G’bye Goa: In-migration
By Valmiki Faleiro
Before turning over to the story of in-migration into Goa, let’s recap two distinct
patterns we saw in how Goa got populated down the ages (with Mhars, other tribals,
Indo-Aryans, Moradores and Muslims.) We saw that Goa always was a land of
migrants. Every man, woman and child in Goa, however loud the protestations of
being “Goan,” descends from a migrant at some point or the other in Goa’s
demographic history.
We also saw how, save the ancient Mundaris and Kharvis and latter-day Moradores
and Muslims, every successive people that descended on Goa subjugated the older
settlers. (This, pointedly, in the context of post-1961 in-migration.)
Just as Goan emigration was largely neither forced nor exclusive to the Portuguese
era, in-migration was not forced (save the slaves) nor, as some believe, a post-1961
phenomenon.
Traders from West Asia and western India, including St. Thomas Christians from
Kerala, were in Goa’s capitals since the early Christian era.
In-migration during the Portuguese period would have begun from 1510 itself, when
Afonso de Albuquerque encouraged his men to marry the widows of slain Bijapuri
soldiers. With the tantalising appeal of oriental skin and spice, few whites who
married and raised families here would have returned to Portugal, or Bijapur.
Later, under a flourishing slave trade, arrived the beautiful colours of black, brown
and yellow from Africa, Pegu/Burma, Siam/Thailand and China. A few slaves were
retained in Goa as domestics and, inevitably as can be imagined, inter-bred.
Portuguese presence thus promoted a new local breed of people, “Mesticos” (of
mixed descent.) There also was a spatter of “Descendentes” (settled whites), whose
progeny married locals and integrated into Goan society.
In 1744, the Portuguese king, unmindful of the geo-political losses of his empire in
India, ordered his new Viceroy, Miguel Pedro de Almeida, Marquis de Castello Novo,
to induct artisans from Thane, near Mumbai, into Goa. Miguel did not just that, but
recaptured the Alorna fort (actually the isle of Arabo in Pernem taluka) from the
Bhonsles on May 4, 1746. (This added to the further Marathicization of Konknni,
north of Bardez.)
Around that time, West Asian horse breeders were smuggled in by colonial dimwits,
in a failed attempt to raise Arabian horses in Goa, to bite into the lucrative trade in
this prized war machine (see this column of Aug 3, 2008.) Those imports were
housed in Sattari and Bicholim, whence they spread to the rest of Goa, to become
“Goan Muslims.”
In the late 19th century, with modernization of Mormugao port, linked by railroad to
mainland India, arose a huge manpower shortage. Bhaiyyas from India’s Northern
Provinces were imported as dock labour. Throughout the 19th through the mid-20th
century, as Goans emigrated in increasing numbers, there were continuous trickles
of Indian migrants into Goa, like most cobblers in Goa-1961, who had come in from
neighbouring Kolhapur and Belgaum districts.
The dilution of the so-called “Goan Identity” thus began while the Portuguese were
still here. Poorer migrants from elsewhere in India sought better pastures in Goa, just
like Goan émigrés who went to other places for the very same reason. As Goans left
their land for better economic opportunity, others arrived here to fill the vacuum.
According to the Census of 1900, “migrants” accounted for 11% of Salcete’s
population and 16% of Bardez. By the late-1950s, closing years of colonial rule,
Goa’s population rose to about 6.00 lakhs. Almost a quarter, or 25 per cent, was
migrant, either imported or voluntarily settled here from elsewhere in India.
Together, the ancient and medieval migrants, and 19th/20th century ones from British-
India, formed the social matrix of the Goa we knew in 1961, the turning point year in
modern Goa’s history.
Goa-1961 was a delightful mix of tribes, castes, races and religions, co-existing in a
civilised way (meaning, with an exterior sheen of tolerance but resentments within.)
Caste and its ills, related to things like marriage and dowry among Goans, has been
eloquently discussed by late Prof. (Dr.) Olivinho JF Gomes, IRS, in his “Village Goa”
(S. Chand & Co., New Delhi, 1987.)
P.S.: I’m appalled at the humiliation of a person of the stature of Nandkumar Kamat
at a Goan eatery at Calangute beach. Dr. Kamat himself agonized over the story at
http://www.navhindtimes.in/opinions/2735-discrimination-against-locals-i. I shall
never again step into that place, even free. Long-time Calangute Sarpanch, late JM
Souza Lobo, must be turning in his grave… (ENDS)
The above article appeared in the Herald, Goa, edition of September 13, 2009
September 13, 2009
September 11, 2009
HAVE CLERICS HEARD OF MOHAMMED LAL?
The following article written by the well known Kuwaiti personality, appeared in Kuwait's Arab Times dated 10.09.09. It is reproduced in goa.kranti for the information of its readers.
