Jason Keith Fernandes Bosco de Sousa Eremita’s article, “The Silent Ethnic Cleansing of Catholics in Goa,” published earlier this month was widely shared on social media. At about the same time that I read a Hindu friend informed me that he is often accosted thus when he extends professional services to Catholics in Goa: “Arrey! …
What Amitav Ghosh can teach us
Jason Keith Fernandes While a number of litterateurs across India were making a symbolic protest against the rising intolerance in India under the Modi regime by returning their awards from the Sahitya Akademi, a bunch of Sahitya Akademi award winners from Goa, along with two Padmashri awardees, made a very odd statement. On the …
Goans, Films, and their worlds – Putting Nachom-ia Kumpasar in context
Jason Keith Fernandes I am always afraid when I go to watch a film that features Goa or Goans, because of the host of problems that plague their representation. These problems were more than painfully obvious in the recent films Finding Fanny (2014) and The Coffin Maker (2011). As in these films Goa is …
Medium of Instruction in Goan Schools: Mother Tongue or Multilingualism?
Open Letter to the Goan government’s Advisory Committee on Medium of Instruction Jason Keith FernandesR. Benedito FerrãoAlbertina AlmeidaAmita KanekarDale Luis MenezesAnjali ArondekarNandita de SouzaAnibel Ferus-ComeloSujata NoronhaChrissie D’Costa This letter is pursuant to an email that was dispatched to the Advisory Committee on Medium of Instruction on 12 October, 2013. Before we proceed, however, we …
The Battle of the Konkanis: Separating Wolves from the Lambs
Jason Keith FernandesDale Luis Menezes Context In 1987 subsequent to mass demonstrations composed overwhelmingly of bahujan Catholics the legislature of the Union Territory of Goa, Daman and Diu recognised Konkani in the Nagari script as the official language of Goa. This recognition of script was used to privilege a brahmanical project of fixing the …