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mohanty
16 February 2011, 04:00 AM
I found no mention of this anywhere in these forums, so thought a separate thread should be put up.

The Goa Inquisition is one of the less talked about events in the history of India. It's slightly older cousin, the Spanish Inquisition is more popular.

See this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goa_Inquisition

And this book: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Goa_Inquisition_(book)

Basically...


The Goa Inquisition was the office of the Inquisition acting in the Indian state of Goa and the rest of the Portuguese empire in Asia. It was established in 1560, briefly suppressed from 1774–1778, and finally abolished in 1812.[1]
The Inquisition was established to punish relapsed New Christians – Jews and Muslims who converted to Catholicism, as well as their descendants – who were now suspected of practicing their ancestral religion in secret.[2]
In Goa, the Inquisition also turned its attention to Indian converts from Hinduism or Islam who were thought to have returned to their original ways. In addition, the Inquisition prosecuted non-converts who broke prohibitions against the observance of Hindu or Muslim rites or interfered with Portuguese attempts to convert non-Christians to Catholicism.[2]
While its ostensible aim was to preserve the Catholic faith, the Inquisition was used against Indian Catholics and Hindus as an instrument of social control, as well as a method of confiscating victims' property and enriching the Inquisitors.[3]
Most of the Goa Inquisition's records were destroyed after its abolition in 1812, and it is thus impossible to know the exact number of the Inquisition's victims.[2]
Based on the records that survive, H. P. Salomon and I. S. D. Sassoon state that between the Inquisition's beginning in 1561 and its temporary abolition in 1774, some 16,202 persons were brought to trial by the Inquisition. Of this number, it is known that 57 were sentenced to death and executed in person; another 64 were burned in effigy. Others were subjected to lesser punishments or penanced, but the fate of many of the Inquisition's victims is unknown.[2]

Here area few more links on the same:


http://www.vgweb.org/unethicalconversion/GoaInquisition.htm
http://www.rediff.com/news/1999/mar/16gupta.htm

sanjaya
16 February 2011, 09:18 AM
Funny, I thought I once mentioned the Goa Inquisition to a Christian who came to this forum. Anyway, I do indeed know about the inquisition. As you say, not many people know that Christians have been persecuting Hindus since at least the late sixteenth century. I feel that things like this should be more widely publicized among Indians. When a Hindu converts to Christianity, he's freely giving away his faith to the Christians when numerous Hindus in the past resisted.

Eastern Mind
16 February 2011, 09:42 AM
Vannakkam: One of the great historical ironies is how indentured labour (run by cultures that were primarily Christian) actually SPREAD Hinduism far and wide. I'm sure that was not the original intent. Surinam, Guyana, Trinidad, Mauritius, Fiji, South Africa, and a few others all have strong Hindu communities.

Aum Namasivaya

Ramakrishna
16 February 2011, 09:50 PM
Namaste Mohanty,

Yes, when most people think of the Christian Inquisitions they think of the Spanish Inquisition which is the most popular one. The Goa Inquisition was really just as bloody and just as horrible, but not many people know about it.

I must say that I myself do not know much about it aside from just browsing a few websites. Francis Xavier was a truly horrible man. I have actually been thinking recently about learning more about the Goa Inquisition, and that book you linked to looks good.

Jai Sri Ram

Ramakrishna
16 February 2011, 09:53 PM
Vannakkam: One of the great historical ironies is how indentured labour (run by cultures that were primarily Christian) actually SPREAD Hinduism far and wide. I'm sure that was not the original intent. Surinam, Guyana, Trinidad, Mauritius, Fiji, South Africa, and a few others all have strong Hindu communities.

Aum Namasivaya

Namaste Eastern Mindji,

That's a good point, I never thought of that. That is especially in contrast to slavery, when the majority of the Africans ended up converting to Christianity. There is a strong Hindu population in Guyana, but unfortunately it has been declining in recent years as more and more people convert to Christianity :(

Jai Sri Ram

Rationalist
17 February 2011, 07:54 PM
Namaste Eastern Mindji,

That's a good point, I never thought of that. That is especially in contrast to slavery, when the majority of the Africans ended up converting to Christianity. There is a strong Hindu population in Guyana, but unfortunately it has been declining in recent years as more and more people convert to Christianity :(

Jai Sri Ram

What else do you expect them to convert to when they are drained of all their sense of identity and humanity and are forced to swallow everything that is fed to them?