OPINION Pg8

HERALD
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o= HERALD o=
Vol No CIX No: 269
J H da Cunha Rivara and Native Goan Elites
Goa, Saturday 26 September, 2009 While some of Cunha Rivara’s writings are well-known, it would be useful to analyse his other work, says TEOTÓNIO R DE SOUZA

Maharashtra’s I
need to refer my readers to my earlier essay in villager and friend, has done commendable research
Herald (14 Feb 2009) titled ‘A Portuguese Orien on this area, but I wish it was less of an institutional and
talist to Remember’. That essay and another one in more of a socio-economic study.

poll panorama the Lisbon weekly Semanário (20 Feb 2009) alerted One thing is clear from Cunha Rivara’s intense in-
some of the Portuguese institutions which were duty- volvement in the defence of the Portuguese Padroa-
bound to remember and take some initiative to com- do in India: he converted the Official Government

W
hen Maharashtra goes to the polls on 13 October, it will
witness a unique four-cornered contest, with two main
contenders and two ‘spoilers’ competing for the votes. But
that is just part of the story. This election will be a critical one, not only
for the main contenders in the fray, but also for a number of smaller fry
that are looking for their place in the sun.
The man to watch is the chief spoiler in the fray – Maharashtra
Navnirman Sena (MNS) supremo Raj Thackeray. He has rebelled against
his uncle, Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray, taken over his anti-outsider
Marathi Manoos platform and, using the very high-decibel tactics
that the Sena successfully employed four decades ago, has stolen its
thunder.
For Raj, this is the acid test. The forthcoming assembly election is
going to be the pivotal event that determines whether he continues
to remain relevant in Maharashtra politics. No one is more acutely aware
of this than the man himself. This poll is like the very first Mumbai
Municipal Corporation election the Shiv Sena fought in 1967. It can
make him or break him. And it would do the converse for the Sena.
Raj’s aim in this election is to divide the Marathi and/or Hindu vote,
and enable the Congress-NCP combine to move ahead of the Shiv
Sena-BJP alliance. The MNS will field about 110 candidates, mostly in
the urban areas of Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Thane, Kalyan-Domibivili,
Pune and Nashik, which together account for around 40 per cent of
the state legislative assembly’s 288 seats. In the recent Lok Sabha
poll, the MNS fielded just 12 candidates. Not a single won, but each
took not less than a lakh of votes, helping the Congress-NCP to grab
most of those seats. The MNS got a modest 4.5 per cent of the overall
vote, but in Mumbai’s six constituencies they cornered an impressive
21 per cent. Can Raj sustain the tempo?
The other spoiler is the Republican Left Democratic Front (RLDF),
an alliance of around a dozen parties, including most factions of the
pro-Dalit Republican Party of India (RPI), the pro-Muslim Samajwadi
Party, the CPI(M), various factions of the Janata Dal, and the Peasants
& Workers Party (PWP). This combine is expected to eat into the votes
of the Congress-NCP combine, and help the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance.
Most of the RLDF parties are the ‘usual suspects’ one finds in sundry
‘Third Front’ alliances. But there are some interesting types, like Raju
Shetty and his ‘Swabhimani Shetkari Sangathana’. Shetty is a farmer-
activist who broke from Sharad Joshi’s Shetkari Sanghatana and was
the surprise winner from Shirola in the last assembly election. He has
successfully rallied sugarcane growers and, in the recent Lok Sabha
election, defeated NCP heavyweight Nivedita Mane in Hatkanangale.
He has powerful friends too, having helped the Congress’s Union
Minister of State for Youth Affairs & Sports Pratik Patil win from Sangli.
Shetty is putting up candidates in 24 seats in western Maharashtra.
And then, of course, there’s Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP),
which has fielded candidates in all 288 seats. However, the BSP has
memorate the bicentenary of his birth, but were bliss-
fully ignorant of the fact.
