How The Church Flourished In Goa

HERALD

OPINION

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How the Church Flourished in Goa

o= HERALD o= Vol No CIX No: 31 Saturday 31 January, 2009

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Coalition dharma

Lost opportunity

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n nominating Adv Narendra Sawaikar for the South Goa parliamentary seat, the Bharatiya Janata Party may have rewarded a party loyalist, but it has also lost a unique opportunity. It could have supported the candidature of the United Goans Democratic Party’s (UGDP’s) Matanhy Saldhana for the constituency. Matanhy has considerable credibility and support among both Catholics and Hindus in South Goa. Besides, he would make an excellent parliamentarian. With the present atmosphere of discontent against the government and the BJP’s support, Matanhy stood a good chance of winning the election. Most important of all, he would have made a very reliable ally, not because he supports its policies – he doesn’t – but because he is a man of his word. The BJP should remember that earlier, Matanhy chose to risk disqualification from the Assembly rather than change his loyalties.

Confused secularism Averthanus L D’Souza, Dona Paula When one gets a bull by the tail, as your correspondent Anil Sawant has done (‘Selective secularism’, Herald, 28 Jan), there is a grave danger that one can get kicked. Moreover, Anil Sawant seems to have got hold of a different bull altogether. He needs to carefully re-read my article to understand what it was really all about. It is not a good practice to vent one’s spleen at random. Anil Sawant tells us that President Obama could have done this or that, or that he should have done this or that, or that this or that might have been done. All this is completely irrelevant to the issue. We are dealing with actually what was done – not with what “might” have been done. In any rational discussion, it is good to address the issue at hand, rather than to attack a particular person who has proposed a point of view. Such personalised attacks only weaken one’s argument. Anil Sawant asserts that “Hinduism or Bud-

100 Years Ago

PRIMEIRO

DIARIO

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C O L O N I AS

P O RT U G E Z AS

31 January 1909 Capitalist-journalist’s trial

The capitalist-journalist Henry Keas was sentenced to a one-year term for bad management and false testimony.

Roguery in Mapusa

Taking advantage of the quiet of the night, some miscreants are practicing all kinds of roguery in Mapusa, mainly in the ward ‘Angoddo’, where they are reported to have violently pulled up plants from nearby gardens and robbed kitchen utensils, that too in full view of the police.

Literary society promotes ball

A literary society of Mapusa is going to promote a gala ball on the occasion of the forthcoming Carnival.

By the grace of God, questionable land deals and impious endowments, says TEOTÓNIO R DE SOUZA

oon after the conquest of Goa in 1510, the Portuguese took over several land properties and gave them as grants to lay people and to religious. Giving lands as dowry was a part of the policy of Afonso de Albuquerque for promoting mixed marriages. When the campaign of demolishing temples began in the early 1540s, the namoshi lands were confiscated and transferred to the religious orders. Cunha Rivara, Goa’s state secretary and historian during two decades, stated in O Chronista de Tissuary (March 1866) that from the 17th century the religious had lost much of their zeal or “cheiro de santidade” (odour of holiness), and occupied themselves in gathering material wealth through State and private endowments and purchase of landed properties. Dying persons were often frightened with the spectre of hell or purgatory into making endowments on their death beds. Poor orders became rich. As mentioned earlier, the scandal of wealth and complaints of laymen led the Crown to order on 4 November 1609 a ban on the religious accepting endowments of immovable property. However, the religious were influential enough in the royal bed-chambers to bypass such orders and could get the Crown to issue counter-orders. In India the Portuguese State availed of the religious presence in the neigbouring territories as diplomatic agents before the native rulers. Such vital services had obviously to be compensated. The Portuguese married-settlers (casados) in Goa were complaining to the King of Portugal in 1603 that “If the State of India is lost, it will be solely because of the Society of Jesus (…). They are absolute masters of a great part of this island (of Goa), most of which they have bought, and at this rate there will be no house or palm-grove left which will not be theirs within ten years from now. The Portuguese settlers find themselves impoverished, because they have no lands to invest in, and whatever capital they had they have lost it in the sea. The income which the Jesuits derive from their properties in Salcete alone would suffice to maintain all the Religious houses that we have here.” A great deal of this Jesuit success was researched critically and published by none other than a Jesuit himself, Charles Borges, the former Director of the Xavier Centre of Historical Research. Anyone interested can read his candid account, published as a doctoral thesis entitled The Economics of the Goa Jesuits, 1542–1759: An Explanation of their Rise and Fall

