Book review: The Intersectional Ties of Caste,Class and Language in the Making of the Goanese

Works on Goa are few and far between, those that exist, largely feature the myriad arts and cultural activities, the favourable tourism, an overall romanticized view is more commonly cultivated and expected as well. The plethora of such literature camouflages the contentious history of state making, which centred around the issue of Konkani, the official language of the state. Citizenship in a Caste Polity: Religion, Language and Belonging in Goa, comes as a welcome research on the area. Researched upon meticulously by Jason Keith Fernandes, the book gives an insider’s view of the unfolding of the events, post the gradual evolution of the state within the Indian federal system.

The story/stories of Indian state formation have witnessed innumerable templates, but no matter the variegated nature of the trajectories adopted by the support groups, on one issue the Indian state has remained firm: whatever be the nature of realpolitik, the accepted grounds of federal discourse have always been based on language. Language has always constituted the recognizable marker of identity of the contesting groups. As in other states, such as Punjab and elsewhere, while linguistic groups could adopt belligerence in the public space, the underlying contests for power and privilege and real markers of identity were feverishly contested between groups bearing prominent religious identity.

The case of Goa is very interesting. Unlike other states of India, writings on the growth of nationalism in Goa emerged from Christian seminaries, perhaps that remains the reason why the writings until today have not been propagated thoroughly, they remain largely undiscovered. Significant religionists were directly involved in the movements for state formation, however, the religious fervour and zeal were sought to be camouflaged under the language issue.

Fernandez identifies the major groups contesting the language issue in the state. The Official Language Act (4 February 1987) gave recognition exclusively to Konkani written in the Devanagari script. This was strongly supported on the one hand by the dominant Saraswat Brahmins, drawing their strength from the emerging ethos of Hindu, Hindutvavad in the country and on the other by the Roman Catholics, mostly from the priestly class who also espoused Brahmin lineage. The book centres around the fervour expressed by the other Roman Catholics. For those in favour of propagating Konkani in the Roman script, this was the challenge to the organized moves of the dominant groups for Konkani in the Devanagari script. It recounts the efforts of individual priests and certain organizations like the Dalgado Konkani Akademi. The third group the subaltern Christians, though the largest group during colonial times, was somehow outplaced by the historical turn of events, the passing of colonialism and the growth of nationalist fervour expressed by the upper castes. Although Konkani was granted the official language status, eventually Marathi, the language of one-third the residents of Goa and English also gained slow progression in the public space.

One must remember readings on Goa cannot be done applying the standard Indo-British parameters, a second colonial power, Portugal and its singularly different dominance-styles gain significance here. The crux of the issue is that of citizenship, revolving around the question ‘who is the ideal citizen?’ Could the bearer of the foreign-religion-tag/Christian ever become a better and more loyal citizen of India than the homegrown, bred-exclusively-on-the-Vedas, Saraswat Brahmins? The argument had its complex meanderings, and was forceful enough to captivate a section of the Roman Catholic priests also, who also professed Brahmin ancestry. They also like the former group favoured Konkani in the Devanagari script, as a greater marker of their nationalist fervour. Government benefits have in the past enticed community actions such as these. In Southern India, particularly Kerala, the economically and politically visible Syrian Christian group (now bifurcated across denominations) similarly has never forgotten its Namboodiri heritage, in this case it still helps to foster their historical dominance and exclusivity, distancing them from other Christians converted from various castes over the centuries.

Can nationalism have religion, caste and creed? In Goa, minority groups had to face the same dilemma that they have faced elsewhere. Their field and habitus, their ‘citizenship acts’ notwithstanding, Christians and Muslims have been subjected to rigorous challenges to prove their nationality in the past, and this dehumanization continues akin to experiences in various parts of the country even today. Certain appropriate words are used by Fernandes to explicate the gradual marginalization of one group of religionists and the ascendance of the other, ‘Historical accident’, ‘manoeuvrings’ and ‘citizenship acts’ are some of these. Though the Catholics and the Hindus had similar local origins, yet the historical misadventure of the entry of the Portuguese resulted in the ascendance of the latter over the former in the emerging discourse on modernity and nationalism. Yet, opportunistic manoeuvring, in the name of common lineage expressed by some Catholic priests gained them political leverage along with the Saraswat Brahmins. The strong point of the book revolves around the explication of ‘citizenship acts’; these refer to the multifarious oppositional acts emanating from the subaltern, other caste groups even Muslims and all the oppressed to legitimize/prove their nationality.