GOA.KRANTI.
HAVE CLERICS HEARD OF MOHAMMED LAL?
By Ali Ahmed Al-Baghli.
Former Minister of Oil, State of Kuwait.
We heard the story of a Kuwaiti and a Bedoun who returned from Afghanistan recently. They were shocked when they discovered that consuming and planting hashish are part of the daily activities of ‘jihadists’ in Afghanistan, instead of reading the Quran and praying to Allah, the Almighty, as we envisioned and in accordance with what the religious preachers in Kuwait told them before they headed to Afghanistan to fight against the so called ‘unbelievers’.
These preachers stay in Kuwait. They have not gone to Afghanistan. They drive the latest luxury cars, eat the best foods, and earn large sums of money from donations of Islamic charities, in addition to Zakat paid by Muslims! They mislead the public under the guise of protecting religion and the holy sites of Islam.
Let us tell them the story of a poor farmer in Afghanistan named Mohammed Lal. He is currently with the Taleban fighters. The preachers in Kuwait believe they share the same faith with these fighters.
Lal is a resident in a remote village near Aerogun Mountain. On August 20, 2009, he woke up at dawn, turned his face towards the direction of Kabah in Makkah and performed the Subah prayer. After praying he worked in his farm where he planted wheat, barley and corn, not hashish or opium. (Taliban believes the Salafi Islam monopolizes narcotics plantations).
After four hours of hard labour in the farm – Lal’s main source of income to support his wife and their nine children, he went to nearby village – Sheran – to vote in the election. Despite his poverty he believes he needs to fulfill his national duty – to vote in the election. ThreeTaleban fighters stopped him on his way to the village. When they asked for his destination, he told them the truth that he was going to Sheran village. The Taleban fighters tied him up and found the election card in his pocket. They beat him to serve as deterrent to other citizens. They cut his nose and ear to scare the others. Taleban was against the election, so they asked the citizens not to vote. (The Independent Newspaper in London published the story).
Back on the local front, we read a report published on Aug. 4, 2009 in Al - Dar daily about the Public prosecution’s order for the arrest of six Kuwaiti religious men and two famous political activists. These people are known for their political stand and religious activities in Kuwait.
According to the Kuwaiti and Bedous who came back from Afghanistan, these are the same people who encouraged them to join the Taleban and al-Qaeda to fight against the US and other foreign forces in Afghanistan.
Let me pose a question to these Islamic preachers in Kuwait and the political activists who support them, if you strongly believe that fighting for the Taleban and al-Qaeda is the essence of ‘jihad’ (holy war), why don’t you go yourself?
GOA.KRANTI.
HAVE CLERICS HEARD OF MOHAMMED LAL?
By Ali Ahmed Al-Baghli.
Former Minister of Oil, State of Kuwait.
We heard the story of a Kuwaiti and a Bedoun who returned from Afghanistan recently. They were shocked when they discovered that consuming and planting hashish are part of the daily activities of ‘jihadists’ in Afghanistan, instead of reading the Quran and praying to Allah, the Almighty, as we envisioned and in accordance with what the religious preachers in Kuwait told them before they headed to Afghanistan to fight against the so called ‘unbelievers’.
These preachers stay in Kuwait. They have not gone to Afghanistan. They drive the latest luxury cars, eat the best foods, and earn large sums of money from donations of Islamic charities, in addition to Zakat paid by Muslims! They mislead the public under the guise of protecting religion and the holy sites of Islam.
Let us tell them the story of a poor farmer in Afghanistan named Mohammed Lal. He is currently with the Taleban fighters. The preachers in Kuwait believe they share the same faith with these fighters.
Lal is a resident in a remote village near Aerogun Mountain. On August 20, 2009, he woke up at dawn, turned his face towards the direction of Kabah in Makkah and performed the Subah prayer. After praying he worked in his farm where he planted wheat, barley and corn, not hashish or opium. (Taliban believes the Salafi Islam monopolizes narcotics plantations).
After four hours of hard labour in the farm – Lal’s main source of income to support his wife and their nine children, he went to nearby village – Sheran – to vote in the election. Despite his poverty he believes he needs to fulfill his national duty – to vote in the election. ThreeTaleban fighters stopped him on his way to the village. When they asked for his destination, he told them the truth that he was going to Sheran village. The Taleban fighters tied him up and found the election card in his pocket. They beat him to serve as deterrent to other citizens. They cut his nose and ear to scare the others. Taleban was against the election, so they asked the citizens not to vote. (The Independent Newspaper in London published the story).
Back on the local front, we read a report published on Aug. 4, 2009 in Al - Dar daily about the Public prosecution’s order for the arrest of six Kuwaiti religious men and two famous political activists. These people are known for their political stand and religious activities in Kuwait.
