As our GOANS migrated Abroad heavily :- UK ( approx 120,000 GOANS estimated ) CANADA ( approx 55,000 GOANS estimated ) USA, AUSTRALIA ( approx 10,000 GOANS estimated )
Many were inter-married as you would expect To indigenous English, Canadian, American, Australian etc They have adopted the CULTURE of those great Countries to a large extent. Many do not speak KONKANI. It is very difficult to teach 3rd and 4th generation. It is my belief that : The GOAN identity is disappearing fast ! kind regards from U.K., MILTON RODRIGUES GOANS International. Professional and Business Network. EST 1998 URL : www.goansinternational.org > On Sep 1, 2021, at 6:16 AM, Oscar Carmino Lobo <[email protected]> wrote: > > > (Without prejudice) > > Dear learned Goans > > The question of who is a Goan has been a subject of serious concern more > particularly after the Invasion/Liberation/Annexation (19 December 1961). > Many Goans backed Liberation of Goa by India (as if people of Goa were in > bondage)and for them it was a big achievement. > > I was once asked in a Goanet yearly meeting in Panjim (Panaji since > liberation) - to describe "who is a Goan" ? Incidently, there are a few and > far between Goans who have different versions. I do not appear to read a > finer definition of a Goan. > > As most of us know, Goa was the possession of Portugal for 451 years and > operating as a separate country with Embassy of India in Panjim. > > Most of the catholic Goans who believe Goa was Invaded, acknowledge that > Portuguese culture was inherited by them and lived their lives with European > culture based on a Pyrimid of social status. > > Some of the Catholic Goans were raised to believe that Goa was liberated and > that is their prerogative. Many of them left Goa for Mumbai and Mangalore > from where the pressure and support for Nehru also came through the then > Cardinal Gracias who was apparently a Goan > living in Mumbai ! There were some Catholic army man who joined the gang to > invade Goa they got recognitions and life time financial support and termed > as Freedom Fighters including those who were set free from prisons. > > On the other hand, majority of the Goan Hindus and Muslims practised their > Hindu &/or Muslim culture. All in all, the three denominations lived in happy > and in a peaceful way. > > We, Goans, are a complex community based on the nomenclature they choose to > believe on how they felt about the way Operation Vijay was conducted. > > Needless to say that most Goans who believed that Goa was invaded left in > droves and those who believed 19/12/1961 was a liberation decided to remain > in Goa. > > Goans in general cannot help themselves in minding other Goans' private > matters and this together with knee jerk reaction and tall poppy syndrome > will find it difficult to see the end of a tunnel. > > For those who ardently believe that Goans can manage Goa, the first thing to > do is to lay down a MOU and consequences clearly mentioned therein. > > Goan group dynamics is difficult to maintain when a mindset falls in the > ambit of Liberation, Annexation, Invasion etc. > > These are the issues that generally Goan Associations (wherever they are) > face with challenges in their thinking and decision making process. > > Most often and when time comes for Annual General Meeting, knives and swords > come out to rid another Goan (who faced differences in the year past) by > procuring a forced proxy to be used as a death warrant. > > Best wishes > Oscar C. Lobo. > > > > > > > > > ---------- Forwarded message --------- > From: Roland Francis <[email protected]> > Date: Wed, 1 Sep. 2021, 2:06 am > Subject: Re: [Goanet] Fwd: [GRN] How long will ... (or some ideas on the > so-called 'Goan Identity' > To: Goa's premiere mailing list, estb. 1994! <[email protected]> > > > Dear Antonio, or should I be more formal and say Justice Colaco, > > Your views are noted and while I and Goans of my generation, specially those > in the Diaspora will agree, some of those living in Goa with the original > Goan identity as you defined it, will disagree. > > In the current context of India’s gigantic population numbers, Goa in my view > can happily accommodate a 5 million population. Given the continuing > migration of Goans to other lands, a phenomenon that existed much before the > Portuguese left, it was natural that hordes of other Indians washed ashore. > That in itself is not a problem. > > What is a real problem is that Goa is more affluent that the other places in > India, originally (not any longer) more law abiding and honest. But given the > thoroughly corrupt and greedy politicians they continually vote in (who > happen to be original Goans by the way) the dirty water flowed in and mixed > in with the clear