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Norway is Kidnapping Indian Children

January 21, 2012 By 60 Comments

Update, March 19, 2012: More than a month after agreeing to transfer custody of the children to the children’s uncle, the kids still languish in Norway’s foster care system. Indian politicians are headed to Norway to participate in the custody hearings. Norway should be fined a million dollars a day for holding the kids hostage. That should get them to return the kids promptly.

And shame on other European countries for not calling on Norway to return the kids immediately. By being quiet on this issue, the European Union is condoning such atrocities in Europe. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Editorial Tagged With: , , ,
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Sacred Places

September 21, 2008 By 26 Comments

It is sad that in India, places of worship are being targeted to achieve political ends, or vent frustrations. This is absolutely wrong! Temples, churches, mosques, and all other places of worship are sacred and should not be pawns in political movements. People should feel empowered to use objective fora to address grievances. Politicians! Make it happen and stop using these incidents to advance narrow political gains!

In an attempt to address the grievances, the Karnataka state government blames “the flow of foreign funds,” for conversion of Hindus into Christianity.
[Read more...]

Filed Under: Editorial, Goa, Konkani, Temples Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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Portuguese Inquisition and Revisionism

May 27, 2007 By 17 Comments

Due to my heritage and interest in Konkani Temples in Goa, and particularly our Kuldevata Ramnathi Devasthan I have been researching books on the Portuguese occupation in Goa. During the Portuguese Inquisition lasting more than 150 years (1560 – 1812), the Jesuits made a systematic attempt at wiping out the Konkani heritage in Goa. Konkanis were either tortured and killed, forced to convert, or give up their lands and migrate. In a desperate attempt at genocide, all Konkani temples in older Goa were ransacked, wealth stolen and destroyed. It was the men-of-the cloth, who spread the horrors of the Inquisition, and later Anglicans who put political pressure on the Portuguese forcing it to end the Inquisition.

I have tracked scores of such books from the 18th and 19th century which shed a grim light on the atrocities of the Portuguese, all in the name of their God. In the midst of an enormous amount of historical literature, there are always the revisionists, trying to cast a softer glow on the Portuguese Inquisition. This one by an ordained priest takes the cake.

A few lines from his work and my related comments.
An Historical Sketch of Goa, Rev. Denis L. Cottineau de Kloguen (DK)
Gazette Press, Madras (1831), Reprinted pp 44-45
Also available digitized from the Library at Harvard College, Cambridge, MA; Pg 69 – 70.

Original text in italics is contiguous in one paragraph; my comments are in regular text. In this paragraph, the Kloguen is trying to defend the Archbishop D Alexins de Menezes.

DK – … Some acts of violence by the Portuguese agents may have been committed, both before and after him, but they are not to be imputed to him.
AS - Really! Everyone else is to blame, but not the Archbishop who actually had more power in Goa than the political appointee?

DK – It is equally false, that, followed by the officers of the Inquisition, he went armed with fire and sword, to compel the inhabitants of Salsette to embrace the Christian religion. The Jesuits converted a great part of them by the usual and most laudable means;
AS – Reminded me of the recent controversial remarks by Pope Benedict 16th: (from the NY Times) “… in Brazil, … native populations had been “silently longing” for the Christian faith brought to South America by colonizers.” The Rev is probably alluding to such an “innate longing” for torture and death.

DK – but in order as they thought, the better to detach the remainder of the inhabitants from worship of idols, they destroyed all the temples and pagodas.
AS – Much to the embarrassment of the Jesuits, many forced converts continued to visit temples and kept to their traditional Hindu ways. The only way to prevent this was to destroy the temples. How many is “all”? How many temples were destroyed in Goa?

DK – This however, had the contrary effect; and the Pagans, exasperated at this circumstance, rose up in arms, murdered five jesuits, and several Portuguese.
AS – Did the Jesuits really expect anything else? Note the choice of the word “murdered” when associated with the Jesuits and the Portuguese. BTW, when “all temples and pagodas” were destroyed, how many of the locals were killed? Smoothly overlooked. And really, when armed men go in and destroy peoples temples, wouldn’t you expect an equally violent response?

DK – The Governor then felt himself obliged to use arms likewise to reduce the rebels; and of course did not after wards permit the temples to be rebuilt.
AS – “reduce the rebels” here is an euphemism for “massacring the population”! And since when did the locals become the “rebels” in their own lands? Don’t the ‘rebels’ have the right to defend their lands, home and temples?

DK – But in all this, the Archbishop had nothing to do, and what is certainly better proved, are the good works and the pious establishments of Goa, of which he is the founder.
AS – Looks like he is an ideal candidate for sainthood, no?

My Posts Related to the Ramnathi Devasthan and other Konkani Temples:

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Ramnathi Devasthan, A Konkani Temple

March 29, 2005 By 68 Comments

Main entrance and Deepa Sthamba (light tower) at the Ramnathi Devasthan, Goa

Main entrance and Deepa Sthamba (light tower) at the Ramnathi Devasthan


The Ramnathi Devasthan (place of God, or Temple) in Ponda, Goa is our family's ancestral temple. Millenia ago, groups of Konkani families settled in extended family-based communities in Goa. Each community had their own spirits, which protected them from evil and satisfied their spiritual curiosity. The spirits and associated deities also received gratitude for agricultural and female fertility. With time, these spirits evolved into a full-blown God. Ramnath was the benevolent God of our community. His two spouses (Shanteri & Kamakshi) probably represented the heightened fertility required for survival in those days. And we have our own ferocious spirit – Betal, who is responsible for ‘taking care’ of evil.

