Guest guest Posted June 7, 2002 Report Share Posted June 7, 2002 >"Ashwini Kumar" >Goa's Catholics and Hindus >Thu, 06 Jun 2002 21:54:40 -0400 > > > >. Goa's Catholics And Hindus >Source: http://www.dailyexcelsior.com/02june03/national.htm#8 >PANAJI, INDIA, June 2, 2002: The Portuguese may have created two >different >communities when they ruled the state of Goa but Catholics and >Hindus here >say that despite practicing different religions, they are ultimately >Goans, >at heart, according to this article. A majority of the Catholics >here >comprise those who converted from the dominant Hindu community. They >make up >30 percent of Goa's total population of 1.4 million. But their >traditions, >lifestyle, cultures, food habits and attire remain similar to those >of the >Hindus. Converted through an inquisition order of the king in 1510 >when the >Portuguese invaded Goa, a decree forcibly converted the original >natives and >resulted in the destruction of many Hindu temples. A section of the >Brahmin >community was also forcibly converted and they later came to be >known as >Catholic Brahmins. Goan Catholics were later sub-divided into >several >castes, despite the fact that their religion does not follow any >caste >system. The old caste system is practiced covertly, especially while >seeking >marriage proposals. The communities take pride in the fact that Goa >has >never witnessed a communal riot. > Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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