The author has openly declared his subjective assertions towards the Roman Catholics espousing official language in the Roman script, but Fernandes’ experienced reality brings out another gory element in the projected attitudes. Gopal Guru has also drawn attention towards shame or humiliation as experienced reality of the Dalits; in this case it was the temerity of the subaltern for their support to Konkani in the Roman script, claims to its better acclimatization for liturgical renderings in the church, as well as its historical connections; the ‘citizenship acts’ or movements for legitimization of the Goanese Roman Catholic subaltern were defamed and decried. It was plainly a case of nonacceptance of the organized cultivated enactments, myriad cultural outpourings of resistance against the Saraswat Brahmin and support for Konkani in the Roman script. The dominant groups led by the Brahmins shamed all forms of cultural representations in favour of the Roman script as substandard, not worthy of carrying the historical lineage of Konkani in the nationalist Devanagari script.

The analogy with the explanation offered by Christophe Jaffrelot, of the worldview of the Brahmin, is very appropriate here as well. The placement of the various castes according to this worldview places the Brahmin at the centre of concentric circles representing the largest religious grouping, the Muslims and the Christians are lodged at the very outer rim of the circle, with the other castes placed in between. Only with the utmost suddhikaran/purification rituals can these aliens be allowed progression into the inner sanctums of the circle.

Some very interesting observations have been made by the author: Multiple relationalities were visible during the course of the study, not unilinear ties or even simple binaries between the minority and majority, this created the situation where a plural context became the emergent norm. It was quite acceptable to have multiple linkages among the different contenders for power, the subaltern could be a part of the Bahujan Samajwadi Party which supported the pro-Marathi Maharashtra Gomantak Party, at the same time interpret the need for Konkani for their tiatr (a popular cultural platform) for cultural expressions. Though complex and having multiple layers, such affiliations to a large extent enabled the secular context of Goa from disappearing altogether. Second, the researched works on the region so far highlight the politics behind the formation of the state, reducing the endeavour to legalistic contentions; this causes the very important angle, the anthropological interpretations behind the political to be almost marginalized. The latter veers from the static theoretical politico/legal acts of the citizens to their quotidian actions, acts of the everyday which mattered in the emerging state and adoption of Konkani in the Devanagari script than mere constitutional declarations; this once more draws attention to multiple interpretations of the ongoing events rather than singular ones. Plural understandings of identity have helped the eventual transformation into a pacific polity.

The book has been meticulously researched, it is an enhanced and revised version of the author’s doctoral dissertation, completed through grants obtained under the aegis of research institutions in Portugal. Copious field notes, derived from interactions across the socio-political spectrum provided the necessary material, these apart from experiences derived from his own intense political activism provide rich reading material. Yet, despite its readability, it is rather dense with facts, sometimes repetitive perhaps because the core issue has been explored from all angles possible. The doctoral manuscript has been revised, yet its formatting has not been altered, so we have a prologue and an introduction in every chapter adding to the density and complexity of the issues.

There are seven chapters including the Introduction and Conclusion in the book. The first chapter begins with a theoretical background to the study of citizenship in India; followed by an Anthropological approach to the political history of Konkani; the Konkani Munis (persons) are introduced next; the fourth chapter reveals the citizenship experiences of the Goan Catholics; this is followed by the forms of humiliation suffered by the marginalized and finally the Conclusion.

Fernandes’ work deserves keen appreciation for bringing new insights to the study of state formation and acceptable norms of citizenship in the country, it goes beyond the structural and theoretical parameters afforded by political studies and seeks to unravel the plural spaces that defined interactions between the contenders for power. In this, it creates space for newer dimensions in the studies of citizenship, inherent to the study of state politics.