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he decision of the Congress Working Committee (CWC), the party’s highest policy-making body, that it would not be a party to any national-level alliance with its United Progressive Alliance (UPA) partners, has set the cat among the pigeons. Immediately, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) slammed its senior UPA partner. NCP spokesman D P Tripathi said that the Congress does not understand the logic, essence and the function of coalition politics at the centre. But the fact is, it does, and only too well. The CWC’s position is a highly nuanced one. It says there will be no alliance at the national level. This means each UPA constituent will fight the coming parliamentary poll on its own. But the existing state-level adjustments for seats with UPA partners will continue. Congress General Secretary Janardhan Dwivedi said that this would give more flexibility to the party in post-poll negotiations. It is also a clear snub to what the party feels are extravagant demands by overambitious alliance partners like the Lok Janashakti Party (LJP) of Ram Vilas Paswan and Sharad Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). The latter not only wants a majority of the seats in Maharashtra, but is projecting Sharad Pawar for the prime minister’s post…! Thursday’s CWC meeting concluded that the 2009 elections would produce a mixed result, leading to the formation of another coalition government. It was felt that the party is bound to lose seats in states it swept in the 2004 polls like Haryana (all 10 seats) and Andhra Pradesh (35 out of 42 seats with TRS). The situation in Tamil Nadu – where the Congress-Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam (DMK) combination swept the poll last time – is fluid, with both the DMK and Jayalalithaa’s AIADMK unwilling to commit themselves. Therefore the Congress cannot afford to concede too many constituencies to its allies in the other states, where it needs to win a significant number of seats if it is to keep its hopes of leading the next government alive. Therefore in states where the Congress doesn’t have allies, it will not seek votes for other UPA partners; only for its own candidates. In any case, the party that is most miffed with the decision of the Congress – the NCP – has little justification for its indignation. The NCP has been following a state-wise (even city-wise) policy of alliances. For example, in Meghalaya, the Congress emerged as the single largest party in the last election and the NCP came second. But the NCP went out of its way to make an alliance with the third-placed United Democratic Party (UDP) and a handful of smaller parties – including the BJP – and independents, to form an anti-Congress government. In Maharashtra, where a Congress-NCP alliance rules the state, the NCP joined the ruling alliance of the BJP-Shiv Sena in the Pune Municipal Corporation. This has caused a great deal of rancour. Maharashtra’s new Chief Minister Ashok Chavan recently publicly appealed to the NCP to end this “immoral” alliance. In our very own Goa, even while being a part of the ruling coalition, the NCP has formed an alliance-within-the alliance, with the MGP and independent MLA Vishwajeet Rane. And the local Congress has had to lump this, even though it doesn’t like it. The fact is, the NCP is in no position to preach to others on ‘coalition dharma’. It cannot run with the hare and hunt with the hounds.

The Cumbarjua Church and a little sanctuary nearby dedicated to saintly Jesuit (‘Pavlis Prasann’), probably the Fr Gonçalo Martins mentioned in the text. He had a strong presence in Cumbarjua.

HISTORICAL EXPLORATIONS (1994). The times have changed and the present-day Indian Jesuits do not have to hold a candle to their erstwhile colonial teachers, excepting perhaps to St Francis Xavier, a Basque and not a Portuguese, who too denounced the abuses of his fellow Jesuits and the Portuguese colonialists, whom he accused of parsing too fluently the verb “to rob” (rapio in Latin) in all its moods and tenses! The religious orders in Goa maintained close contacts with big-time businessmen, some of them of foreign nationality that was deemed inimical by the Portuguese. Such were, for instance, the Couttre brothers, Flemish jewel traders, or Ferdinand Cron, an Augsburg merchant. These assisted the Franciscans and the Jesuits generously with their funds in order to be held in good public esteem and so to minimise or escape State watch against suspect foreign nationals. The Couttre brothers are known to have helped the Franciscans to build the Moirá church, while Cron contributed to the costs of the celebrations of the canonization of St Francis Xavier in 1623. A Portuguese over-

