Multiple Decolonial Goan-nesses: Contesting the Denationalization Thesis and Embracing Plural Identities

Dr. Tristão de Bragança Cunha, revered as the “Father of Goan Nationalism,” profoundly shaped the discourse on Goan identity through his 1944 essay, The Denationalisation of Goans. His thesis argued that Portuguese colonial rule, through its education system, press, and Church, alienated Goans—particularly the Catholic elite—from their Indian cultural roots, rendering them “strangers in their own land.” While Cunha’s critique was a powerful call to resist colonial domination and foster a unified Indian nationalist consciousness, it inadvertently essentialized Goan identity, framing it as singular and tethered to an idealized Indian-ness. This perspective risks marginalizing the plural, hybrid, and resistant forms of Goan-ness that thrived under and against Portuguese colonization.

By exploring the multiplicity of Goan-nesses through a decolonial lens, this article contests Cunha’s denationalization thesis as a misreading of the dynamic, multifaceted ways Goans navigated colonial modernity, asserting that Goan identity was not lost but creatively reimagined in diverse, resistant forms.

The Denationalization Thesis: A Singular Vision of Goan-ness

Cunha’s denationalization thesis posits that Portuguese colonial strategies—such as imposing Portuguese education, suppressing the Konkani language, and leveraging the Catholic Church—eroded Goans’ national consciousness, replacing it with an imitative Westernized identity. He argued that this process was more pronounced among Catholic Goans, who, in adopting Portuguese cultural markers, lost their “Indianness” and national dignity. Cunha’s intention was to unite Goans under a shared Indian identity to fuel the liberation movement, as seen in his establishment of the Goa Congress Committee in 1928 and his advocacy for Goa’s integration with India.

His critique exposed the psychological and cultural violence of colonialism, highlighting how myths of Portuguese benevolence obscured the brutal realities of massacres and the Inquisition.However, Cunha’s thesis rests on an essentialist view of identity, presuming a singular, authentic Goan-ness rooted in Indian cultural traditions.

This perspective overlooks the complexity of Goan society, which was shaped by centuries of cultural exchange, religious diversity, and colonial negotiation. By framing Goan-ness as something that could be “lost” through denationalization, Cunha underestimates the resilience and creativity with which Goans forged multiple identities under colonial constraints.

His focus on a unified Indian nationalist identity, while strategically vital for the anti-colonial struggle, marginalizes other expressions of Goan-ness that were neither fully Indian nor Portuguese but uniquely hybrid and resistant.

Multiple Modernities, Multiple Goan-nesses

Decolonial thought, as articulated by scholars like Aníbal Quijano and Walter Mignolo, emphasizes the need to recognize non-Eurocentric ways of being and knowing that emerge from colonial experiences. In Goa, Portuguese colonization did not produce a singular modernity but multiple modernities—diverse ways in which Goans engaged with, resisted, and reshaped colonial structures. These modernities gave rise to multiple Goan-nesses, each reflecting distinct negotiations of power, culture, and identity.Catholic Goan-ness:

Hybridity as Resistance

Contrary to Cunha’s view of Catholic Goans as denationalized, their adoption of Catholicism and Portuguese cultural elements was often a strategic negotiation rather than a passive assimilation. Catholic Goans maintained Konkani as a spoken language despite its exclusion from formal education, preserving oral traditions, folk songs, and tiatr (a form of Konkani theater) that critiqued colonial and social injustices. The Goan Catholic elite, educated in Portuguese, used their access to colonial institutions to advocate for rights. Their Westernized attire and manners, often criticized by Cunha, did not erase their Goan identity but rather positioned them to navigate colonial power structures while maintaining cultural distinctiveness. This hybrid Goan-ness—blending Catholic rituals, Konkani linguistic pride, and selective Portuguese influences—was a form of resistance that Cunha’s thesis misreads as cultural loss.

