Abstract
The Xavier Centre of Historical Research and Thomas Stephens Konknni Kendr have been known in Goa and outside for their immense contribution to the advancement of history and Konkani, respectively. The seventeen papers in this edited volume are the product of a national seminar on the theme, Goa 2011: Reviewing and Recovering Fifty Years, jointly organised by these two premier academic and research institutes on 29–30 September 2011 to commemorate the golden jubilee year of Goa’s liberation (from 19 December 1961 to 19 December 2011). After Goa’s liberation, it has witnessed major historical developments, such as Opinion Poll, statehood and inclusion of Konkani in the Eighth Schedule. This volume is an effort to review and recover 50 years of Goa’s history, and it has mainly covered the myriad changes and developments in areas, such as politics, society and culture. Some of the specific topics analysed include civil society, popular movement, education, student movement, migration, transport, monuments and heritage, tenancy reform, status of Konkani, Gouly, Gaudde, relations between communities, press, folklore and special economic zone (SEZ). The volume has succinctly brought out major issues in the areas of Goan identity, language, culture and has followed a multidisciplinary approach.
The inaugural address by Rudolf C. Heredia explains the light and shadow in the 50 years of Goa’s history after liberation. The political trajectory and democratic experience of Goa, divided into four phases, encapsulate the major features of Goan politics from 1963 to the present. Multiple crises, such as the political crisis of subaltern inclusion, the economic crisis of Goa’s development and the cultural crisis of collective identity in Goa, are discussed. The positive and negative developments in post-independence India, particularly the lack of substantive democracy, and the larger pan-Indian context in which Goa has to be studied are identified.
Victor Ferrao, in his erudite essay on ‘Between Two Communities Past Disruption and Present Inter-relations’, explains the root causes and intricacies of the politics of identity that played between the Christians and Hindus of Goa, and argues that these run deep into the colonial era. He says that though it largely appears that Goans have shared cultural codes and modes of mediating differences, it is paradoxical that the communal divide appears to run deep across both time and terrain. To him, this divide is mainly visible in the political arena, and also in the everyday inter-communitarian intercourse in Goan society. He discusses the psycho-dynamics of trauma, dynamic of loss and recovery of self, psycho-dynamics of healing, mediating processes of difference and restoring the collective story of Goa. History research in Goa (1961–2011) is briefly studied by Agnelo P. Fernandes. This is an account of some of the Indo-Portuguese scholars and their works, historical research institutions in Goa and Europe and the categories of sources and their repositories in Goa and Europe. The author stresses the value of historical sources as heritage, and makes an earnest appeal that the documents in the Historical Archives of Goa, Central Library, Goa, etc. need to be preserved for the posterity.
Savio Abreu has analysed the civil society movements in contemporary Goa themes, issues and perspectives. To him, civil society emerged in Goa only after the Portuguese left the shores of Goa. He explains civil society and the themes emerging from society struggles in Goa: post-coloniality, Goan identity and culture and the threat of the outsider, the process of modernisation and issues related to development, environment and ecology. The first election in 1962, the Opinion Poll of 1967, passing of the Official Language Act declaring Konkani as the official language of Goa (4 February 1987), the Ramponkar (traditional fishermen) struggle and other movements against Nylon 6,6, Meta Strips, Regional Plan, etc. are covered. He attempted to construct a sociocultural theory of civil society movements in Goa. The student movement in Goa of the early 1980s, an insider’s story by Sushila S. Mendes, provides an exciting piece of Goan history. This movement began in the 1970s and continued until the 1980s. She analyses the role of the All Goa Students Union and the Progressive Students Union (PSU). Udent was the organ of the PSU; it began as a monthly students newsletter/magazine published from August 1981 to October 1985. She furnishes original and rare information on the involvement of PSU and its members in various agitations, camps, encounters with police and prisons and its role at the national level by holding various programmes.
The struggle against SEZs in Goa by Savio Abreu again examines the way Goa became the first state to reject all the fifteen SEZs, even the three notified ones. The SEZ Virodi Manch, other NGOs and provisions of RTI Act 2005 played a major role. According to him, this movement was neither anti-development nor against industries. It was for the control and proper utilisation of natural resources, especially land. Bernedette Gomes discusses the Sons of the Mountains, the Gouly of Goa, a tribal and backward community. She locates the community in the ecology of the Sahyadris, brings out their self-image and portrays their present socio-economic status.
Based on her 1-year fieldwork among Catholic and Hindu Gaudde, an unprivileged social group or tribe, in a village in south Goa, between 2006 and 2007, Claudia Pereira analyses their music, voicing the unheard through heritage. The Gaudde are known for their unique dress, music and dance, considered a synthesis of Catholic, Hindu and territorial practices that show a long-term negotiation between Portuguese and local culture. The author opines that their unprivileged status was imaginatively used as a tool to promote their cultural identity through heritage, reshaping their social image through tourism. Pratapananda Naik has analysed the history and challenges of the official language of Goa in his scholarly essay on ‘Konkani: A Language at the Crossroads’. He has discussed the problem of the Catholics with regard to Devanagari script for Konkani, the stance of the proponents of Devanagari script for Konkani, the Official Language Act, inclusion of Konkani in the 8th Schedule, language scenario in schools, Konkani language in media, literature and culture and the imbroglio due to scripts of Devanagari and Roman, and also the solutions for these problems.
‘The Post-1961 Press in Goa: Its Politics and Processes’ by Frederick Noronha discusses press and media, levers of power, the politics of news, language issue, challenges facing Goan media and the trends in Goan media. Remy Dias examines the tenancy reforms in Goa since liberation from 1961 to 1987. The Goa, Daman and Diu Agricultural Tenancy Act, 1964, passed by the Goa Legislative Assembly introduced tenancy reforms to reduce poverty and accelerate economic growth in the Union Territory of Goa. As in the rest of India, in Goa also the reforms were not well accepted by the bhatkars or the landed gentry. The subsequent amendments and their implications are also discussed.
Sachin Savio Moraes discusses negotiating male migration and the experience of women in Goa. The various phases and aspects of migration and their material and moral impacts on women are examined. ‘From Caminhao to Aviao’ by Sharmila Pais studies the system of public transportation in Goa since liberation. The traditional and modern means of transport are discussed. Prajal Sakhardande has examined The Goa Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1978, with special reference to the role played by the Goa Heritage Action Group in preserving Goan heritage.
The two papers titled ‘The Return to Indianness: Goan Nationalism in the 1920s’ and ‘Elementary Education in Goa during the Colonial Period (1821–1910) and Its Impact on Goan Society’ are interesting papers, though out of the scope of the theme of the seminar. If issues related with agriculture, industry, Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ), regional plan, tourism, mining, etc. had also been covered, the volume would have been more comprehensive. The introduction by Savio Abreu and Rudolf C. Heredia and concluding panel discussion by Rudolf C. Heredia and Rowena Robinson are very insightful. The organisers of the seminar and editors of the volume deserve to be congratulated for having brought together many papers on the post-1961 history of Goa in this anthology.