Goan Catholics
Goan Catholics are an ethno-religious community adhering to the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church from the Goa state, in the southern part of the Konkan region along the west coast of India. They are ethnic Konkani people and speak the Konkani language.
Missionary activities followed soon after the Portuguese conquest of Goa. Pope Nicholas V had enacted the Papal bull of Romanus Pontifex in AD 1455, according to which the patronage of the Christian faith in the East Indies, was granted to the Portuguese crown.
Their culture is an amalgam of Konkani and Portuguese cultures, with the latter having a more important role because Goa, Daman and Diu had been ruled by Portugal from AD 1510–1961. The notion of Goan identity as a distinct culture among other Luso-Asians or Luso-Indian cultures was forged into India after the annexation of Goa and Damaon in 1961.
The Goan Catholic diaspora is concentrated in the Persian Gulf countries; the Lusophone world, especially Portugal, Brazil, Mozambique, and Zanzibar; the European Union countries; and the Anglophone world, especially the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
Ethnic identity
Christian adherents to the Catholic Church who originate from the present state of Goa, a region on the west coast of India, and their descendants are generally referred to as Goan Catholics. A majority of Goan Catholics belong to the Konkani ethnicity while a smaller proportion are Luso-Indians. Goan Catholics played a pivotal role in the formation of the state of Goa and in designating their native language Konkani as a scheduled language of India. Diaspora communities in anglophone countries usually speak English as their first language while regarding Konkani as their ancestral language. Some upper class Catholic families in Goa spoke Portuguese as their primary language prior to 1961.Portugal took control of Goa in 1510. The Portuguese soon consolidated their power by imposing their own government and culture through intermarriage and converting the majority of the local population to Catholicism. Many pre-Portuguese Hindu traditions were adapted or retained by the Goan Catholics. This included a variation of the Indian caste system, although it was not practiced rigidly. Throughout the Portuguese Empire a large part of civic administration was initially maintained by the Catholic religious orders. Under Portuguese nationality law, Goans born before 19 December 1961 in the then Portuguese territory of Goa are entitled to Portuguese citizenship. As per the law of Portugal, this is extended up to two generations, that is to their children and grandchildren.
Due to the distance from Portugal, Goans had a high level of autonomy, although still a part of Portugal. Goans moved for work to other parts of the Portuguese Empire, and hence it is possible to find people of Goan descent in the Americas, Africa, Europe, as well as other parts of Asia.
A large-scale emigration of Goan Catholics to Bombay began in the 1800s, because of better economic opportunities. At that time Bombay was under the British rule and there existed another established Luso-Indian Catholic community; the Bombay East Indians, who were residents of Portuguese Bombay prior to it being granted to the British East India Company in the 17th century. Since the Goan Catholic and East Indian Catholic communities were converted to Christianity by the Portuguese, the British referred to them as "Portuguese Christians". They congregated in the same churches, attended many of the same religious functions, and shared Portuguese surnames and culture.
The British favoured the Goan Christians in administrative jobs, due to their proficiency in western language and culture.
History
Renaissance and Baroque eras
The Portuguese came to India with the ambition of capturing the Asian trade to Europe through the Arab world and by-passing the traditional Silk Route from China to Europe. The Portuguese first reached the west coast of India in 1498 when Vasco da Gama landed at Calicut. On 25 November 1510 Afonso de Albuquerque conquered Goa from the Sultan of Bijapur. By 1544 the Portuguese conquered the districts of Bardez, Tiswadi, and Salcette. Pope Nicholas V had enacted the Papal bull Romanus Pontifex in 1455, granting the patronage of the propagation of the Christian faith in Asia to the Portuguese and rewarded them a trade monopoly in newly discovered areas. Trade was initiated shortly after Vasco da Gama arrived in India in 1498. The Portuguese Catholic Church was granted the responsibility of proselytizing in Asia by the Pope, and all missionaries had to call at Lisbon before departing for Asia. In Goa different orders were designated different areas, with the Jesuits granted Salsette province in the South, and the Franciscans, the northern province of Bardez. Other orders such as Carmelites, Dominicans, and Augustinians were also present in Portuguese Goa.File:Se cathedral goa.jpg|thumb|left|The Sé Cathedral dedicated to St. Catherine of Alexandria, in Old Goa, was built by the Portuguese in 1510. It is one of the oldest churches in Goa and one of the largest in Asia. It also holds a miraculous cross that is venerated to date.
