Goa to Me

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GOA TO ME is a self-introduction of the author, not just through the autobiographical introduction, but also through the history of his land and people. After two decades of intense contribution to the writing and re-writing of Goa's history, the author sees his work as a genuine reflection of his search for self- identity. He sees his self-identity as inseparable from the history of the people to whom he belongs. It is an attempt to psycho-history. A Foreword by Prof. C.R. Boxer, the world-renowned and veteran historian of Portuguese empire, and the cover design and life sketches by the celebrated cartoonist Mario Miranda, have enhanced the appeal of this book.

TEOTONIO R. de SOUZA (b. 18.02.47) was born in Goa. After completing primary and secondary studies in Portuguese, joined the Society of Jesus in Goa-Poona Province in 1967.

Obtained a Licentiate Degree in Philosophy from the Pontifical Athenaeum in Poona in 1970, and M.A. and Ph.D. in History from the University of Poona in 1972 and 1977 respectively.

Life Member and Fellow of various historical associations in India, and a Fellow of the Portuguese Academy of History, Lisbon.

Founder-Director of the Xavier Centre of Historical Research since 1979, and guides Ph.D. research for the Goa University since 1986.

Publications include Medieval Goa (1979), Indo-Portuguese History: Old Issues, New Questions (1985), Essays in Goan History (1989), Goa Through the Ages (1990), Jesuits in India: In Historical Perspective (1992), Discoveries, Missionary Expansion and Asian Cultures (1993), and nearly 100 articles in historical and cultural journals in India abroad.

DR. TEOTONIO R. DE SOUZA needs no introduction from me or from anyone else, but since he has asked me to provide a brief foreword to this book, I cannot refuse, as I have been for a long time a personal friend and an admirer of his work.

As a loyal son of the soil and an old-timer in the Society of Jesus, he has also been fully aware of the dissident and controversial view- points expressed by many writers in many languages. Church and State; Caste and Class; Economy and Society; and many other aspects of religious and socio-economic history have all engaged his attention. Nor does he shrink from controversy, although his standpoints are temperately expressed, and wields no poisoned pen. The old Indo- Portuguese adage that "the nib of a Jesuit's pen is more to be feared than the point of an Arab's sword", is not strictly applicable to his work, which often evinces respect for non-Christian creeds and faiths. The reader will find that these articles range both widely and deeply, with a chronological bracket from the sixteenth century to the present day. They provide profitable and stimulating reading and new insights even for those who are familiar with the topics which are treated.

It is not by mere accident that the title of this book bears a resemblance to Emily Hahn's China to me (N.Y., 1944). I had heard of the book and the ripples it made when it appeared. I have often been a guest of the author at her home in U.K., whenever I dropped in to greet my old friend and mentor Prof. Charles Boxer and to update my knowledge about the latest in the Portuguese expansion history. When Prof. Boxer sent me the text of the Foreword, I was not decided about the title. I was thinking about it, when another good friend Bob Newman, an American anthro- pologist and a friend of India of the Peace Corps times, dropped in on his usual surprise visits and brought me a gift, which he thought I would surely appreciate. It was Emily Hahn's China to me. It decided for me what I should call my book of collected essays, but there would be no 60 chapters, neither would it run into 424 pages, nor would it be a new book.

Goa to me brings together ten dispersed essays out of all that I published during the past two decades. The readers looking for the kind of stuff that precedes and follows the Battle of Shouson Hill in Emily Hahn's partial autobiography may feel left somewhat in the cold. To save them from total disappointment I thought of providing a unifying backdrop for the contents, for my involvement in historical research, for my concerns underlying the choice of the themes, and for my style of formulation of the essays in the form of an autobiographical introduc- tion. It is hoped that this feature will make it more of a lived history, rather than an abstract description of historical scenarios. My autobio- graphical disclosures may lack the spice of the challenging mix of the flippant and heroic romance of China to me, but it may not be devoid of some weak parallels. If Emily Hahn's Charles "walked, and talked and drank like an Army officer", while he was decidedly not "a straight military type", the same has been said or kept prudently unsaid by many who have known the author of the present book. They may wonder how he has retained his affiliation to the Society of Jesus this long, crossing a quarter century, and handling responsible jobs as a solemnly professed member of the Order.

**Contents and Sample Pages**