Hi Shanti Thanks for keeping up the good work on exposing caste and casteism among the Goans. However, I am sure that you will have noted that, I have confined myself strictly to Catholic Goans on this issue and provided a rationale for this stance previously.
Our good Goanet friend, Gilbert Lawrence, who responded to you, was informed ever so politely and clearly that, it is not logically possible to be a strident anti-casteists, and a casteist at the same time. Cleraly, plain logic does not work in every case! Nor too was he willing to be persuaded that the Catholic Church in Goa has been "hand in glove with caste for half a millennium." However, I think that, minimally we can note that, nobody seems to be quibbling with my above assertion on Goanet--at least, not for now! I would also suggest that the two PhDs I read very diligently, and still have easy access to, addressed the issue about caste as a causative factor in social discrimination among East African Goans. They were not, repeat NOT as Gilbert suggests, about "an innate jealousy mentality"---a rather strange construct of his own. If he is even remotely correct, perhaps he could opine what on earth say, Mario and I could possibly be jealous about as strident Goan anti-casteists? Moreover, we could hardly be jealous of caste that we both reject and despise so absolutely. Further, Gilbert really should not be surprised when using his own words, "educated Goans who should know better" that educated people would generally be at the forefront of exposing humbug and hypocrisy in a given society and particularly their own. Indeed, to use an old saying, "it is the role of the intellectual to criticise his own society." I would equate the word "educated" as someone engaged with "intellectual" activity and am bemused that our friend Gilbert has some difficulty in grasping what has been said repeatedly by a number of anti-casteists on Goanet that the underpinning segregationist element in caste has prevented an integrated Catholic Goan society and sadly generated a divisive one instead. Thankfully, in many respects, caste is in retreat because it can't deal with educated folk and the material advances of so many in recent times. Regards Cornel --- Shanti Dhoot <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Whether it is plain jealousy or a show of casteism, > > The sad truth is that it has led to many a schism > > Between one Goan and another > > When one should treat the other as a brother. > > The point is: when will our vision avoid this narrow > prism? > > From: Gilbert Lawrence <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subject: [Goanet] LIMERICK - CASTE MENTALITY > > As usual a great talent is displayed again with your > limerick on this topic. > > What the East African experience, (and some current > Goanet posts) show is the issue is not caste but of "innate jealousy mentality" even among educated Goans who otherwise should know better.
