Shennoi Goembab hailed
for inspiring work
Sandesh Prabhudesai
22 August 2002
Shennoi Goembab is not an inspiration
to the people of Goa alone but the whole Konkani community
spread all over India as well as in several parts of
the world, due to his inspiring
thoughts on self-identity, stated Msgr. Alexander D'Souza,
president of the Karnataka Konkani Sahitya Academy.
He was speaking as a chief guest at
the National Recognition Day function organised by Goa
Konkani Academy in Margao on 20 August, to commemorate
the day of inclusion of Konkani in the eighth schedule
of Constitution of India in 1992.
Msgr. D'Souza expressed satisfaction
that the Goa government is celebrating the whole year
as Osmitai Vors (Identity Year) on the occasion
of 125th birth anniversary of Shennoi
Goembab. Recalling Shennoi's work to rejuvenate
Konkani identity among the Konkani people spread all
over the world, he said Goembab was thus chosen
as the Man of Millennium by Karnataka's Konkani people.
Uday Bhembre, president of the Goa
Konkani Academy, on the occasion warned that Goans with
self-respect will not tolerate any attempt to insult
Goembab and foil the attempts to celebrate it
as the Identity Year. He was obviously referring to
such attempts being made from the Marathi protagonist
camp, especially by painting Goembab as a person
having disrespect towards the lower caste people.
Earlier, while participating in a seminar
on Shennoi Goembab, Prof. Prakash Vazarikar also
refuted these allegations, citing incidents in Goembab's
life where he had expressed more confidence among the
illiterate and downtrodden people than the upper caste
educated Brahmins. In fact making everybody a scholar
and educated was his slogan, he said.
Prof. Vazarikar also said that Goembab
believed in dignity of labour while he had analysed
how Goan identity is getting polluted with the influx
of outsiders and the impact of their culture over Goan
society. Though Marathi protagonist historians like
A K Priolkar and Pandurang Pisurlekar had difference
of opinion with Goembab over the language controversy,
both of them had a great respect for him as a historian
and a researcher, he added.
Prof. Prajal Sakhardande, while describing
the historian Goembab, said that Goembab was
one of the first historians who dug out the pre-Portuguese
history of several dynasties of thousands of years by
studying the inscripts available in this regard and
also by gathering information from among the people.
"How can be such a person be a pseudo historian", he
asked.
He made a special mention of Goembab's
extensive writing on Abbe de Faria while also stating
that his three lectures on the settlement of Goans outside
Goa and abroad is perhaps a master piece and the most
studied document available of those days in the early
20th century.
While narrating incidents of his life
depicting the values like self-respect, sincerity and
hard work Goembab practised throughout his life,
Shantaram Varde Valulikar - his grandson and a writer
- said Goembab also did not believe in religious
rituals even in those days. "In fact he was cremated
without any rituals as per his wish", he disclosed.
Prof. Harishchandra Nagavekar, who
presided over the seminar, said it was unfortunate that
Goembab was disrespected in the name of his caste
or religion when he was much above these complexes.
Shennoi Goembab initiated a cultural revolution
in Goan society and his work is the most remarkable
and historical contribution to the Konkani society,
he said, in his concluding remarks.
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