The Unnerving Struggle to Remain A Hindu - VIII

One example is referred to by the author when all the members of a family from Vasai were burnt alive and their possessions were destroyed, a stone was erected on the site to announce the achievement. The land they possessed was sprinkled with salt. All this was done in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Their crime was that they practised the rites and ceremonies of their faith and invited many to participate. Dr Dellon too described such incidents. Convicts were ' put to death in the public view of hardened believers in Church '.
Portuguese administration and missionaries working under Pope in Goa together claimed the credit for these efforts. Pope Nicolas 5 declared that ' the lands discovered belonged forever to the King of Portugal '. In 1514, Pope Leo X allowed the King of Portugal to administer the religious institutions wherever the Portuguese set foot. Portuguese rule was set with political and religious objectives and support. The King had the authority to appoint the Vicars ( the priests ) to the Churches, this lasted till 1950. All the expenses of the missionary activity were borne by the king. Thus conversion was a joint venture in a way.

The five councils, the laws enacted by the king, the attempts to implement, the activity ofthe  Inquisition and the institutions to consolidate the results were the tools in this process. Those who wanted to remain Hindus were deported, and almost all the Hindu rituals were strictly not allowed to be performed,( they were totally banned ) there were a lot of restrictions on Brahmin priests and the religious discourse they conducted, and religious texts and literature were burnt.

Little boys and girls were abducted and sent to the care of the Church and were converted later. Pilgrims and pilgrimages were not allowed. All were compelled to attend sermons. Hindus were discriminated against simply because they refused to convert. New Christians were not supposed to have any relation with Hindus and were forced to adopt new names. The administration insisted on the use of Portuguese language instead of Konkani. No field of life was left untouched.

Of course, it was obvious that Hindu temples were destroyed and churches were built using force. Hindus were condemned to suffer, they faced extreme intolerance and conversion by using inhuman methods. The Hindus had to endure the terrible pain from the early 16th century, it took almost 4 and a half centuries to gain independence. The author states that many who did not want to get converted committed suicide, and many fled the motherland to remain Hindus. Of course, many had to surrender cursing their fate. Bardez, Tiswadi and Saasasti are still predominantly Christian as they were under Portuguese rule from the time they set foot in Bharat. Of course, there have always been attempts to whitewash the inconvenient facts.

Dr Trasta Braganza, a Catholic, wrote a book,' Denationalisation of Goans '. He noted," The plain, historical and indubitable Truth that doesn't yield to twisting and embroidery is that the Portuguese did proselytise the Goans by coercion to perpetuate their hegemony there." " The conversion into Christianity was not through teaching." He stated the records would provide ample proof.

Portuguese brought some new areas under their rule, 7 present talukas were new conquests. They became the part of Portuguese rule after 278 years, but the world scenario changed by that time. The rulers took possession of the wealth of the Jesuit ( sometimes called God's soldiers ) missionaries and sent them to their native places. As Shivaji rose to power, Hindus established their influence. The  Portuguese lost colonies one by one. The rule was restricted to Goa, Daman, Diu and Dadra-nagarhaveli. It could not continue with conversion using force. The temples which were shifted away from the old area, now stood firm. They Could not be destroyed. Inquisition did return for some time but had lost the thrust. Ultimately Goa was liberated on 19th December 1961. According to 2the 001 census Goa had 65% of Hindus ( an amazing fact, despite so much coercion carried for 451 years they survived ) and Christians were 26%. To understand this phenomenon one has to analyse the facts related to Hindu culture carefully and identify its strengths. In the next write-ups, the analysis by the author will be presented.

(Marathi translation of the original book is available with Bharatiya Vichar Sadhana. Originally it is written in Malayalam.)