According to the Kuwaiti and Bedous who came back from Afghanistan, these are the same people who encouraged them to join the Taleban and al-Qaeda to fight against the US and other foreign forces in Afghanistan.
Let me pose a question to these Islamic preachers in Kuwait and the political activists who support them, if you strongly believe that fighting for the Taleban and al-Qaeda is the essence of ‘jihad’ (holy war), why don’t you go yourself?
September 7, 2009
G'bye Goa:Goans Worldwide. By Valmiki Faleiro.
G’bye Goa: Goans worldwide
By Valmiki Faleiro
The August 23 column on Goan emigration worldwide elicited, expectedly, many
responses. I’ll share as many as this space provides, before we turn over to the story
of in-migration into Goa.
Fernando do Rego of Panjim, retired Dy. Director of Agriculture, often rejoins with off-
beat comment. To my tongue-in-cheek line, “there would be no place on earth where
a Goan didn’t piss,” he joined in: “Where is God? He is everywhere. But before him, a
Goan was already there!”
Rego told of his friend touring Iceland. “Seated in his hotel lounge sipping a drink, a
lady approached and, after courtesies, sat next to him. After some drinks, she got
cozy and offered him her services. He casually asked her from where she was. Her
reply: Goa. Imagine a Goan prostitute warming up in a land of ice!”
Fernandobab also pointed out I had forgotten Goans in Trinidad and Tobago (T&T),
“where our Banalcar poet, Berardo Pinto Pereira lived and his family still does.” An
unintended omission. Berardo’s widow, Dr. Lexley Pinto Pereira, teaches at a
medical university in St. Augustine-Trinidad and lives there with her family.
Thanks to another friend, Merwyn Lobo in Canada, Mabel de Souza Pooran who
lives in Port of Spain wrote, “Hey, I am Goan to the bone, and I’ve lived in T&T since
1979! There is a scattering of Goans here. Austin Trinidade born in Kenya was until
recently Chief Medical Officer of San Fernando Hospital in Trinidad.”
Anjuna-rooted, Pune-bred Placido D'Souza, a career diplomat, now retired in the
USA, was India’s Ambassador in two dozen countries or more. Wrote he, “An update
on Valmiki's article which I read with interest. As India’s High Commissioner to T&T,
concurrently accredited to eight countries and three territories in the Caribbean, I
presented credentials in Barbados, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Kitts
Nevis, Saint Lucia, Dominica & Antigua and Barbuda (apart from T&T), and Letters of
Credence in the British territories of Anguilla, Montserrat and Turks & Caicos Islands.
The only country to which I did not present credentials was Grenada, for reasons that
we need not go into. In T&T, I ran into a Goan Menezes family; in Saint Lucia, the
head of Health Services was a D'Souza; in Turks & Caicos Islands, the British
governor's wife was a Goan from Dar-es-Salaam. As Ambassador to Zaire, also
accredited to Congo (Brazzaville), Central African Republic, Gabon and Equatorial
Guinea, I met Goans all over.”
Don’t know how, but I also missed Switzerland. Wrote Bernardo de Sousa from
Geneva, “There are Goans in Switzerland, so your list now increases to 92.” (Actually
93, dear Bernardo, after T&T!)
Ethiopia was included, and Gabriel de Figueiredo now settled in Australia (son of the
famed 20th century Goan music Maestro, Antonio de Figueiredo), added at Goanet
(www.goanet.org): “One of my colleagues from the Brazilian Naval Commission in
Europe, now living in Sao Paulo, once told me that her great-grandfather was a Goan
from Ethiopia...”
Vivian DSouza, a banker who retired in the USA but returned to his native Socorro
said, “Must tell you there are several Goans still living in Zanzibar including the
illustrious Wolfango Dourado who at one time was Attorney General of Zanzibar.
I returned last month from Zanzibar and spoke to several Goans who live there.
“In T&T, there is a Goan girl married to a Trinidadian of Indian origin, Mabel de
Souza, now Pooran. Don’t know of any Goans still in Somalia, but while it was still
British Somalia, P.P. Mascarenhas worked for Barclays Bank in Mogadishu. I later
worked under him in Tanzania and often heard his stories about times in Mogadishu.
I met a Goan named Frances DeSales, now in the USA, who once lived in Kabul and
worked for the American Embassy there.”
At Goanet again, Wilson Soares sought details of any Goan in Panama. Roney
Viegas sought to know if the largest expatriate Goan community was in Mississauga.
