The article ‘The politics of statues: Shivaji’s tryst with Goa’, by Dr Sushila Sawant Mendes, in O Heraldo edition of July 16, 2023 is generally commendatory of Shivaji which is a good thing. But no enumeration of Shivaji and Goa is complete without taking the name of Shivaji’s son –Sambhaji, in the same breath.
Sambhaji attacked the Portuguese in 1683 with the intention of uprooting them from Goa and almost succeeded in taking over Old Goa, the then capital. The then Viceroy Don Francisco de Tavaro was in full retreat in the face of the Maratha cavalry personally led by Sambhaji and the majority of the Portuguese in the capital had already boarded a ship to flee by sea. One can say that Providence saved the Portuguese since a strong Mughal army had reached Ramnagar, near Belgaum and Sambhaji had to withdraw from the attack for fear of his way back from Goa being cut off. With Sambhaji pulling back, the Portuguese heaved a sigh of relief. If the Mughal army had not come then the fate of the Portuguese in Goa would have been different and there possibly would not have been Portuguese rule at all in Goa. There would probably have been no Goa at all, the territory being subsumed in the Maratha empire.
As for statues, these are necessary to remind the present populations of our great leaders. They serve as reminders to people to jog their memories of the exploits of these leaders. What precepts these leaders laid out or their teachings tend to fade out with time and that is where statues become important and the events that are held around them like on the birth or death anniversaries of the leaders. These iterations are necessary to preserve their memories and are part of pedagogy which is common Western thinking. What is the fault one can ask, if we also follow that, since Portugal & Europe is full of statues of their kings, queens and other leaders. That Shivaji and his son, Sambhaji, are still remembered after close to 400 years by the people for their vision of Swaraj, the spirit of independence and self-rule, their administration and their love for the common man itself makes them deserving of their statues being put up in areas where they strove to bring about change. We also need to remember that Shivaji and his son, Sambhaji’s name is taken with great love and respect by the Marathi people including large parts of the Goan population but for some misguided militant elements within the Shiv Sena and the Sambhaji Brigade. Whether Calangute is an apt place for Shivaji’s statue can be debated since Panjim is a more appropriate location being the capital city. This will supplement the existing statue of Shivaji at Farmagudi in Goa. Sambhaji’s statue could come up in Vasco where some time back there was a demand that the city be named Sambhajinagar.
