There are 25,000 Goans from Goa if not many more who have been welcomed by Britain in the UK courtesy of their Portuguese Passports...
On Wed, 8 Jul 2020, 12:39 Aloysius D'Souza, <smhsda...@gmail.com> wrote: > Thanks Roland > Someone needed to say what you have just written -- East Indians lost our > because of themselves and sold out to outsiders so that today it is > difficult to spot East Indians in their own houses / villages. > > But Goans have not learnt from their (EI) experience!!! > > Some East Indians are now coming to Goa to regain some of the lost charm of > their old habitat. > > Where will the Goans go? To Canada, U K or Australia? We have been booted > out of Africa and other places which we rushed to at the British > command!!! But the British did not welcome us with open hands in the U > K!!! > > Are we, like the Jews, destined to have to migrate from place to place? > > Cheers > > Aloysius > > On Wed, Jul 8, 2020 at 10:04 AM Roland Francis <roland.fran...@gmail.com> > wrote: > > > They are a community of Bombay Christians who were the original > > (relatively) inhabitants of areas in Bombay like Mazagon, Sewri, Wadala, > > Dadar and Mahim and in suburbs around the north of the city like Kalina, > > Andheri , Versova and countless other wards, hamlets and towns. > > > > These places are located on the West Coast of India, puzzling any > newcomer > > with their ‘East Indian’ misnomer. Their explanation is that due to rapid > > spread of education among Bombay natives by the missionaries, their > > literacy was prized by the British and they were given jobs in the East > > India Company. > > > > To complicate things further, Goans once derogatively and dismissively > > called them Norterres. This probably referred to them being residents of > > northern territories. I used to wonder why the northern reference to > them, > > until the article I have posted about Bassein that indicated the > Portuguese > > referred to their settled lands north of Bombay Islands as ‘Northern > > Territories’. > > > > The East Indians have two major ancestral occupations or castes. The > > farmers or agriculturists and the fishermen. Being staunchly Catholic the > > single (unmarried) inheritors of properties and houses bequeathed them on > > death to the local church, in all piety. What became of those, is another > > story that would disgust faithful churchgoers. > > > > The East Indians of Bombay owned almost all the land and houses until > very > > recently, say the 1980s, when they sold out their properties and fields, > > their villas and bungalows to the big builders for a song. Being a fun > > loving but sincere people and hardy tipplers just like the Goans, it was > > easy to make them part with their only meaningful assets. Today 20 and > > higher storey buildings can be seen where once lovely villages with > quaint > > houses stood and narrow winding lanes meandered. > > > > Over the past few decades, they have woken up, somewhat like locking the > > barn after the horses have bolted and organized themselves under the > > association name of the Mobai (Mumbai) Panchayat to get some of their > > rights back from the pillaging criminals, politicians and municipalities, > > but that’s a losing battle because they have no political clout. > > > > Goa is a story that follows the history of the East Indians. Goans have a > > lot in common with them and like them the Goan in Goa will be a very rare > > and unprotected animal in a short while. The only difference is that > > outsiders robbed the East Indians, while Goan politicians rob their own. > > > > Roland. > > Toronto. > > > > >