Hindu Goan-ness: Continuity and Adaptation

Hindu Goans, less directly targeted by Portuguese religious conversion policies, maintained cultural continuity through temple festivals, devotional practices, and caste-based social structures. However, they too engaged with colonial modernity, adopting elements of Portuguese legal and administrative systems to protect community interests. For instance, Hindu merchants and landowners leveraged colonial trade networks to gain economic power, while village communities preserved local governance practices. This Goan-ness was neither fully “Indian” in Cunmha’s nationalist sense nor wholly colonized but a dynamic adaptation that sustained cultural autonomy within a colonial framework

Diasporic Goan-ness: Global Identities

Goan migration to Bombay, East Africa, and beyond created diasporic Goan-nesses that further complicate Cunha’s thesis. In Bombay, Goans formed vibrant communities, publishing Konkani newspapers and establishing cultural associations that celebrated Goan identity while engaging with Indian nationalism. These diasporic Goans, including Cunha himself, who operated from Bombay after Portuguese repression in Goa, were not denationalized but actively constructed a transnational Goan-ness that bridged local pride with global aspirations. Their engagement with diverse cultural contexts—British, Indian, and African—demonstrates that Goan identity was not confined to a singular Indian-ness but was plural and cosmopolitan.

Subaltern Goan-ness: Everyday Resistance

Subaltern groups, such as the S T laborers Cunha championed, embodied a Goan-ness rooted in everyday resistance. Their refusal to fully comply with colonial labor demands, reflects a grounded, pragmatic resistance that did not rely on nationalist rhetoric. Their cultural practices—folk dances, oral storytelling, and syncretic religious rituals—preserved a Goan-ness that was neither Westernized nor nationalist but fiercely local

Decolonial Goan-ness: Embracing Plurality

A decolonial approach to Goan-ness rejects the binary of “national” versus “denationalized” and instead celebrates the plurality of identities that emerged from colonial encounters. Decoloniality, as articulated in the Modernity/Coloniality/Decoloniality (MCD) framework, seeks to foreground epistemologies and practices that challenge Eurocentric modernity’s universalizing tendencies.

In Goa, this means recognizing that Goan-ness was not a fixed essence to be preserved or lost but a dynamic process of becoming, shaped by multiple modernities and resistant practices.For instance, the ecology of Goa itself reflects this hybridity: cashew, introduced by the Portuguese from Brazil, and chillies, known as tarvotti (ship-borne), became integral to Goan cuisine, symbolizing a Goan-ness that is neither purely indigenous nor foreign but creatively syncretic and is in the making.

Similarly, cultural forms like mando (a Goan dance-song blending Portuguese and Konkani influences) and tiatr embody a decolonial Goan-ness that resists colonial domination by forging new, inclusive identities.Cunha’s thesis, while revolutionary for its time, aligns with a modernist nationalism that privileges a singular identity tied to the nation-state. This framework, borrowed from Western concepts of nationalism post-Westphalia, paradoxically condemns Western cultural influences while seeking a unified Indian identity.

A decolonial perspective, by contrast, sees Goan-ness as a “shareable space,” to borrow from The Goan EveryDay (2018), where Hindu, Catholic, diasporic, and subaltern identities coexist and evolve. This plurality does not dilute Goan-ness but enriches it, allowing Goans to “become Goans along with Goa, India, and the world.”

Reimagining Cunha’s Legacy

Cunha’s love for Goa and his anti-colonial zeal remain undeniable. His efforts— for Goa’s liberation —galvanized the liberation movement, culminating in Goa’s integration into India in 1961. Yet, his essentialist view of Goan-ness as singular and Indian-centric risks negating the diverse ways Goans asserted their identity under Portuguese rule.

By reframing Cunha’s denationalization thesis through a decolonial lens, we can honor his contributions while expanding his vision to embrace the multiple Goan-nesses that flourished as acts of resistance.Goan-ness, in its decolonial multiplicity, is not a static essence but a vibrant tapestry of identities—Catholic, Hindu, diasporic, subaltern, and more. These Goan-nesses, forged in the crucible of colonial modernity, demonstrate that Goans were never passive victims of denationalization but active agents of cultural creation.

By celebrating this plurality, we can move beyond Cunha’s singular vision to a more inclusive understanding of Goan identity—one that resonates with the dynamic, interconnected world of today.

Sources

Desai, Nishtha. “The Denationalisation of Goans: An Insight into the Construction of Cultural Identity.” Lusotopie, 2000, pp. 469-476.

“The Goan EveryDay: Victor Ferrao Being a Goan at a Time of Hindutva.” The Goan, 201

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