NATIONAL SEMINAR ON 'THE STRUGGLE FOR ASSERTION, CIVIL LIBERTIES,
LIBERATION, INTEGRATION AND RIGHTS IN GOA THROUGH THE AGES' AT CES COLLEGE
OF ARTS AND COMMERCE, CUNCOLIM
The two days National Seminar organized by CES College of Arts and
Commerce in collaboration with The Indian Council For Historical Research,
New Delhi was inaugurated at the hands of Shri Eduardo Faleiro, the former
MP and the Commissioner for NRGs. In his welcome address, the Principal, Dr.
L. G. Naik stressed upon the importance of having such Seminars particularly
related to the history of Goa. Speaking on the occasion, the Keynote speaker
and Director of Education Dr. Celsa Pinto outlined the various struggles
that took place in Goa in the context of the various policies that were
introduced by the Portuguese Government. Others present on the occasion
were the Chairman of the CES, Dr. P. Kurade; the Treasurer Shri Ulhas
Dessai; the Secretary, Shri Dilip Dessai and the Co-ordinator of the
Seminar and the Lecturer in History at the College, Dr. Sharon D'Cruz. The
multidisciplinary research journal 'CES Manthan' was released on the
occasion.
Over the two days, thirty papers were presented on the various struggles
that took place in Goa through the Ages and the nature and impact of these
struggles. Emminent scholars, researchers and social activists like Sergio
Mascaranhes, Sammit Khandeparkar, Susheela Mendes, Prajal Sakhardande, Fr.
Cosme Costa, Dr. Ashok Shettar, Jose Lourenco, Rohit Phalgaonkar, N. Taheer,
Dr. Neeta Khanpekar, Prashant Naik, Dr. Dattaram Dessai, Frederick Noronha,
Shridhar Kamat, Dr.. Varsha Kamat, Padmaja Kamat, Dr. Remy Dias, Sabina
Martins, Rajay Pawar, Dadu Mandrekar, Pradeep Maske, Arch. K. D. Sadhale,
Durgadas Gaonkar, Dr. Xavier Martins, Biula Pereira, Oscar Noronha, Fr.
Victor Ferrao, Cosma Fernandes, Smita Kamat Bhandare, Aditi Rane, Arch.
Abhijit Sadhale, Oscar de Noronha, Sebestian Rodrigues, Lourdes Bravo da
Costa Rodrigues, Devidas Gaonkar etc presented the findings of their
research over 8 sessions that were chaired by eminent scholars like
Sandesh Prabhudessai, Varsha Kamat, Susheela Mendes, Sergio Mascarenhas,
Prajal Sakhardande, Remy Dias, Xavier Martins, Lourdes Bravo da Costa
Rodrigues and Dr. Shyam Bhat. Various organizations like the Xavier Center
for Historical Research, the Pilar Musuem, Archeological Survey of India,
Fundacao Oriente etc were represented. Delegates from Mumbai, Jarkhand,
Kholapur, Pune and other States attended and presented papers at the
Seminar. Several topics ranging from the struggles for assertion during the
pre-Portuguese period, efforts to conserve the built and cultural heritage
of Goa, the struggle to acquire the rights for the tribals, dalits, women,
students and children, the struggle for livelihood by the traditional
occupational groups and handicraft industries, the Goan freedom struggle as
reflected in the Konkani tiatr, Konkani poetry as a fonte of Goan history,
the essence and misuse of Portuguese culture, collaborations and conflicts
between the Portuguese and Goans, delegates and debates that were
represented by the Goans in the Portuguese parliament, the Save Goa
campaign, the Nylon 66 agitation, the national response to the freedom
struggle, the flight of deities and the resistance of the Goans to
conversions, the social response of the Church, the post liberation
squabbles, the role of the media etc were highlighted and deliberated upon.
The valedictory function was chaired Shri Mathany Saldanha, former
Minister of the Goa Cabinet. In his valedictory address he outlined the
various struggles that took place in Goa through the ages and recounted his
personal involvement in the same. He further stated that the Goans
themselves were responsible for the deterioration of the present day system
and that unless the Goans endeavor to make things in this State better, the
situation will further disintegrate. The former Director of Higher
Education and the Principal of Government College, Quepem Shri Bhaskar
Nayak who was the Guest of Honor clearly specified that we should be proud
of our history and of our past and base ourselves on it to make a better
present. He lauded the efforts of the Convener and the College in their
efforts to provide a platform for the academicians, researchers and social
activists to interact with one another and deliberate the findings of their
research and for outlining 120 diverse topics that could be used for
further research. In her valedictory address, Dr. Fatima Gracias, Retired
Lecturer at Dhempe HSS and a faculty member of V. N Salgaonkar Law College,
Panaji, delved through the history of the revolts that took place in Goa
and provided a brief overview on the nature of these revolts. The history
of Goa is replete with revolts for assertion, fights for civil liberties,
struggles for liberation and tussles for rights and it is the job of the
historians and researchers to study and document these struggles for
posterity, she stated. Others on the dais were the Joint Co-ordinator, Prof.
Avinash Raikar, the Principal and the Chairman.
The Convener of the Seminar, Dr. Sharon D'Cruz expressed her gratitude to
all the Moderators and paper presenters for fulfilling the objectives of
the Seminar namely, to record the history of the various struggles that took
place in Goa through the ages with the intension of making it known for
posterity before it gets buried in the past.
Dr. Laximan G. Naik,
Principal,
CES College of Arts and Commerce,
Cuncolim
