A surprising Portuguese colonial legacy in India

Published 2:03 am Sunday, September 21, 2008

I have never found the Portuguese colonial legacy impressive in Africa or in East Timor. I was appalled when visiting the latter in 1970 to find the local people in the countryside so illiterate they failed to recognize themselves in photos when I showed them Polaroid pictures. Education for the natives certainly was not part of the Portuguese legacy there or in their African colonies.

So how remarkable it was to visit the state of Goa on the west coast of India in May and learn that it has 90 percent literacy, according to our guide. Moreover, it’s the only state in India where parents can be jailed for failing to send their kids to school.

Goa is unique in India because for 451 years it was an enclave under the rule of the Portuguese. India obtained independence in 1947, but the Portuguese refused to leave Goa. Finally, India sent in troops in 1961; and, after a brief military scuffle, the Portuguese relented and went home.

The region of Goa, which is more than halfway up the west coast, is blessed with natural harbors and wide, deep rivers, making it a popular stop historically for traders. The Portuguese took it over in 1510 in order to control the spice route from Asia to Europe. At one time, the city of Goa had a larger population than Lisbon or London. It was the crown jewel of the old Portuguese empire.

I can only speculate that because many Goans converted to Catholicism in that long colonial rule and received Catholic schooling. They established a culture that prized Western, as well as local education. Our guide told us that Goans today must learn five local and foreign languages in school, at least, and English is a must.

The guide believed this high rate of education explained why 70 percent of the population of Goa is middle class today. Indeed, Goa has one of India’s highest per capita incomes. Tourism is a major part of their economy, as is mining. We saw many barges on the rivers carrying iron ore, bauxite and manganese.

Throw a stone in Goa, our guide joked, and it will hit a church, a pub and someone named Fernandez. Thanks to Portuguese influence, it’s the only place in India where soccer is more popular than the cricket introduced by the British colonialists.

Tourists, foreign and local, come for its beautiful beaches, historic churches and Hindu temples – and increasingly, for medical tourism. Ocean currents make it a little less hot and humid than elsewhere along the coast.

Goa, it will be recalled, was a favorite of Western hippies in the 1960s. Goan trance music became popular in Europe and has combined with various types of electronic music in the 2000s into something called “psytrance” which can be downloaded, I read (but haven’t tried), on iTunes.

Indian tourists tend toward slightly different pursuits, we were told. They don’t like to swim in the ocean. They favor, instead, walks (fully clothed) on the wide beaches, partying on the river cruise boats and swimming in the hotel pools.

The Portuguese-influenced Goan architecture has charm and color. You see buildings painted bright blue or even bright purple. Our guide described Goans as liking to live spread out so there are lots of housing compounds, often with an ongoing construction project.

A blot on the landscape is that Goans and tourists alike seem to totally ignore the signs prohibiting littering with plastic sacks and “pet bottles” (soft drink plastic bottles). All over the world, discarded plastic items are a terrible blight.

After getting off my cruise boat in the port of Marmagoa, I went by bus the 50 miles to Old Goa to see the huge Gothic-style churches constructed by the Portuguese. One was the Basilica of Bom Jesus, which is considered one of the best examples of baroque architecture in India and is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Monument. It contains the mortal remains of St. Francis Xavier, who died off the coast of China in 1552 doing Jesuit missionary work. His remains, returned afterwards to Goa, are said to have stayed remarkably intact and are today in a glass coffin placed high up in the Basilica. That coffin is opened every 10 years for consecration and viewing, the next time in 2014.

Across the road is the huge church of Se de Santa Catarina, finished in 1619. Both churches have served as Christian pilgrimage sites over the centuries. As in India’s state of Kerala, the Western visitor finds so much history about the spread of Christianity. These two states are good examples of Christians, Hindus and Muslims living reasonably peacefully side by side. And they both have benefited from historically broad education of their populations.

Ambassador Harriet Isom grew up in Pendleton and has retired to the family ranch. She was a career diplomat serving in Asia and Africa from 1961 to 1996. She is currently serving as president of the Pendleton Rotary Club.

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