George, The problem I have with some of this so-called "research" about Goan history, whether it is church-related or otherwise, is that it is merely the expression of somebody's subjective opinion pulled out of thin air and dripping with either left-wing or right-wing ideology. There is no indication of any effort made to dig into primary sources, or to even make a comprehensive search of secondary and tertiary sources. There is no dispassionate search for the truth - no compulsion to uncover actual facts, and go wherever they lead you. It is as if all that is needed for something to be called research is to merely put down on paper whatever comes to mind in a convoluted manner, punctuated by politically significant buzz words. In the past I used to think that this was because of lack of funds, and inaccessibility to libraries, databases and archival sources. But after my recent visits to the new central library and the Xavier Centre of Historical Research, combined with my knowledge of what can be easily accessed freely on the internet, I do not think that there is any excuse any more for not doing a proper search of the existing literature before writing a research paper on history.
For instance, if someone makes a statement that the temples that were destroyed by the Portuguese were not Hindu temples, then the minimum that is required of that person is the citation of actual facts and sources that led him/her to draw that conclusion. One expects him/her to make an exhaustive search of writings in which destruction of temples has been documented, and ascertain the identity of the temple deity in each recorded case. If he/she has not done this then his/her work is not research. If his/her assertion is purely an opinion, a gut feeling, a belief, a hunch, a hope or a wish then it is not an example of scholarship or even an academic exercise. No intellectual effort is required to hold such feelings or beliefs. It does not matter whether they are held in the interest of communal harmony or in order to pacify inflamed passions, and it certainly does not matter whether the person holding them has an advanced degree or high position in society. Cheers, Santosh ----- Original Message ----- From: George Pinto <[email protected]> > > It is useful to study history if it can instruct us about the present, > towards a > better society. But I can't help but notice the high attention to Church > history by Goan academics which serves three adverse purposes: > 1. Prop up a male dominated institution, mostly European institutions and > furthering their power through various religious orders. What great purpose > is > served by the study of such history? > 2. The flip side is social justice issues are ignored, specifically in Goa > where > there are any amount of issues which impact ordinary folk. > 3. The use of this "study" of history to make political points, not > just revise the past through religious and political lenses. > > One can only hope for more constructive use of time from our historians. > > George >
