Caste is OK. Casteism (what Bernardo was referring to) is clearly NOT - either among Catholics or Hindus. Either some still do not know the difference between the two terms .... and confuses them. OR! Finally the closet-casteist may be out.
Does the following post state: "millions of Hindus for whom caste is quite normal. OK?" Repeat do we read this after zillions of posts on this topic.... "millions of Hindus for whom caste is quite normal. OK?" Is this the best, the self-acclaimed anti-casteist can do for the Hindu Dalits ... whose plight was shown on British TV? Is this condoning casteism among Hindus, to which Bernardo was referring? This is contrary to what Mahatma Gandhi and other Hindu reformers including Raj Mohan Roy, and members of Brahmo Samaj, Prathna Samaj and Aray Samaj were striving. I know some will write to me privately, "this is too much history and details for the self-acclaimed anti-casteists." But let me take this opportunity to educate 'them' and others what Hindus are doing to end casteism in their society. (Please see Wikipedia below). Can I ask, where did Goan / Indian Catholics originally come from? Does conversion to Christianity lead to shedding of one's skin pigment? Does living in London in the heart of England, even several generation later, lead to the loss of one's Indian skin pigment? In UK, Goans / Indians may have a lighter skin and should be proud of their Indian heritage (not Indian nationality, which may be long lost). But should one exploit one's lighter or darker skin color? One cannot do much about one's skin pigment or one's heritage. Yet one can do much about not exploiting it; and exposing others when they do exploit / abuse their marginal superiority. This is the difference between caste and casteism; which our pseudo-anti-casteist do not seem to understand. Goan Casteism (enhancing one's ego / resume by demeaning another Goan / institution) should be ended among Goans and on goanet. And casteists should stop displaying their ignorance and arrogance. To switch gears. Likely, the Casaulim / Cuncolim Sudras are saying to the Chardos and the padvigar, "We are very proud of our Sudra class. We do not need your red vestments and to join you in your public procession." This is the message I get from their actions, looking at them from a distance. And this is what I call "pride in their history and heritage." The fact that Diaspora Goans do not know the history of Casaulim / Cuncolim is not the fault of the Chardos or the Sudras of these villages. They think it is important and significant enough to maintain, display and sacrifice for it. The least the college-educated single- and double-graduate Diaspora Goans can do, is learn 'the why' from the Casaulim / Cuncolim Sudras and Chardos. The least the Chardos and Sudras of Casaulim / Cuncolim (and other villages) should do is, learn and appreciate each other's history and contribution to their villages. It is through mutual respect and cooperation, borne out of factual informa tion (and not kanii), that Goa will prosper. And the least outsiders can do is to contribute to harmony and undersatnding, instead of exploiting the differences. Looks like most Goans have stopped trying to educate the casteists and the pseudo-anti-casteists; who love to read their own pointless never-ending writings. Kind Regards, GL -------------- CORNEL DACOSTA Clearly, you have not read any of my posts carefully. I confined myself entirely to the Catholic Goans in the UK and Goa and not to millions of Hindus for whom caste is quite normal. OK? Cornel ------------------ Bernado Colaco wrote: When it seems that the casta system was done away by Bharat, in the UK according to the BBC it is thriving much to the dismay of Cornel. >From Wikipedia. One of the foremost movements in breaking the caste system and educating the downtrodden was the Lingayat movement spearheaded by Basavanna in the 12th century in Anubhava Mantapa in Kalyani of Karnataka. The less accessible Vedas were rejected and parallel Vachanas were compiled. The new movements look up to Swami Vivekananda; Rabindranath Tagore;Ramana Maharshi; Shri Aurobindo (for his Integral Yoga); A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (founder of the modern Hare Krishna movement); Swami Sivananda, Swami Ramatirtha; Narayana Guru, Paramhansa Yogananda; Shrii Shrii Anandamurti and for inspiration. More recently, the work of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Sathya Sai Baba, Shirdi Sai Baba, Swami Muktananda, Swami Chinmayananda, Dayananda Saraswati, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, and Mata Amritanandamayi has inspired millions to create new centers of spiritual development. In the intellectual field, the writings of Ananda Coomaraswamy, Ram Swarup, Stephen Knapp, Sita Ram Goel, Subhash Kak and David Frawley have been influential. In social work, Mahatma Gandhi, Vinoba Bhave, Pandurang Shastri Athavale, Baba Amte and Shrii Shrii Anandamurti have been most important. Sundarlal Bahuguna created the chipko movement for the preservation of forestlands according to the Hindu ecological ideas. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Spread the Christmas Cheer, even when you're not here! Send classic greetings to your loved ones in Goa. EXPRESSIONS - 2007 Christmas Hamper Visit http://www.goa-world.com/expressions/xmas/ Or e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