In 1534 the Diocese of Goa was created from the Diocese of Funchal to serve as a common diocese for the western coast of India, including Goa and the area in and around Bombay.
The Portuguese built many churches; the most notable are Basilica of Bom Jesus built during the sixteenth century—a UNESCO World Heritage Site dedicated to the Infant Jesus.The church also holds the embalmed body of St. Francis Xavier.—and the Se Cathedral, the largest church in Asia dedicated to St. Catherine of Alexandria, the construction of which was started in 1562 during the reign of King Dom Sebastião and completed in 1619. It was consecrated in 1640. The Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception Church was built in 1540. The Church and Convent of St. Francis of Assisi, Church of Lady of Rosary, Church of St. Augustine, and St. Michael's Church, Anjuna, built in 1613, were also erected during the Portuguese reign.
Modern era
In 1787, some Goan Catholic priests, unhappy with the process of promotion within the Church and other discriminatory practices of the Portuguese, organised the unsuccessful Pinto Revolt against the Portuguese.From the 19th century, Catholic Goans started emigrating to British-run cities in India, especially to Mumbai and Bangalore in the 1920s and 1930s. They also started migrating to Portuguese territories, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
According to the 1909 statistics in the Catholic Encyclopedia, the total Catholic population was 293,628 out of a total population 365,291.
On 1 May 1928, the Archdiocese of Goa was renamed and was promoted to the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Goa and Daman. It is the oldest diocese in terms of activity in the East, with its origins linked to the arrival of the Portuguese on the Malabar Coast. The Metropolitan Archbishop of Goa and Daman also uses the title of Primate of the Indies or Primate of the East and honorifically receives the title of Patriarch of the East Indies.
After British India gained independence in 1947, the Portuguese government refused to accept Nehru's demand that they hand over Goa to India. On 18 December 1961 India moved in with troops and after intense warfare, the Portuguese administration was forced to surrender. On 30 May 1987 Goa was elevated as India's 25th state.
According to the 2011 census, Christians formed 26.01% of Goa's total population.
Geographical distribution
According to the 2001 census there were around 359,568 Christians in Goa. Many Goan Catholics live in Mumbai and Bangalore. In the 1960s there were around 100,000 Goan Catholics in Bombay, of which 90,000 were in urban Bombay, and 10,000 in suburban Bombay. Other regions of India which have a small proportion of Goan Catholics are Delhi, Calcutta, Madras, Pune, Ahmednagar, Hyderabad, Nagpur, Nasik, and Ranchi.Goan Catholics are also found abroad, either as Non-resident Indian and Person of Indian Origin, with some people born abroad. They are found in Arab states of the Persian Gulf in the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait. Some have migrated to the Anglophone world, including the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, the US, Australia and New Zealand. In 1954 there were around 1,000,000 Goan Catholics in India and 1,800,000 Goan Catholics outside Goa. Before the First Gulf War there were probably around 150,000 Goans outside India. There are 100,000 Goan Catholics in Portugal. A large number are found in Karachi, Pakistan. Recent emigrants are found in Germany and Austria.
In 1999 the Goan Overseas Association, the Canorient Christian Association, and other Goan associations estimated that there were around 23,000 Goan Catholics in Canada, out of which 13,000 were in Ontario. During 1954 it was estimated that there were 20,000 Goan Catholics in the Arab states of the Persian Gulf, while 30,000 were living in Pakistan, out of which 10,000 were settled in Karachi. In 1931 it was estimated that there were around 1,772 Goan Catholics in Tanzania of which 700 were in Dar es Salaam. In Uganda during 1931, there were around 1,124 Goan Catholics, out of which 500 were settled in its capital of Kampala. Prior to the 1960s it was estimated that there were around 5,000 Goan Catholics in Nairobi, Kenya. By the 20th century there were around 6,000 Goan Catholics in London, while in 2001, 9,000 were present in Swindon, United Kingdom.