- Feb 5, 2002
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Catholics in the Indian state of Goa are feeling unease amid calls by the state’s Chief Minister, Pramod Sawant, to “wipe out” signs of the Portuguese presence in the region.
While most of India achieved independence from Britain in 1947, Portugal ruled Goa as a colony from 1510 to 1961, when the recently independent Indian Union invaded, sounding the death knell for European power on the subcontinent.
Some Goans, mostly Christians, left for Portugal or for its remaining colonies, especially Angola or Mozambique, but the majority stayed behind, and Goa remains one of the most Christian states in India, with Catholics accounting for around 20% of the population.
The Archbishop of Goa has the title of Patriarch of the East Indies, and Goan influence on Catholicism in India is so significant that a quick look through all living Indian bishops reveals more than 40 with unmistakably Portuguese surnames, meaning there are actually more bishops with Portuguese surnames in India than in Portugal.
“Christians and Hindus lived in unity and harmony in Goa for over 400 years, we have never had a fight between us”, says John Lobo, a local historian, in a phone interview with The Pillar. But this harmony and stability is now under threat with the growing Hindu nationalist rhetoric coming from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which controls the central Government in Delhi, as well as the local Government in Goa.
Chief Minister Sawant was recently quoted as saying that, more than 60 years after the end of Portuguese rule, “the time has come to wipe out signs of the Portuguese and have a fresh start.”
Continued below.
www.pillarcatholic.com
While most of India achieved independence from Britain in 1947, Portugal ruled Goa as a colony from 1510 to 1961, when the recently independent Indian Union invaded, sounding the death knell for European power on the subcontinent.
Some Goans, mostly Christians, left for Portugal or for its remaining colonies, especially Angola or Mozambique, but the majority stayed behind, and Goa remains one of the most Christian states in India, with Catholics accounting for around 20% of the population.
The Archbishop of Goa has the title of Patriarch of the East Indies, and Goan influence on Catholicism in India is so significant that a quick look through all living Indian bishops reveals more than 40 with unmistakably Portuguese surnames, meaning there are actually more bishops with Portuguese surnames in India than in Portugal.
“Christians and Hindus lived in unity and harmony in Goa for over 400 years, we have never had a fight between us”, says John Lobo, a local historian, in a phone interview with The Pillar. But this harmony and stability is now under threat with the growing Hindu nationalist rhetoric coming from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which controls the central Government in Delhi, as well as the local Government in Goa.
Chief Minister Sawant was recently quoted as saying that, more than 60 years after the end of Portuguese rule, “the time has come to wipe out signs of the Portuguese and have a fresh start.”
Continued below.
Catholics in Goa threatened by calls to ‘wipe out’ history of Portuguese presence
Chief Minister Sawant was recently quoted as saying “the time has come to wipe out signs of the Portuguese.”
www.pillarcatholic.com