It was my privilege to participate in events rapidly
organised by four institutions that mattered: (1) The
Portuguese Academy of History on 27 May, as part of
a seminar on the Church-State Relations under Portu-
guese Monarchy; (2) On 20 June in the municipality of
Arraiolos, the birth place of Cunha Rivara (3) On 23 June,
the Public Library of Évora, which Cunha Rivara re-
founded during his 17-year-long term as its librarian,
and, finally, (4) on 17 September, at the Geographical
Society of Lisbon, which has a close existential con-
nection with the Instituto Vasco da Gama, of which
Cunha Rivara was a co-founder and editor of its journal
with the same name.
Presently, the National Library of Lisbon has an exhi-
bition of a sample of Cunha Rivara’s works, accompa-
nied by a 74-page catalogue to which the Brazilian poet
Everton Machado has contributed a chapter on Cunha
Rivara’s two decades in India. He mentions A Con-
juração de 1787 by Cunha Rivara in 1875, about an
important revolt planned by Goan priests and military
men against Portuguese rule (“importante revolta
tramada pelos sacerdotes e militares goeses contra
o domínio português”). The catalogue includes this
book under items 29 and 30, the latter entry being
the English edition produced by the XCHR (Goa) in
1996 with the title Goa and the Revolt of 1787,
edited by Charles Borges, SJ, with an Introduction
by me.
In the mid-18th century, the Franciscan friars of
Bardez were complaining to the crown of Portugal
against the native priests who were claiming right to
run the parishes: “All these black priests (with the
exception of some by miracle) are ill-natured and ill-
behaved, lascivious, drunkards, etc. and therefore,
most unworthy of receiving the charge of the church-
es.” The Franciscans were resentful of the idea of being
deprived of the parishes that ensured their livelihood.
I wonder if Canon Law was less efficient in those days
than now.
Thanks to Almir de Souza’s article in Herald (22
Sep), we know that he is also Dr and writes books,
probably on history, since he seeks to teach how to
write it. He could tell us if he sees any positive role for
conflict in the history of the humanity, including the
Church in Goa and elsewhere. It is very simplistic to
Tongue in Cheek
HISTORICAL EXPLORATIONS
see it as discord and fruit of the unholy spirit. Also, while
he is used to hearing the revealed truth conveyed
through parables, he seems unaware that history can
be presented in many linguistic forms, including the
one adopted by Umberto Eco, whose expertise in me-
dieval history and culture no one can easily question.
This may appear as needless digression, but is es-
sential for understanding the historical background that
led Cunha Rivara to research and publish his A Con-
juração de 1787. We should not forget that Cunha Ri-
vara took up almost single-handedly (he complained
bitterly against the Portuguese officialdom of the time,
both civil and clerical, for not backing his efforts) the
task of defending the rights of the Padroado Church
harassed by the Rome-backed Propaganda Fide. Was
this long-driven conflict since 1622 till 1974, when Goa
regained its archbishop-patriarch, also an historical ep-
isode unnoticed by Almir de Souza’s Holy Spirit?
It is time the Goan clerical elite (and its lay acolytes)
updated their skills of spiritual discernment and stopped
classifying so very easily the intentions and actions of
Give With a Smile
others. At least the tone of their responses in the run-
ning controversy sounds distant from anything Almir
de Souza quoted from St Paul to Galatians. The Devil
too quoted scriptures when he tried to allure Jesus to
choose temporal goods and forget his mission!
While Cunha Rivara’s contribution in the form of the
10 tomes of Archivo Portuguez-Oriental and other
publications about Konkani are well known, it would
be interesting if on this occasion of the bicentenary of
his birth, Goa took up analysing his writings on a dark
chapter of the Goa Church. Such an exercise will nec-
essarily raise questions about Cunha Rivara’s under-
standing of the Goa Church and how far he cared (or
not) for the interests of the Goan native elites and their
political interests.
After staying in Goa and occupying a position of great
political influence, we could presume that many of
those elites would have been interacting with him at
various levels. But we know little till date about it.
