Aboriginals got displaced the first time, centuries ago, by the more recent settlers in the State, the so-called 'upper' castes'
Out of sight is out of mind. This is true in many fields. It is also true of the aboriginal population of Goa. You can live in some parts of Goa, and not even be aware of the existence of this section of Goa's population. Likewise, we might have never heard how Goa's aboriginals got squeezed out of their land and resources here, how marginalised they are, and what are the social and economic struggles they still continue to face.
For someone growing up in Bardez, the Gawada-Kunbi-Velip population is not very visible. The few aboriginals that live here are mainly migrants from Salcete or some other part of Goa. They are not so numerically strong, and hence a small part of our reality. It was sometimes in the late 1980s or early 1990s, that we encountered large numbers of this population.
There is so little written in print (or even online) about the Gawada-Kunbi-Velip population of Goa. Rare exceptions apart. Norman Dantas, the journalist with a difference who passed away early, carried an article written by Anita Haladi in the now out-of-print book he edited, 'The Transforming of Goa'. In it, Haladi writes how the aboriginals of Goa got displaced the first time, centuries ago, by the more recent settlers in the State, the so-called "upper" castes, who took over the more fertile lands. The aboriginals were pushed away to hilly areas, which are markedly less fertile.
As if this was not enough, the post-1961 'development' projects came up in Goa. These, in turn, were built up on the 'vacant' hillocks. This meant the pushing-out of the aboriginal populations yet again, from even the hilly areas where they resided. Such projects, ranging from the Goa Medical College to military camps, Electronics City (now Verna Industrial Estate) to many other industrial estates, have all had the same effect.
Other studies have been done, and probably not noticed by many. One is a early study of the ethno-medicine practices of the Kunbis of Baradi, by sociologist Dr Bernandette Gomes. A more recent study is by Prof Denis Vaz titled 'A linguistic study of the Salcete Christian dialect with special reference to Sudir Gawdas'.
On the weekend, a talk organised at the Museum of Goa (Pilerne) in its interesting series currently curated by Nilankur Das, focussed on this issue. Advcate João Fernandes ("John in English") gave a rather comprehensive talk about his community and its current-day challenges and plight. There are many.
To set the issue in context, some numbers might help. João says that as per the 2011 Census, the community forms about 11% of the Goan population, though this could be as much as 15%. (Because of the low social status other Goans give to the Gawadas, many fight shy of identifying themselves as such.)
Cyril Fernandes, activist and author of a book which gives insights into this community ('Justice at the Grassroots', 2014), says that in 1961, the community formed 30% of Goa's population. Given the way in which the population of this tiny State has grown tremendously, largely due to in-migration (despite out-migration and a very low birth rate), this is entirely believable.
For that matter, another section of the Kunbi population (called Kudumbi in Kerala) is known to have migrated to the south-west coast of India. According to P S Ramachandran, the secretary of the Kudumbi Sewa Sangh, there are "more than seven lakhs [Kudumbies] in various parts of Kerala today"! Even if that number might be overstated somewhat, it gives an idea of the size of the population.
Adv João highlighted the plight of the community today. Its loss of culture and language, pressures to change, difficulties to get ahead, access to education, social discrimination, and more. Alcoholism is a serious problem for the community, he said, stressing that this led to many young widows in Gawada Goa.
Recent years have seen the Gawada-Kunbi-Velips get Scheduled Tribe status. But those who benefit from it might not do enough for the community, he feels.
Two very serious issues were raised by him, quite credibly, in his talk. The first was the alienation of young members of the community. They would prefer to have nothing to do with their roots, even pretend they are not part of the Gawada community.
In many ways, this is entirely understandable. Given the disdain (if not contempt) which much of Goan society hold its aboriginal population in, it is not surprising that those who can would like to distance themselves from their own roots. Advocate João points to the "Gawada mure toh" syndrome (he's just a Gawada, meaning, you can't expect better). This reflects the contempt that the wider society has for this section.
More importantly, Adv João was critical about the role played by the Church and Vedic Hinduism, while depriving and delegitimising the aboriginal in Goa of their identity and culture. He was particularly blunt about the former, for its disruption of the 'maand' (community meeting ground), which was more than just a cultural and meeting space of the Gawada community. It brought them together physically, resolved their disputes, took decisions. One could say, this space held them together as a community.
One could say the Church does not incorporate casteism in its theology. But its followers (or some of them) do practise it. They may not even be aware of their bias, or the implications of their actions. But Adv João points to the lack of educational institutions in aboriginal areas, the social discrimination that subtly go on within religious institutions too.
Sometime in the future, we might well look back and wonder how we could be so ignoring of such issues. Things have already changed in countries like Australia, sometimes even the US and Canada. We hear programmes (even in YouTube recordings) begin with an acknowledgement of the traditional owners of the land. It starts with words like: "'I acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land on which we are meeting. I pay my respects to their Elders, past and present, and the Aboriginal Elders of other communities who may be here today...."
Maybe we in Goa could acknowledge the situation by taking up such an approach as well.
