------------------------------------------------------- CONVENTION OF THE GOAN DIASPORA FROM GOA INTO THE WORLD Lisbon, Portugal June 15-17, 2007 Details at: http://www.casadegoa.org -------------------------------------------------------
It is a sad state of affairs that the Goan Catholic community once the architects of the first ethnic rebellion against colonial rule in the world, are now reduced to supporting Portuguese flag waving parades in Panjim and writing apologist nonsense on Goanet supported only by their lamentable ignorance of Goan history. Selma provides a perfect example of this chronic ill, by claiming that the Goan Identity can only be debated by her gallery of Portuguese passport holding, aged admirers. Selma writes.... >> Sometimes you espouse such balderdash, charming only >> because it is balderdash. What would your 25+ years >> know about a "people who have a serious identity >> crises brought on by four hundred years of >> brainwashing"?? At least as much as you with your 35+ years, a vast majority spent outside Goa and Dubai based education. Instead of your above moaning with borrowed expressions, lets have your views on the specific points raised. BTW, what is the age to enter the above club. Are there any other pre-requisites. I'm sure reading history is not one of them. > How can you label generations and generations of Goans > as being brain-washed and having an identity crisis > just because they don't subscribe to your point of > view of history? What part of history are you disputing? That the Portuguese converted Hindus? That the Inquisition took place in Goa? That SFX specifically asked for it? That various Hindu deities had to be shifted to new locations? That the descendants of those people are sometimes subject to parades of idiots waving Portuguese flags? That such parades lead to stereotyping of Goan Catholics? That the Portuguese tried to make Catholic Goans think they had nothing to do with the rest of India? Lets have your 'view' of history, if you have one that is. > Perhaps they know a thing or two that > you don't because they've lived through it while you > read about it in a history book, if that. Really Selma, are the Colaco duo really 400 years old? Did they live through the Inquisition? Are any of your friends or family that old? Have you spoken with anyone from that era? Would you like references to support my claims? You can also supply me with yours, but unfortunately you make no specific ones. Just the usual inane generalities. Please read Robert Newman's book to see an objective scholarly account of the Goan Catholic identity. I would be glad to read scholarly papers or books that subscribe to your 'yet to be disclosed' point of view w.r.t. colonialism and the Goan Identity. > I have to wonder why Velho Fil[h]os did not change their> > name to Chatturbhati Fil[h]os when they opened their > store years ago. Because the store and the company was opened over hundred and seven years ago by my great grandfather, and as everyone knows the Portuguese made a concerted effort to keep Goans uneducated(with a literacy rate hovering around thirty percent in 1961). Those that were educated studied in Portuguese. Who is this 'Chatturbhati' that the store should have been named after. Is this a cheap attempt to make fun of a Hindu sounding name? Shame on you! Are you not aware of Goan Hindu surnames? Precisely the all round ignorance I'm talking about. The current owners of that store (not me nor my parents) are staunch followers of Sai Baba and not practicing Catholics anymore. personally would have reverted to the original form of my surname(ask my school mates about this, many whom I just found out are silent members on this forum), but as a staunch atheist I see no point. BTW, Filos are a type of fried pancake and Filhos means sons. > I'm guessing it's because opening up > in the heart of Panjim they knew exactly the clientele > they wanted to cultivate, the Latin Quarter of Goa and > that is their market to this day. Amusing, your complete and continuing lack of knowledge of anything local. Most of that store has been leased out to a very wealthy Indian for a huge sum of money. I believe the new owner is from a little beyond Fontainhas, i.e. Kashmir. > So all this angst that one feels on account of being colonised, when the > rubber meets the road, one doesn't feel unduly > perturbed by taking advantage of its perks. What perks are you talking about? My ancestral wealth was reduced to a very tiny fraction of what it was almost overnight(post liberation). The same was the case with almost all large landowners. Get your facts straight. Amusing iidioms are not a substitue for facts. Rest assured that all former mundkars and tenants are happy with all the perks they are currently enjoying thanks to the political voice they found post liberation, and I am happy for most of them. I wish such people had a stronger political voice in the rest of India too. Any perks I currently enjoy are benefits of India's blistering economic growth and the West's shortage of techincally skilled manpower. When you and BC figure out what these economics have to do with me being against colonialism, do let me know. By yours and BC's misguided logic, Che Guevara should never have started a revolution in South America since he was from a bourgeoisie family or Nehru should have kept his mouth shut. This a sad, pathetic and sorry substitute for logical argument, but I doubt you can do better. Sunith Velho -- Sunith D Velho [EMAIL PROTECTED] ------------------------------------------------------- Goanet recommends, and is proud to be associated with, 'Domnic's Goa' - A nostalgic romp through a bygone era. This book is the perfect gift for any Goan, or anyone wanting to understand Goa. Distributed locally by Broadway, near Caculo Island, Panjim & internationally by OtherIndiaBookStore.Com. For trade enquiries contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------------------------------------