Hence, it is an open field for young and old research-
ers. Very recently, Dr (Fr) Venancio L Fonseca, my co-
Gazette (Boletim do Governo) into a weapon to fight
the opponents and made it a bi-weekly for this pur-
pose and with good effect to counter the Bombay
Catholic Examiner. The style of language used by Cunha
Rivara, usually a cool, thorough and systematic research-
er, bordered on frenzy. He admits in his autobiograph-
ical notes: “I do not know if Padroado has any chances
of survival; if it is dead or in death throes (I suspect this
to be the case), my conscience testifies that I did not
help in killing it.” And he continues: “During six to sev-
en years I sustained my fight against the tonsured
corsairs.”
A Conjuração de 1787 is another illustration of
Cunha Rivara’s schizophrenic approach to historical
research. His political mission as general secretary of
the colonial government seems to have prevailed. He
was provoked by the accusations that native elites
worked against the colonial regime during the elec-
tion campaign in Bardez in 1861, in the wake of the
Sepoy Mutiny in neighbouring India. Cunha Rivara feared
an overflow of the rebellion into Portuguese territo-
ries. It had begun to happen. In this context the polit-
ical demagogy of the natives referring to “judicial
murder” and to those involved in the so-called Pinto
Conspiracy a century earlier as “martyrs of despotism”
did not please Cunha Rivara at all. His analysis and com-
ments on the Conspiracy in Chapter 10 of the book
need a re-reading.
Cunha Rivara’s dislike for the Goan native elite (who
were not among his admirers and followers) is best
illustrated by his editorial footnote k, on p 161 of the
Instituto Vasco da Gama (1874) referring to an article
in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal
on the sources for the History of the Portuguese in
India (VXLII – Pt I – 1873): “It is a pity that the English
author (Talbort) did not consult before producing his
article some of the critics born or resident in India,
because had he consulted them , they would advise
him with magisterial tone to reject with horror the
collections of “impertinências, caturrices e ridiculari-
as” (= nonsense) , which in the opinion of those wise
fools (“sábios mentecaptos”) are found in the Archivo,
in Boletim do Governo, and other publications, which
he had the weakness of finding curious and useful; he
would be shocked with the eloquence about the waste,
and the highfalutin arguments of those critics in de-
fence of their strange conclusions.”
By Adelmo Fernandes

never managed to make serious inroads into Maharashtra in the past
and, since most RPI factions are coming together in the RLDF, is unlikely
to make a big dent in the Dalit votebank.
The ruling Congress-NCP alliance goes into this election after having
ruled the state for two terms. They face a potentially massive anti-
incumbency sentiment, particularly since their record was none too
good before the present Chief Minister Ashok Chavan took office
recently, after Vilasrao Deshmukh was sacked following the 26/11
Mumbai attacks. For the Shiv Sena-BJP combine, therefore, this
election is a must-win imperative. If it loses for the third time in a row,
then there are hard times ahead.
Political pundits have opined that the Sena’s preoccupation with
protecting its turf from the MNS might cost it dear. It was unable to
seriously embarrass the government over farmer suicides, for
example. If the Congress-NCP can make the public forget about its
past and leverage the goodwill that the central government currently
enjoys, it may be uniquely fortunate to buck anti-incumbency for a
second time and get a third term in office.
T
he Joy of Giving week shall be observed from 27 September to 3
October all over the country. This noble idea has been conceptual
ised by the NGO Give India and calls upon every Indian to give what-
ever possible. Indeed there is no greater gift than the gift of giving. Giving
brings more joy than receiving.
The scriptures says that it is more blessed to give than to receive. But
then you need to be a cheerful giver. A grumpy giver will always grumble
about the things that he/she has to give. It is commonly said that in this
world absolutely nothing is given for nothing. Those who follow this dic-
tum are indeed ‘poor’. For they give only to receive. They will never expe-
rience the joy of giving.
What exactly can one give? The greatest sacrifice is to give one’s life for
another person. Though this is an extreme form of giving, there have been
instances when a life has been lost while saving another life. We see such
examples when someone is saved from drowning. Our brave jawans are
willing to lay down their lives for the country. The Bible says that Jesus
Christ gave up His life to save us from sin. This is the supreme sacrifice.
