Hi Gabriel Nice to hear from you after a seemingly long absence. I am however rather bemused by your long list of Portuguese contributions over 451 years in Goa but regret to say that they were of negligible help to Goa economically and in terms of developing a modern infrastructure. Had they done much better, perhaps we might not have had the massive exodus from Goa, over at least two centuries, of the Catholic Goans in particular.
For lack of time now, I will confine myself to a few quick points: a) Up to 1961, in my periodic visits to Goa from Kenya during my dad's 6 month long leave periods, I found Goa incredibly backwards compared to Kenya. It was like visiting a land forgotten by modern economic development. Basic utilities like electricity, running water, and adequate road transport were simply missing. For me, it was definitely a worthwhile education in understanding life in fairly primitive conditions--especially re the toilets! b) I had relatives whom I visited from Kenya in other parts of India, whose living conditions were far superior to what was available in Goa. Indeed, the ones around my age simply dreaded travelling to Goa on holiday. Apart from some incredible long and exhausting walks to the beach and back, there was nothing much recreational nor educative for them to do in Goa. These were people familiar with plentiful electricity, running water, libraries, museums, zoos, public exhibitions, good transport and other amenities. In short, Goa had no comparable attraction for them whatsoever. Of course, this is merely illustrative as we do know that there were parts of India infinitely more disadvantaged than Goa. c) Re the crime rates, yes they were low in Goa because of the acute repression imposed by the Portuguese as well as by the relative emptiness of Goa due to a net outflow of people. Often, the men folk went to work at sea and left their women behind to raise children--something hardly conducive to good family life. Yet, it is precisely in these crime free times that Portuguese physical brutality was widely evident and suffered by many, including by me personally at the hands of Portuguese soldiers with rifles in hand--yes, when meekly queueing to visit the SFX shrine in Old Goa! There was no redress for gratuitous Portuguese violence dear Gabriel, including for those incarcerated in Aguada and other prisons when all that some vocally articulated was for freedom from oppressive colonial rule. I am therefore puzzled Gabriel that, this aspect is not factored into your 'credit worthy' contribution by the Portuguese over 451 years in Goa. c) And now, on a more 'provocative note' whilst agreeing with you that the British largely left the Indians alone re caste, languages, customs, etc (excepting sati), the entire Portuguese colonial emphasis was to change us Goans from being Indians to versions of themselves--particularly culturally. This included the provision of Portuguese nationality. Consequently and sadly, the hidden code of many a Goan asserting they were "Goan", was to effectively distance themselves, false-consciously, from being taken to be Indians! Thankfully, this absurd situation has been changing since liberation in 1961 and so much for the better, particularly through the wider availability of education to many. Unlike the rest of India, the Portuguese tried to make us Catholic Goans as non Indian as possible even though we are definitely ethnically Indian. In short, the repressive and authoritarian Portuguese hegemony over long periods worked against what our real Indian identities were and if any are still thus confused, it is time we stopped fooling ourselves further--irrespective of what passports we may hold. My final thought is that, bearing in mind the inevitability of European colonial rule in recent history, and that all colonialism, without exception, exists to extract resources from conquered countries and to subordinate the natives, we Goans were particularly unfortunate to have the Portuguese as colonial masters. They really ought to have confined themselves to trade on the high seas (something they knew well about), because regrettably, they knew relatively little that was significantly worthwhile for the Goans ECONOMICALLY and EDUCATIONALLY then, and as current research evidence indicates, they are the least educated (reference available on request), of all European Union ethnic minority workers currently in the UK. The thought that such people lorded over us for 4.5 centuries, and kept the majority of us so backward economically and educationally, will hopefully make any red-blooded Goan, justifiably, pretty angry but also determined to properly utilise all the many opportunities India has offered to us since 1961. If correctly and wisely utilised, despite the many difficulties currently faced, this could soon make up for the massive seriously long-term economic, educational and infrastructural deficit left behind in Goa by the Portuguese. Cornel DaCosta, London, UK. --- Gabriel de Figueiredo <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Electricity. Water. Phones. They would have come to > the villages in good time, increasing the > infrastructure maintaining a balance between > availaibility and supply, instead of the haphazard > growth of supply without increasing the sources of > availability, which gave rise to rationing of water > and the frequent breakdowns (brownouts and > blackouts) of electrical supplies. > > What the Portuguese gave Goans. There's more to life > than electricity, running water, phones, colleges, > universities, banks. Basic education - by this I > don't mean literacy, but efforts to get everyone to > live decently. There might not have been grand > roads, but there was access to basic justice. In > general, people lived safe. There was no need for > bars on windows as was a requirement in cities like > Bombay of that time...
