The major contributions of the Portuguese government to Goa cannot be wished away by merely making a statement that the Portuguese looted Goa. One has to go by the facts and the performance of the Portuguese in Goa which left an indelible mark on the lives of every Goan during and immediately after the liberation. Here are a few of the major contributions of the Portuguese government to Goa.
It may be stressed here that the Portuguese government returned all the gold held by the Banco Nacional Ultramarino, which in itself suggests that the Portuguese did not loot but on the contrary returned back the valuable gold belonging to Goans.
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The Comunidade was a comprehensive system wherein the ownership of land and its shareholders were rewarded by the distribution of the jonos or dividend. Looking at the number of dubious and forged land grabbing by several land sharks, it is quite evident that the land mafia has been uncontrolled by the present government. Everyone benefitted from the Comunidade system in Goa.
It may be reminded that the law and order situation in Goa during the Portuguese regime was one to be appreciated not only in Goa but also throughout India as well as the world. People used to sleep in their costly Portuguese mansions with their doors and windows open as robberies were not at all being witnessed during the Portuguese regime. In fact it may be reminded that law and order situation was so strict that no one ever ventured to commit crimes unlike the situation now where the law and order situation is to say the least abysmal.
People should be educated about the elaborate and detailed manner in which the documents such as the birth, marriage, death and land records were being maintained in Goa during the Portuguese regime.
Even mining was conducted with utmost integrity and accountability unlike at the present time when we have been witness to the unprecedented looting of Goa’s mineral wealth in the form of the Rs 35,000 crore mining scam wherein the common wealth of the people of Goa have been plundered by few mining companies.
For people who are environment conscious, it would be proper to elucidate that the environment in Goa was preserved with utmost diligence. Take for example the case of Panjim. Though much of Panjim was reclaimed, as the capital of Goa after old Goa, every aspect of the capital city was maintained. There was a comprehensive drainage system wherein during the monsoons no flooding whatsoever used to take place, unlike the situation now where most low lying areas get flooded during the monsoons because of the destruction of the elaborate Portuguese drainage system.
The rivers in Goa were clean and not polluted like it is now the case all over the State of Goa. If the maintenance of Goa in a very orderly manner is anything to Goa by then the contribution of the Portuguese towards Goa was a major aspect which became a part of the lives of every Goan.