Such a sacrifice comes from very deep love which cannot be explained by
words.
But then not many may be called to give their lives. We can be givers in
several ways. We give alms to the poor. But many indulge in charity only to
be seen by others. The Scriptures say that your left hand should not know
what your right hand has given. It is a common thing to give whatever you
have in excess. People donate to charity old clothes and such other things
which are of no use to them. But then a true giver will give till it pinches.
This ‘pinch’ can give immense pleasure.
You should not think twice as to whether to give or not. “He gives twice
who gives promptly,” wrote Pubilius Syrus. You do not have to be a philan-
thropist to be a giver. You can give several things which are absolutely free
of cost. You can give a smile to liven up another person who seems to be
downcast. You can give a helping hand to someone in need. The best way
to be of help to another person in distress is by listening to the person’s
problems. You give your shoulder for the person to cry away his/her trou-
bles. There is no greater feeling than the fact that there is someone out
there who cares.
It is said that charity begins at home. So all your giving should begin
right there where you live. Giving should be among the family members,
which then extends to the neighbourhood and then to the world outside.
In today’s world, probably the most expensive thing that one can give to
another person is one’s time. In this busy world it seems that no one has
time for another person. But then keep aside your hectic schedule and
go spend some time with the orphans in an orphanage or the old
people in an old-age-home. Visit the sick in the hospital. Visit a jail
and spend time with those behind bars. Believe me, nothing will bring
you more joy.
When one talks of giving, the one thing that comes to mind is giving a
gift. You gift a gift on a birthday, an anniversary or any such joyful occasion.
Hence giving is associated with joy. But then some people give away as a
gift something that is of no use to them. There are those who do not even
open a gift but just pass it off as a gift to another person on some occasion.
This has robbed us of the joy of giving a gift. Because of this one may find
on the invitation words like ‘No Presents Please’ or ‘Presents in Presence
only’ or ‘Presents in Blessings only’.
Besides the smile, which costs the giver absolutely nothing, there is
also a warm hug, a warm handshake or even an affectionate pat on the
back, which all speak a lot without saying a word. But then a person can
give something only if he/she possesses it. A sad person cannot spread
cheer as much as a poor man cannot make a donation. So in the coming
week which is the ‘Joy of Giving Week’ give to your heart’s delight. Give
whatever you can. More importantly, give with a smile!

Letters to the Editor

Jaundice and H1NI scare
Michael Vaz, Merces
Goans were somewhat relieved at being spared
by jaundice this year, as the rainy season has al-
most come to an end. But this relief was not to
the month end. That is an appropriate and prov- famous Dharavi Slums of Mumbai. Only when
Paths of Wisdom
en step to curb the virus.
With the tourist season in Goa on an upward Letter of the Day the shacks and the chairs are pulled out by the
season end do we do have a lovely beach to Meditation Practice
swing, every care must be taken to ensure that ourselves.
Goa is safe from any pandemic.

Shame on Goan politics

last for long. There was an outbreak of this mal-
ady with at least 30 reported cases in the BITS
campus in Goa, which forced the management
to close the campus till 11 October.
A thorough enquiry needs to be conducted to
ascertain the causes of this outbreak. The hygi-
enic conditions of the canteen, purity of drink-
ing water, water supply line for contamination
and overall cleanliness in the campus are to be
looked into. Care should be taken to ensure that
it does not spread to adjoining areas.
Two confirmed cases of swine flu in a city
school is another cause for concern. They have
taken a wise step towards closing the school till
100 Years Ago
PRIMEIRO DIARIO NAS COLONIAS PORTUGEZAS
26 September 1909
New clinic in City
A health clinic is to be established in the City,
with the initiative of doctors, where they can
undertake difficult surgeries, and supply an-
tiseptic gauzes to doctors.
Steam launches proposed
Works are actively under way at Mormugao to
construct steam launches for river navigation,
from which 3 are placed at the extreme end
of Vasco da Gama Avenue while the remain-
ing three are kept at the Railways’ Dockyard.
