which attacked the maratha territories elsewhere and impelled Sambhaji to return and abandon Goa, the history of this land would have been quite different, says Dr. Loyola Furtado. To prevent further challenge to the Portuguese "Estado da India", the Viceroy D. Francisco de Tavora, conceived a two pronged strategy - transfer the capital to Marmagoa and lusitanise Goa completely, suppressing the local languages so that a linguistic barrier was created to separate Goa from the rest of India. In this frame of mind the Viceroy issued the decree (alvara) of June 27, 1684. The purpose of the decree was to eliminate the local languages from Goa and to replace them with Portuguese. The decree required that within three years Goans should abandon the use of local languages and take to the use of Portuguese. The decree was ratified by a royal decree dated March 17, 1687. The statement of its objects and reasons reads, "for reasons of political expediency including the preservation of Portuguese India, the decree (of the Viceroy) is approved". Eminent Portuguese orientalist Cunha Rivara asserts that the religious order of the Franciscans had suggested the ban of the local languages. Jesuit historian Delio de Mendonca in his erudite book "Conversions and Citizenry" remarks that "the missionaries are often held responsible for the decadence of Konkani in the sixteenth century?..The knowledge of the local language had became necessary to assume ecclesiastical posts, such as those of the parish priest during the last quarter of the seventeenth century. This exigency proved to be too serious an obstacle to the ambitious plans of the missionaries who, for too long, had assumed the reins of power without the knowledge of the local language. The missionary solution to this new and unpleasant situation was nothing short of demanding the suppression of the local languages. Then, in 1684, a decree issued by the Viceroy D. Francisco de Tavora, and soon after ratified by a royal decree suppressed Konkani in Goa and the local languages in other territories under Portuguese control. Later, some blamed only the Franciscans for the decree on suppression of local languages. This accusation, however, is questionable since the reading of events and context appears to be vitiated. But going by facts, all the religious orders seemed to have profited from this obnoxious decree". The error of the Catholic Church in foisting an alien culture on the peoples of Asia, Africa, Oceania and the Americas is sought to be atoned in our time. Several Asian Episcopal Conferences have decried the foreigness of Christianity and urged a systematic inculturation of the Christian faith in all its aspects, from worship to theology, to priestly formation. The Catholic Bishops Conference of India seeks to find ways and means "so that the Church becomes truly Indian and Asian". At the Asian Synod of 1998 some participating bishops asserted that "the Asian bishops are not branch secretaries waiting for instructions of the Vatican. We are a communion of the local churches". Shortly after the Asian Synod, Joseph Ratzinger suggested as "the task for the future," the decentralization of the power of the papacy and of the Roman curia so that the Asian Churches discover their own identity. In this scenario, it is surprising that in Goa, even in our villages with hundred percent Konkani speaking population, there are masses and other religious services in English. At the time of his death, Dr. Loyola Furtado was working on a treatise on the "Loyola Revolt" of September 21, 1890. On that fateful day, thirteen supporters of the "Partido Indiano" were killed by the Police forces of the then Government. The celebrated Jose Inacio de Loiola, the founder of the "Partido Indiano" and many others sought exile in India outside Goa. Dr. Alvaro de Loyola Furtado is no more. Yet, his memory lives and should endure to light up the path of the generations ahead. (ENDS) (The writer is a former Union Minister. He is presently Commissioner for NRI Affairs with a cabinet minister rank in the Government of Goa.) ------------------------------ _______________________________________________ Goanet mailing list [email protected] http://lists.goanet.org/listinfo.cgi/goanet-goanet.org End of Goanet Digest, Vol 1, Issue 319 ************************************** _______________________________________________ Goanet mailing list [email protected] http://lists.goanet.org/listinfo.cgi/goanet-goanet.org