Tongue In Cheek

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umerous poems have been written, countless songs composed, several books written and a vast number of films made (especially by Bollywood) are on just one topic – love. History has it that kings have even fought wars for the sake of love. Definitely love is the strongest of all human emotions. Many have given up their lives for the sake of love. Love makes the world (your world) go round. Love is satisfying, love is gratifying, love is enchanting, love is giving, love makes life meaningful. When we mention the word ‘love’, the one type of love that comes to mind is the love between two adults belonging to opposite sexes. But then love is not restricted to just a man-woman relationship. The definition of love can be as vast as the ocean. There is parental love, brotherly love, love between true friends, love between a husband and wife, and, of course, there is ultimately divine love. God our Heavenly Father loves us more than any living being does. Then there is the love of other objects. You love your home. You could be an animal lover or a plant lover. There are those who love art, music or a life of adventure. How then does one define this most complex of human emotions? The Oxford Dictionary defines ‘love’ as a warm liking or affection. That is probably the simplest definition of such a complex human feeling. If you wish to be young, love someone, for it is said that the heart that loves is always young. The family that is built on the foundation of love can weather any

dhism, for example, have no problems with abortion…” I am not sure which Hinduism or Buddhism Anil Sawant is referring to. To the best of my knowledge, all religions – Taoism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, the ancient religions of Greece, Rome, Babylon and Biblical Judaism, etc – uphold the sacredness of life. If this is not a universal value, I wonder what is. Anil Sawant needs to re-examine his understanding of “religion” and take a fresh look at the teachings of all the great religions of the world. He seems anxious to cut off his toes in order to fit his foot into a shoe that is too tight for him.

Promoting goondaism Pachu Menon, Margao Organisations like the Shiv Sena, the Bajarang Dal, Raj Thackeray’s MNS and now the Sri Rama Sene have all tried to project themselves as forces against the tumultuous growth of an all-pervasive culture that seems to have afflicted the new generation. The Sri Rama Sene, however, takes the cake for its virulent attack on the ‘pub culture’ that seems to have smitten the youth in the cities today. Resorting to ‘Talibanic’ practices, the Hindutva outfit appears to take their self-assigned ‘moral-policing’ roles far too unethically. The barbaric attack on young women – and some men – in a Mangalore pub could only be happening in a pre-historic era; and we are supposed to be civilised! Such actions only reaffirm the belief that these organisations are offshoots of a movement that propagates a policy of ‘goondaism’ that in its wake will only cause a proliferation of unsocial elements in an orderless society.

Understanding terrorism B S Rana, Dona Paula The most inspiring words heard recently were when Obama said that America is a country which belongs to all religions, including non-believers, and then when he said America might have made mistakes but America is not an enemy of Muslims and wants to move forward with them. While we all wait to see how he puts his words into action, we must appreciate that his thoughts and wish are genuine. The whole world should extend its cooperation to Obama to make this

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seas trader, Baltazar da Veiga, a close friend of the Jesuit Gonçalo Martins, paid all the costs of the richly ornamented Bom Jesus Church sacristy. The Jesuit did his good turn when Baltazar da Veiga was hauled in by the Goa Inquisition. It was in response to repeated complaints against the land grab by the churchmen that several royal and viceregal decrees were issued to control the institution of new religious houses and to check the acquisition of more land properties by the existing ones. The seriousness of the land grab by the religious orders is sufficiently testified by the property registers of the various religious monasteries that flourished in Goa from the 16th century onwards till their suppression by the Government in 1759 and again in 1834. The Jesuit order was suppressed first, and all other religious orders at the later date. Their houses and properties were taken over by the government, and partly handed over to the Goa Archdiocese. J B Amancio Gracias published serially a listing of the “Bens Pensionados em Goa” in the old and new series

of the journal O Oriente Português, since 1917 till 1932, covering the properties of the various religious orders and their convents from the registers pertaining to 1735–44 and preserved in the Land Revenue Department (Fazenda). He tells us that he found stated in the beginning of these volumes that they transcribed all the early and past registers. Apparently, in 1669 a decision of the Dominican order had reduced the obligations pending upon several properties due to their reduced investment value at that time. Some incomplete records were earlier published by Francisco Xavier Vas in O Heraldo of 12 January 1908. At the time of the suppression of the religious orders the properties of the Augustinians alone were valued at six and a half lakh rupees. Charles Borges has estimated the value of the Jesuit properties at the time of their suppression on the basis of the ledgers and confiscation deeds preserved in hundreds of volumes entitled Papéis dos Conventos Extintos (Papers of the Suppressed Convents) in the Goa Historical Archives. I had found these records, and particularly those of the Augustinians, very useful to estimate the living cost of the urban society in Goa during the seventeenth century. The results were published in my book Medieval Goa (1979) which is likely to be released very shortly in its third edition (second in English). All this may appear to be distant history, but the extent of the Church power in Goa today is solidly built on that past and is sustained by it. The properties of the Church of Goa extend so far and wide that the Church authorities themselves are not fully aware of the title deeds to claim the gains of much ill-begotten inheritance. Interestingly, or rather unfortunately, many in postLiberation Goa are finding it hard to liberate themselves from the spiritual bindings of the so-called Legados Pios or what one should rather translate as “impious endowments” linked to properties that were donated to the religious orders with obligations to be fulfilled by the said religious to put the dead donors and their family members to rest! It is not uncommon to hear in Goa the words “Tankam pensanv laglam” when some child in the family dies or someone falls sick for no known reason, etc. It means that the family concerned has not fulfilled obligations that remain attached to some property they acquired. Just a year before Goa’s Liberation, Fr Francisco Xavier Costa published a listing of such Legados Pios. Many may not care for history, but may still want to care for their future and consult this interesting register.

