Very interesting to have noted JC asking Manuel Tavares in the context of the latter saying that the Portuguese were a dictatorial and cruel power under whom the Goans suffered, what would be the fate even today in Goa, part of a supposedly democratic country, if roles were reversed.
Good question, this. Indian history unfortunately will record the Portuguese as damned for the suppression of the struggle for Goa's freedom (among other things). Hindsight being 20/20, let's lay a few facts on the table: The struggle or even the mere wish for freedom for Goa, was never a mass movement or element. Rather, it was restricted to either a few people in Goa disgruntled at the Portuguese for personal or ideological reasons or a few people in Bombay who while not suffering penury from Portuguese neglect (like those in Goa), thought somehow that a Golden Goa era would be ushered in when the Portuguese were shunted out, India took over and the Goans would be allowed to elect their own government. All this happened minus the golden part. Next, to say that the Portuguese were cruel is patently unfair and Indian propaganda. Of course they were undoubtedly strict to the point of being almost inhuman to criminals of all shades but in today's world isn't this the very wish expressed both silently and overtly of every law-abiding Goan in Goa who despairs of the prevailing situation. Remember too that this was the 50s and before we are talking about when Canada a democracy even then had no less punishment for not only criminals but also indigents and people of color. If we are talking of cruelty to freedom fighters, weren't the stakes high enough viz a threat to Portugal itself which then considered Goa a part of the metropolitan territory, a legal benefit which many Goans reap even today through Portuguese and thence EU citizenship? Lastly let's ask the final and most potent question. What if Goans rose en masse in a freedom movement for a break from India for whatever reason and in whatever form. Given the record of the paramilitary and army in Kashmir, the Northeast and Central India, is there anyone out there who hopes that the massacres will be any less wanton. The Portuguese record would be a boy scout jamboree in comparison I assure you. Strategically and hedonistically, Goa is more important to the Delhi-boys than any other area in turmoil. Roland, Toronto. Roland Francis 416-453-3371
