Dear Roland I have just read your post regarding the desecration of of a temple by Agent Casimero Monteiro. I had to stop for some time before continuing to read the rest of the post. Forgive me but is there ANY more information with regard to this Agent CASEMIRO MONTEIRO and his brother? Did he indeed leave Goa before the liberation in 1961? Is there anywhere in any Goan government or non-Government Agencies or Newspapers that would carry any further information of his & his brother's location then, or now? I have this (awful sick) feeling in the pit of my stomach regarding this man, Agent Casimero Monteiro, I suspect I have some recollections of this man & his brother because if he is the same man that I think it is, it may well have been my father and uncle. Shame on me for this, but I have been looking for him & his whereabouts for some time now. I was 5 years old at the time, in 1955 (17 June), and wondered whatever happened to my father after we left Goa suddenly for a holiday break of 8 months in 1958 in LISBOA, returning to Goa afterwards but not seeing him much, then after a while, never again. I was n Loyola High School & never had a visit from him, only my mother, when she was well enough came to see me. On my First Communion in August 1959 I only had Brother Canna look after me, no relatives or parents there, in borrowed white trousers, shirt & plimsoles, thanks for the kindness Brother Canna........... (he died a few years back, I believe of cancer & is buried in Pune Cemetery). Otherwise, my whole childhood in Goa from 1951/2 to 1961 is very sketchy, including some earlier & latter days, my memories refuse to form in my mind, because there was some trauma at the time in my life, my mother & my brother's life also, my father was PORTUGUESE (& not a very nice man to us, not at all nice to our neighbours or to the Goan population as a whole, I always suspected he was a force for no-good during my childhood in Goa when he & my mother took me to Goa from London where I was born, to live in Goa). I hope you or other Goannetters can come up with some links or more information about this AGENT CASEMIRO MONTEIRO for you see, I have had no luck at all in trying to trace him, his extended family in Lisboa or in Goa, with his first (Christian) name coming up for the very first time it made my heart leap to my mouth, for I have never heard his first name verbally or in print, only on my birth certificate. His other forenames would have been Teles, Jordao...................... I think its ironic that if he was my father, that I have produced two more who pray in Hindu Temples, I married a Mauritian woman some 19 years ago this May, she is of the Tamil (Hindu) extraction, we have two beautiful daughters who also pray in the HINDU TEMPLES of Murugan / Worship also the deities, Ganesh, Laxmi, Durga, Kali Maa....... amongst others, so IF this man was my father, this marriage we made between my wife & me, I hope has toppled this "father of mine" if he ever is still alive today, but also make him ashamed of himself, and his brother. BUT there may be many CASEMIROs in GOA at this time, he would have been in his very early 30's at the time, probably now in his mid-80's if he is still alive. Any information would be appreciated, my father & my uncle were a group of Portuguese "predators" Goa, And I put this mildy, they were not nice people but I still would like to know of his & their whereabouts, if my gut feeling is correct, probably either in BRAZIL or in "open hiding" back in Portugal, perhaps even back in Goa, with his extended family......... but where? Can anyone shed any light on this man & brother for me? John Monteiro (since Dec 1961) (Joao Roso Monteiro from 17 June 1950 to Dec 1961) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- History or fiction? This emanated from the 1955 Maharastra Gazette records of the so called Bombay Goan freedom fighters and could have been reported by the Goan Congress to inflame the passions of the Indian Govt headed by Pandit Nehru who by and large ignored appeals from these Bombay Goan bodies who were quite disunited and spent about as much time quarreling with each other, as seeking Goa's liberation. There is also a report of one Smt. Lavra D'Souza (yes that is how it was spelt) who went with a band of these freedom fighers to Delhi to meet Nehru. He had no time for them, but walking by the verandah on which they had gathered, he remarked in passing - if you are satyagrahis why are you in Delhi instead of marching on Goa. Therefore the following incident may have happened but likewise, may have been exaggerated and/or reported with bias and prejudice. Interesting nevertheless. Anyone with other stories of the notorious Agente Monteiro?
Roland. National Congress (Goa) Dated 8th January. 1955 By our correspondent Velinga Temple violated by Agent The famous Temple of Harsinha Damodhar of Velinga was violated by notorious police agent Casemiro Monteiro in the evening of the 4th January 1955. He came to Velinga in a police jeep with some mestico soldiers. He went to the house of temple pujari Mr. Pandurang Kamat who was away at that moment. Monteiro in a threatening tone asked from his brother keys of the temple safe which is inside the Garbhakooda (Inner Precincts) of the temple. He however, politely refused and told Monteiro that his brother who is the official pujari s away and that only the treasurer of Mahajan's Committee could give the key and that he being Christian should not enter the temple as there will be pollution. Agent Monteiro abused the God, cursed Hindus and entered with his band of soldiers into the temple, all with shoes on, broke open the Garbhakooda, then opened by force the safe where valuable gold ornaments belonging to the deity were kept. He also broke open the wooden box where temple's books of accourt were kept. Agent Monteiro took away the wooden box. It is also reported that some ornaments are missing. The news was spread with great speed all over Goa and has caused greatresentment in the public, particularly among the Mahajans. Goans with their charateristic patience say: "They are nearing their doom " (Signed) Secretary, Bombay Branch. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