Live To Love storm and will never fall apart. A relationship built on true love lasts forever. When you love someone you will never harm or think ill of the person. Hence it is said that love is never having to say you are sorry. But unfortunately many times a wrong meaning is given to this most wonderful of human emotions. Love is brought down to such a level that it is likened to lust. There is a vast difference between true love and lust. While lust is more of a physical feeling and last momentarily, true love lasts a lifetime and even beyond. A fine example of one’s true love translated into something that stands the test of time is the Taj Mahal in Agra. Standing tall it is a testimony of true love. If you love someone, show it by your actions, for hidden love is as good as no love. “They do not love that do not show their love,” wrote William Shakespeare. Probably the greatest love story of all times was written by this very genius. The play “Romeo and Juliet” was later made into a film which is an eternal tribute to love. The Holy Scripture teaches us to love our neighbours. But probably the most difficult part of loving is that which the Bible teaches us – to love our enemies. God is love. Every religion teaches one to love his fellow being. Unfortunately there are some who divide people on the basis of the faith they follow. This is most unfortunate and a very dangerous trend that is eating into our society. If there is no love in this world there can be no hope for mankind. Mother Teresa, who is also known as the ‘Saint of the Gutters’ was an epitome of

By Adelmo Fernandes love. So also was the Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi who believed in the power of non-violence. Love can build bridges. It is the only hope on which the human race can survive. If there is no love and respect between people of different nations, it will result in war and destruction. “Love is all we have, the only way that each can help the other,” wrote Euripides. Love transcends all boundaries. It sees no difference in colour, religion or caste. The problem with the world today is that true love is fast disappearing. Hence we see the number of divorces rising every year. Ironically young adults run away from their homes in search of love when their homes should have been the very place where they get the first taste of love. Lack of love is the reason for quarrels between neighbours, between life partners, between parents and children. Absence of love also leads to other negative emotions like jealousy, infidelity, etc. “One word frees us all the weight and pain of life. That word is ‘love’,” wrote Sophocles.  Love is an emotion one sees even in the animal kingdom. If you want any proof of it just take a look at the love birds. The only thing they seem to do is to love their mates. Indeed we have a lot to learn from these simple birds. Even the most ferocious of animals shows love towards their young ones. Indeed, love is a many-splendoured thing. Remember, if you live to love, you will love to live.         

Letters to the Editor

Letter of the Day Deliberate fire at Sonsoddo?

Joe D’Souza, Panjim

The so-called accidental fire at Sonsoddo seems to be a deliberate attempt by certain vested interests, directed towards making place for the future dumping of garbage, at the cost of residents nearby. The three-member committee appointed by the Government of Goa has frequently inspected the site of the garbage dump at Sonsoddo, and they are conversant with the physical and chemical constitution of the garbage, which contains various grades of plastics, essentially consisting of polyvinyl, polystyrene and other aromatic hydrocarbons, which incidentally was highly soaked with high moisture content. The fire, which was artificially catalyzed, would be responsible for the active growth of oncogenesis and other respiratory ailments. This fact was confirmed by our experts. We were informed by scientists that the smoke caused by partial degradation of plastic litter would release cancer-causing volatile chemicals like furans, dioxins and other aromatic poisonous substances, adversely affecting residents and students of the nearby school. The Government of Goa should initiate a detailed analysis of the site and pin down the suspects linked to the MMC who seem to have a vested interest in quick solutions and making a fast buck at the cost of the residents. Closing this matter as a instance of a natural fire caused by miscreants would be counter-productive to the health and the quality of life of Madgaonkars in particular and Goans in general. I personally visited Sonsoddo dumpsite on 28 and 29 Jan, along with journalists, and found no responsible person present on the morning of 29 Jan. Except for the symbolic dumping of debris on the garbage, which would be counter-productive to the containment of fire, no serious effort from experts was seen. The conspirators should be identified and punished as this ugly act was well planned and executed during the holiday break. Shoddy work of dumping mud on ignited garbage would be futile. Treatment of the fire with inert gases like carbon dioxide or carbonates is vital. Mr Joaquim Alemao has rightly fixed responsibility and ordered tendering process for Sonsoddo. A lot of criticism was heaped on Hyquip, which was appointed by proper tendering process by the Government of Goa. What is sauce for the goose must be sauce for the gander. Why is the Chief Minister averse to proper codal procedures with regard to garbage management at Sonsoddo? planet free from the man-made fear known as terrorism. Punitive measures like bombarding the camps, killing perpetrators and preventive measures to protect ourselves from terror attacks can only be tentative measures and would ultimately bring more terrorism and give them an opportunity to become more sophisticated. Obama, in the true spirit of his words, can lead this world in understanding the causes of terrorism and thereby taking into confidence even the worst kind of terrorist by communication and dialogue.

