I was amused to read in a recent op-ed column of Herald that “ji” has become popular in Goa with the rise of Hindu nationalism in the past couple of years! [http://ow.ly/4ngZ8x] I always believed, as all Niz Goenkar do, that the capital city of their State gained this “honorific” suffix for some reason, long before the Hindi nationalism was even conceived, that is, before the Portuguese shifted thither their capital from Old Goa in the mid 18th century. Some other place names in Goa have a prefix as honorific. Such is the case of Sirula (sir+halli = chief village) in Bardez.
It was long before the past couple of years, or rather soon after Indian takeover of Goa in 1961, that the Portuguese spelling of Panjim passed through a devanagri filtering and got transformed into a new romanized avatar as Panaji. To that extent it may be right to accuse the Indian occupation for the honorific change, and more particularly the late V.T. Gune, who was then heading the Directorate of Archives and the Goa Gazetteer Department.
During 70s and 80s I belonged to the State Names Authority, an honorary Gazetted post, as its historian-member, and witnessed many protests of the colonized Goan minds that were upset by the renaming of several place names to represent better the traditional village nomenclature, irritating the Christian and Portuguese influenced Goan middle classes, which do not seem even now convinced that the Portuguese corrupted many Goan place names which are still retained in spoken Konkani.
Going beyond toponymics, the prefix and suffix “ji” were not uncommon in the local regional languages in and around Goa. Timoji, the well-known collaborator of Afonso de Albuquerque in the conquest of Goa, or other less known Malogy, Nagogy, Ralogy and Kanojy, mentioned in the published correspondence of the same conqueror as Goan natives who fought for the Portuguese against the Muslims and were given rewards in March-April of 1511, are just a few illustrative cases.
All the above cases refer to a period nearly a century and more before the Portuguese in Goa had to face the wrath of Shivaji and his son Sambhaji. The colonial hangover of some Catholic Goans may see in their names some honorific suffixes, rather than devotional links to Shiva Shankara Shambu Mahadeva [http://ow.ly/4ngXi9]. Any such honest cultural links get easily transformed into a spectre of Hindutva nationalism in the minds of the Catholic Goans who continue infected by the endemic disease of the Inquisition times, or have absorbed some post-modern orientalist influences from the former colonial countries.
Every time a new round of elections comes close, we have to bear with all sorts of ridiculous denunciations of the rival political parties, exposing intentions that may have never been there, or projecting into others one’s own wicked fanaticisms or frustrated expectations. I presume all this is a natural process in modern democracies, or political versions of popculture, which prosper with mass media manipulation. Present-day situation in Brazil will be a classic case of such manipulation. Brazil deserves a mention because of its historic links with Goa, and present links with India through BRICS.
My above reference to Orientalist influences from the former colonial countries has in mind, not just Portugal, but also UK. The MoI is one of the central issues in the pre-electoral propaganda, that has implications for the ongoing Goan diaspora in UK. The other is a chair created by the Goa University to commemorate the contribution of J.H. da Cunha Rivara, a colonial high-ranking official who served in Goa for over two decades in the mid 19th century. He was an outstanding figure of Portuguese orientalism. He combined astutely his administrative responsibilities towards his mother country with interest in Goa’s cultural past.
With reference to both the above issues I wish to leave two caveats. Firstly, any disregard for the vernacular languages and efforts to sustain the ability of Goans to speak Konkani / Marathi from the age of primary education is bound to deny to Goa its right to a distinct identity and statehood. At the same time, promoting English with the best intentions of ensuring jobs for our children outside the region, it could contribute subtly to engross the current of low middle class Catholics looking for the Portuguese passport to settle down in England. Goan Catholics fighting for English as subsidized MoI may eventually be cutting the nose to spite the face. The final result will be exactly to promote Hindutva nationalism in Goa in the near future.
Secondly, Cunha Rivara chair should not become a Trojan horse of post-colonial diplomacy. I had the privilege of speaking at the Municipality of Arroiolos, Cunha Rivara’s native place, on the occasion of the 2nd centenary of his birth in 2009. I was also invited on the same occasion to speak at the Public Library of Evora, where Cunha Rivara worked as Librarian before arriving in Goa as State Secretary.
An outline of my views on his contribution is found at http://ow.ly/4nh1Tm and also in a column of this daily [http://ow.ly/4nh2iZ]. There is yet another essay on him which I contributed to ISIPH-XIV (International Seminar on Indo-Portuguese History) held in JNU (Delhi) on 11-13 February, 2013. The proceedings are due to be released soon. It is my wish and hope that Cunha Rivara feels comfortable in the chair at the Goa University.
(Teotonio R. de Souza is the founder-director, Xavier Centre of Historical Research, Goa (1979-1994).