Comunidade problems
The Secretariat of the Comunidade de Corlim
being vacant, the Government announced that
petitioners are requested to submit their griev-
ances to the Secretariat General at the City.
Gales in New Orleans
In New Orleans strong gales caused losses
evaluated at 100,000 dollars.
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reflect the views of the Herald editor, publisher, and/or owners.
Babluis Pereira, Pomburpa
After Goa’s Liberation, true-blooded Goans like
the late Dayanand Bandodkar and the late Dr Jack
de Sequeira had formed regional parties named
Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party and United
Goans Party respectively.
In 1963, when Goa went to polls the MGP won
the poll and had formed the Government and
the UGP was in the opposition. How nice it was
then to see Goan parties in power and in oppo-
sition, deciding the fate of Goa. After both lead-
ers death, there was infighting in the rank and
file of the parties. Both the regional parties thus
lost the people’s confidence.
Delhi’s national parties lured our politicians,
and our politicians, thinking less of Goa’s future
and more about their personal interests, sold
their Goemkarpon and embraced national par-
ties in the name of Goa’s development. They
were given high posts but no power. Even to solve
petty matters, they have to air-dash to Delhi.
What a shame on Goan politics that there is
no strong regional party in power or in opposi-
tion.
Vigil on the border
Pachu Menon, Margao
We are so obsessed in guarding the nation
against our sworn enemy that we have failed to
look beyond Pakistan for any possible threat
from other nations. The unnecessary hype
around scotched rumors about incursions by the
Chinese troops into Indian territories has alert-
ed us to the startling truth that the bogie of a
Sino-Indian war still haunts us, decades after that
disastrous confrontation.
For a moment, we need to think of those in-
correctly reported hostilities as nothing more
than media hype – an orchestrated media offen-
sive to unsettle Sino-Indian diplomatic relations.
The setting up of a hotline between the Indian
premier and his Chinese counterpart, and a host
of army commanders dashing off to China, signi-
An award for the people The planners need to do much more then
just issuing licenses to permit such a mess
to reign.
By Sogyal Rinpoche
It is well to recognize that when you start on
a meditation practice, you are entering a to-
Joseph L R Vaz, Navelim
tally different dimension of reality. Normally
in life we put a great deal of effort into achiev-
The Chief Minister’s statement at the launching of BSNL’s WiMax facility at Verna Industrial Estate Pak games
(Herald, 24 Sep) that Goa has won the best small state in investment despite scrapping the SEZs ing things, and there is a lot of struggle in-
Ranjit Sinha, Deolali
proves that the Goan peoples’s demands were right and that we are mature and know what is volved, whereas meditation is just the opposite,
good for us and reject what is bad for our future. With reference to ‘Pak playing a game on Saeed’ it is a break from how we normally operate.
The CM further stated that “in the Western region we were rated better than Gujarat and (Herald, 23 Sep), it is quite logical to assume Meditation is simply a question of being,
Maharashtra”. This means were are on the right track, doing even better than these so-called that Pakistan is camouflaging the main issue by of melting, like a piece of butter left in the
high-profile states, and the CM should be grateful to the Goan people for this honour. putting the chief conspirator Hafiz Saeed under sun. It has nothing to do with whether or not
However, his statement that “had the drawbacks not been there, we would have been much house arrest. They have time and again, used the you “know” anything about it, in fact, each time
ahead” sounds peculiar, as in such a case Goa would have been similar to Gujarat and Maharashtra, lame excuse that evidence advanced by India is you practice meditation it should be fresh, as
or even worse, and would not have won the award. He should remember that Goa won the awards insufficient. It is necessary for us to keep pres- if it were happening for the very first time.