Alfred de Tavares in Stockholm told him he believed the densest conglomeration of
Goans (“with all relevant derivatives of "Goaness") was in Portugal. Steve Pereira
met some Goans working in Shenzhen (mainland China), and one from Pilerne in
Tanggu-Tianjin. Bernado Colaco in Macau (ok, baba, now China) said he found a
Goan in Guangdong, making Sarapatel/Sorpotel! (ENDS)
The above article appeared in the Herald, Goa, edition of September 6, 2009
By Valmiki Faleiro
The August 23 column on Goan emigration worldwide elicited, expectedly, many
responses. I’ll share as many as this space provides, before we turn over to the story
of in-migration into Goa.
Fernando do Rego of Panjim, retired Dy. Director of Agriculture, often rejoins with off-
beat comment. To my tongue-in-cheek line, “there would be no place on earth where
a Goan didn’t piss,” he joined in: “Where is God? He is everywhere. But before him, a
Goan was already there!”
Rego told of his friend touring Iceland. “Seated in his hotel lounge sipping a drink, a
lady approached and, after courtesies, sat next to him. After some drinks, she got
cozy and offered him her services. He casually asked her from where she was. Her
reply: Goa. Imagine a Goan prostitute warming up in a land of ice!”
Fernandobab also pointed out I had forgotten Goans in Trinidad and Tobago (T&T),
“where our Banalcar poet, Berardo Pinto Pereira lived and his family still does.” An
unintended omission. Berardo’s widow, Dr. Lexley Pinto Pereira, teaches at a
medical university in St. Augustine-Trinidad and lives there with her family.
Thanks to another friend, Merwyn Lobo in Canada, Mabel de Souza Pooran who
lives in Port of Spain wrote, “Hey, I am Goan to the bone, and I’ve lived in T&T since
1979! There is a scattering of Goans here. Austin Trinidade born in Kenya was until
recently Chief Medical Officer of San Fernando Hospital in Trinidad.”
Anjuna-rooted, Pune-bred Placido D'Souza, a career diplomat, now retired in the
USA, was India’s Ambassador in two dozen countries or more. Wrote he, “An update
on Valmiki's article which I read with interest. As India’s High Commissioner to T&T,
concurrently accredited to eight countries and three territories in the Caribbean, I
presented credentials in Barbados, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Kitts
Nevis, Saint Lucia, Dominica & Antigua and Barbuda (apart from T&T), and Letters of
Credence in the British territories of Anguilla, Montserrat and Turks & Caicos Islands.
The only country to which I did not present credentials was Grenada, for reasons that
we need not go into. In T&T, I ran into a Goan Menezes family; in Saint Lucia, the
head of Health Services was a D'Souza; in Turks & Caicos Islands, the British
governor's wife was a Goan from Dar-es-Salaam. As Ambassador to Zaire, also
accredited to Congo (Brazzaville), Central African Republic, Gabon and Equatorial
Guinea, I met Goans all over.”
Don’t know how, but I also missed Switzerland. Wrote Bernardo de Sousa from
Geneva, “There are Goans in Switzerland, so your list now increases to 92.” (Actually
93, dear Bernardo, after T&T!)
Ethiopia was included, and Gabriel de Figueiredo now settled in Australia (son of the
famed 20th century Goan music Maestro, Antonio de Figueiredo), added at Goanet
(www.goanet.org): “One of my colleagues from the Brazilian Naval Commission in
Europe, now living in Sao Paulo, once told me that her great-grandfather was a Goan
from Ethiopia...”
Vivian DSouza, a banker who retired in the USA but returned to his native Socorro
said, “Must tell you there are several Goans still living in Zanzibar including the
illustrious Wolfango Dourado who at one time was Attorney General of Zanzibar.
I returned last month from Zanzibar and spoke to several Goans who live there.
“In T&T, there is a Goan girl married to a Trinidadian of Indian origin, Mabel de
Souza, now Pooran. Don’t know of any Goans still in Somalia, but while it was still
British Somalia, P.P. Mascarenhas worked for Barclays Bank in Mogadishu. I later
worked under him in Tanzania and often heard his stories about times in Mogadishu.
I met a Goan named Frances DeSales, now in the USA, who once lived in Kabul and
worked for the American Embassy there.”
At Goanet again, Wilson Soares sought details of any Goan in Panama. Roney
Viegas sought to know if the largest expatriate Goan community was in Mississauga.
Alfred de Tavares in Stockholm told him he believed the densest conglomeration of
Goans (“with all relevant derivatives of "Goaness") was in Portugal. Steve Pereira
met some Goans working in Shenzhen (mainland China), and one from Pilerne in
Tanggu-Tianjin. Bernado Colaco in Macau (ok, baba, now China) said he found a
Goan in Guangdong, making Sarapatel/Sorpotel! (ENDS)
The above article appeared in the Herald, Goa, edition of September 6, 2009
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