When members of the extended family leave the community in search of opportunities, they maintain connections to their family gods, also called the Kuladevata. “Kula” refers to the home-base of the extended family community, where the lineage of the family can be traced back to. Thus the Ramnath deity is our family’s Kuladevata. All members of the original community and their descendants are called Kulavis (core family members). All Konkanis will have a Kuladevata Devasthan and are in turn kulavis of that temple.

Ramnath Dev at the Ramnathi Devasthan

Ramnath Dev

pics of Devi Shanteri at the Ramnath Devasthan, Ponda, Goa by Arun Shanbhag

Devi Shanteri at the Ramnath Devasthan, Goa

pics of Devi Kamakshi at the Ramnath Devasthan, Goa by Arun Shanbhag

Devi Kamakshi at the Ramnath Devasthan, Phonda, Goa

When Madhvacharya’s fervor spread through Karnataka in the 12th and 13th century, the Ramnathi Devasthan became incorporated into the Vaishanava tradition and became part of the larger Hindu Dharma. Thus Ramnath Dev became a local incarnate of Vishnu, and his spouses Shanteri & Kamakshi became incarnates of “Lakshmi.”

During the Portugese Inquisition in the 1500’s, all Konkani (and Hindu) temples in Goa were destroyed, and churches built in their place. Many Hindus were forced to convert and many others sacrificed their lives for their faith. Libraries, scriptures and literature were systematically destroyed. Devotees smuggled temple deities to safe haven across the Zuari River in what was then part of Goa ruled by a Muslim Sultan from Bijapur. Many Konkanis escaped with few belongings to start new lives elsewhere. Some migrated north to Maharashtra, and most migrated south and settled along the Karnataka Coast. Konkani communities also settled in Cochin and other parts of Kerala.

Note: See this post on Revisionism of the Portuguese Inquisition

Devout Konkanis built small temples in each town they settled and kept their faith alive. With the literature destroyed, a dispersed and migrant community maintained the konkani language as an oral tradition. In the 1700s, the Portuguese ended the Inquisition under threat of the British taking over the colony. A status quo was maintained till 1961 when the Portuguese finally left Goa and it became an Indian state. Konkani is now a recognized distinct language in India.

Konkanis dispersed all over the world, thronged to the remote corners of Goa to pay their respects at their Kuladevata temples. Many maintained in wooden shacks were refurbished. Konkani temples are now thriving complexes, representing a symbol of a resilient people; hard working and god fearing.

Considering the circumstances, Konkani temples rebuilt over the decades are not architectural masterpieces. Further, all modern Konkani temples are not where their original communities grew, but clustered across the Zuari River, within 10 miles of each other.

Under the Portugese rule, devotees visited clandestinely from the surrounding states, often involving day-long walks through forests. Appropriately, Konkani temples provide basic accommodations to their devotees. Today, accommodations have been upgraded, but are still spartan. Devotees can get a very basic room at the temple for between $1-$2 per night. One of Goa’s best kept secrets, I’d say. The temples in Ponda are about an hour from Panji the capital, or from the airport near Madgao.

Every time I visit India, I make a beeline to our kuladevata Ramnathi Devasthan in Goa. It is the tradition at Ramnathi and other Konkani temples, for kulavis to visit the deity as soon as we arrive – even before we wash our feet. We leave our footwear at the door and with dusty feet rush inside to pay homage to our father protector, guardian and closest confidant. Akin to the return of a prodigal son (or daughter); our father wants to see us ASAP, even before we wash our feet. This first visit is thus called “dhool bhaet” (dusty meeting). Only after we have visited the temple, do we visit the office, rent a room, freshen up and come back into the temple for a proper service.

Due to the remoteness of the area, there are no restaurants around, but for a small shack serving bananas and cold drinks (see pic of shack in this post). We usually ask and are invited to the priest’s house for a delicious konkani vegetarian meal – served on a banana leaf. Per tradition, we leave a small donation for the priest’s family. On many occasions, temple has open meals sponsored by devotees.

I usually spend a few days resting in divine grace, before heading south to visit our relatives and friends.

After learning the history of the Konkani temples, my visits to our kuladevata have more fervor and passion. A recognition of the sacrifices made by our ancestors, so that we may live with their chosen faith; A re-affirmation of my own faith and importantly courage ~ courage to defend my faith. Never again will our homes and places of worship be ransacked, and we be forced to choose between the sword or the cross.

Never Again!

Contact Details for Shree Ramnath Devasthan
Ramnathi, Ponda, Goa 403401
Tel: (0832) 2335281; 2335041; 2335174
Email: inquiry AT Ramnathi DOT org
www.Ramnathi.org

My Posts Related to Ramnathi Devasthan and other Konkani Temples:

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