water, making everything filthy. > > What you are seeing now in Goa is the transition. That will continue until > all the once crystal-clear liquid already much tainted, turns to the sewage > that exists in the land in which it is surrounded. > > As you know, water seeks its own level and it is only a short matter of time > for the land-grabbing, cheating, dirty politics, little care for the law and > population density to exceed the 5 million it can bear. A look not at Indian > big cities but at smaller towns in the rest of the country that groan under > densities of 10 million or more will give you an indication of how much Goa > has room to bloat, it being much larger than a small town. > > Nature dictates that the quantum of filth when encouraged or even ignored, > tends to grow larger than all surrounding filth. A clear example of this is > the Sonsddo phenom outside Margao. And people who matter in the sense of > being able to contain the rot, are busy piling some of that rot into their > own pockets. Then they die of pancreatic cancer and suchlike with no > provision in their will that the rot be buried with them. > > There are of course some good things that have arrived on Goan shores in > addition to the filth. They are some of the best of Indian society that were > attracted to the Lusitanian heritage of the Goan people, traits that you of > course know about and need not be explained to you. While some these > newcomers may be crass, others uplift Goan society. However the problem is > that such society is fleeting. When the sewer of Goa overflows, they will > flee to other undiscovered but still beautiful small places in India that may > not be as wealthy as Goa is now, but with their wealth, that would be of no > matter. > > Roland. > Toronto. > > > > On Aug 31, 2021, at 7:10 AM, António Colaço <[email protected]> > > wrote: > > > > ---------- Forwarded message --------- > > De: António Colaço <[email protected]> > > Date: segunda, 1/03/2021 à(s) 11:46 > > Subject: Re: [GRN] How long will ... (or some ideas on the so-called 'Goan > > Identity' > > To: Goa-Research-Net <[email protected]> > > > > > > Concerning Goan Identity I do respect all the expressed perspectives. I'm a > > goan, 82 years old, born and bred in Ribandar - which I visit every three > > years, until recently. I came to Portugal, when I was 19 years old, to > > proceed with my Law studies, having ended up as Justice of the > > Supreme Court of Justice (jubilado) - Lisbon. At that time, there of > > course existed a goan identity, coinciding with the original goan > > community.during the long period of portuguese colonialism. However, from > > the then existing 400/450.000 people, the population of Goa, since 1961 > > boosted to above 1.800.000 habitants, giving rise to the formation of a new > > goan identity. New human social relationships were established, new social > > behaviour, customs and habits.This does not entitle us to say that there > > may be many goan identities. Goan identity is one and the same, however > > changeable in its composition in accordance with evolution and time. The > > least we can afford to say is that of an *absorption* of the goan identity > > existing in Portuguese times by the uprising identity from 1961. > > Let me explain my idea in more detail. Groupal identity is a *dynamic > > social reality*. This identity is sustained by successive *generations. > > *Based > > on the average span of time of each generation being more or less that of > > 30 years, we can assume that, due to the colonial impact being unaltered > > (same colonizer and the same social local stratum) the > > successive generations (15) brought insignificant changes in the social > > sphere, and as such one can refer to a an homogeneous identity on the goan > > people - hence the goan identity of that epoch ( it must be remembered that > > that colonialism inGoa lasted 450 years, whereas the historical Empires > > (Mauryan <Emperor Ashoka>), Kadambas or Vijyanagar) lasted less time). But > > with the annexation of Goa, the incoming non-goan migrants from > > the other parts of India, contributed for an increase in population 4,5 > > times superior than the one existing during the portuguese occupation. This > > process, that started circa 58 years ago covers practically 2 new > > generations, mixing harmoniously the original goans and the new-comers > > migrants, giving rightfully rise to the actual goan identity, is certainly > > to last long. So, if one wants to refer to the goan society existing > > during the portuguese time, it would be more correct to express it as > > the *goan > > community. António Bernardo Colaço * > > > > . > > > > > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>>