precisely because of what he considers as drawbacks, which are for us destructive forces which sure on Pakistan, in tandem with the Western You just quietly sit, your body still, your speech
were rejected by the people. world, especially the US. silent, your mind at ease, and allow thoughts
The CM and all the industrialists, including the former President of GCCI, should thank the to come and go, without letting them play
various NGOs from Goa who have fought selfless battles and are still fighting to keep Goa flying Ignorant remarks havoc on you. If you need something to do,
high. The industrialists should remember that development should be sustainable and long-term then watch the breathing. This is a very sim-
Santana Menezes, Loutolim
and benefit the locals rather than be a short-cut to get rich quick, with a few selfish individuals ple process. When you are breathing out, know
making money at the cost of the destruction of the rest. This is with reference to the letter by Podicarpo that you are breathing out. When you breath
The various NGOs should take pride in this award and keep up the vigil to guard Goa, as there D’Souza titled ‘Protect our Comunidades’ (Her- in, know that you are breathing in, without
is no opposition party worth the name left in Goa, and all the forty (words to describe them ald, 19 Sep). The letter is full of blunders and supplying any kind of extra commentary or
adequately fail me) are the same. shows the utter ignorance about the writ peti- internalized mental gossip, but just identify-
tion preferred by some Comunidade members.
fy urgency in mending fences between the two which should be paid to the lifeguards involved The author needs to look into the mirror for the
ing with the breath. That very simple process
of mindfulness processes your thoughts and
countries. in saving these lives. This will serve as an incen- real cause of the blunders committed in the let-
China, being an international player, has grown tive to the lifeguards and motivate more to get ter. He should have analysed what he was writ-
emotions, and then, like an old skin being
shed, something is peeled off and freed.
by leaps and bounds and is today as formidable into this service. ing, instead of exposing his ignorance on the
The whole point of meditation is to get used
a force as the US. India does not have the capa- In a recent drowning case of a young Hydera- subject.
to the that aspect which you have forgotten.
bility to match China force for force. It would be badi couple at Campal, there was a suggestion It would be advisable to stop interfering with
prudent to be ever watchful rather than have a that lifeguards should be posted for duty earlier In Tibetan “meditation” means “getting used
Court orders and creating a situation of disre-
to”. Getting used to what? to your true na-
repeat of the Himalayan blunder of 1962. than the present timing. If someone decides to spect and contempt to the Court by wrongly in-
ture, your Buddha nature. This is why, in the
swim at night, does it mean that the lifeguards terpreting its orders.
highest teaching of Buddhism, Dzogchen, you
Lifeguards and tourists should be posted for duty at nights too?
are told to “rest in the nature of mind”. You
Gelcafer, St Estevam Lifeguards save a drowning person at the risk Commercial schools?
of their lives. It is only if we put ourselves in their just quietly sit and let all thoughts and con-
Seema Travasso, Quepem cepts dissolve. It is like when the clouds dis-
There are many cases of tourists drowning while place that we will understand this difficult task.
solve or the mist evaporates, to reveal the clear
on visits to Goan beaches. The tourists refuse to I would like to bring to your notice the dona-
abide by the warning signals of dangerous state Beach or slum? tions collected by private schools. Every year, sky and the sun shining down. When every-
of water and restricted areas of swimming, which students are forced to bring appeals for dona- thing dissolves like this, you begin to experi-
makes it difficult for the lifeguards to save their Ramiro D’Souza, via email tions – and not just one appeal, but a minimum ence your true nature, to “live”. Then you
lives. I could not agree with the views of Ms Maria of five appeals. There is a limit to this extraction, know it, and at that moment, you feel really
Individuals need to have responsibility and Fernandes of Calangute in her letter ‘Save Calan- and that too in the name of education. good. It is unlike any other feeling of well
respect, when warned against swimming. If the gute beach’ (Herald, 22 Sep). Not only students but even parents are put being that you might have experienced. This
services of lifeguards are taken for saving such The unplanned build-up of shacks gives the under tremendous pressure to collect the do- is a real and genuine goodness, in which you
people, fines should be imposed on them for beach an ugly look. It is no longer a beautiful nations from the public. Will the concerned au- feel a deep sense of peace, contentment and
having endangered the lives of the lifeguards, beach; in fact it looks like an extension on the thorities look into the matter. confidence about yourself.