Out of his depth S Kamat, Alto Betim

Adm Vadgaonkar of the Indian Navy seemed to be ‘out of his depth’ when he spoke about matters relating to the airport – naturally enough, given that he is a Navy man talking of matters relating to the air! If he wants the Navy to have more frequent test flights and exclusive use of the airport, should it not move out to the new naval base at Karwar where there are less people and no commercial flights to impinge upon the naval use of

the airport. When the Navy has built an extensive naval base at Karwar where there is adequate space for an airport, why should they hang on to Dabolim airport and dictate terms on its usage to the civil administration?

The global recession Elesbaan Pereira, Quepem There’s an old joke which says, “It’s a recession when your neighbor loses their job. It’s a depression when you lose your job.” The entire world seems to be talking about the recent recession. The effects of the recession extend well beyond the unemployment statistics. High salary earners have to take up jobs that pay much less than their previous jobs. Innocent employees end up losing their jobs for no fault of theirs, and debts rise substantially leaving the family in a situation of insecurity. The newly elected United States President Barack Obama begins his presidency with an economy and stock market already in deep trouble; hence this is a big challenge awaiting him. We just have to keep our fingers crossed and pray that everyone affected recovers from this global crisis.

Adult-child relationships Joaquim Pacheco, Divar Today we rarely come into contact with children other than our own. Childcare has become entirely privatised. The estrangement of adults from childhood is caused by many factors, but the principal cause is mistrust. Our protective parenting culture is also responsible for the erosion of the adultchild relationship. Adults are also implicitly encouraged to avoid taking responsibility of other peoples children. The real damage begins when the children are as young as four or five.. They realise that they face no sanctions from anyone other than their parents. Children are taught to regard grown-ups as strangers who are likely to be dangerous, and this makes it difficult for adults to carry out their role of guiding and socializing the young. This absence of adult intervention is an invitation to bad behavior, and the cause of the lack of respect shown towards adults among today’s youngsters.

Words of Wisdom Sukhmani Sahib Sukhmani Sahib is the name given to the set of hymns divided into 24 sections which appear in the Sri Guru Granth Sahib. Each section is called an Ashtpadi (asht means 8), consists of 8 hymns per Ashtpadi. Sukhmani literally means ‘peace in your mind’. Sukhmani Sahib is a prayer in the form of a song to bring everlasting peace and comfort to the mind. Sukhmani Sahib opens your heart to live in gratitude, steadies your spiritual discipline, and connects you with your strength, endurance, courage and infinite consciousness to overcome every obstacle. Listening to or reciting Sukhmani Sahib once a day can change your destiny from misery to prosperity and give you inner balance, grace, radiance, energy and the power to sacrifice. The Sukhmani is probably the greatest composition of Guru Arjan Dev Ji. He wrote it in response to request from a devotee who was suffering form physical pain and mental anguish; it restored him to calm and health. The Sukhmani Sahib has structural unity. It has 24 staves (slokas), one of which begins each canto. There are 24 cantos, each containing 8 stanzas. Each stanza has ten lines, that is, five couplets. There is also the unity of theme: the perfection of man mentally, morally and spiritually. Ashtpadi 1 Meditate, meditate, by meditation peace is found. Antagonism and dispute are dispelled from your body. Meditate and Praise the One who pervades the whole Universe. Countless people, in so many ways, chant your (God’s) Name. The Vedas, the Puraanas and the Simritees, the purest of utterances, All say the same Word for the One Lord. That one, in whom even for a second you dwell – their praises cannot be recounted. Those who yearn only for the blessing of Your Sight – Nanak: save me along with them.

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