The Indian diaspora is one of the largest in the world (about 17.5 million) and constitutes about six percent of the total migrant population around the world (about 272 million), as per the International Migrant Stock 2019 – a dataset released by the Population Division of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, today provides the latest estimates of the number of international migrants by age, sex and origin for all countries and areas of the world.
Of the global Indian diaspora, Goans form a significant portion. They continue to keep strong ties with their native land and even on foreign soil they have managed to maintain their distinct identity. Goans have migrated to several countries around the world, the top three being UAE, USA and Saudi Arabia.
The first recorded emigration of native Goans dates back to the 17th and 18th centuries when a significant number of Goan Hindus fled to Canara and Mangalore to save themselves from forced conversions by the Portuguese. Soon enough, many newly-converted Goan Catholics also left Goa at the time of the Goa Inquisition.
Early migration
Goans have been continuously migrating since the late 19th century. The Anglo-Portuguese Treaty of 1878 led to the British constructing the West of India Portuguese Railway that connected Goa (Velhas Conquistas) to British India (Bombay Presidency). At this time, riding the first wave of migration, Goans – Hindu and Catholic, moved to Bombay (now Mumbai), Poona (now Pune), Calcutta (now Kolkata), Karachi, East Africa, the Gulf, Canada and Burma.
Around the same time, in East Africa, there was a significant rise in ‘hiring’ of people from India as the British had constructed the Uganda Railway.
Back home in Goa, situation was grim as farming was not profitable and the Portuguese in Goa did not focus on development. Well educated Goans found it difficult to get work. For promising prospects, new job opportunities and ‘greener pastures’, Goans started migrating.
In the mid-nineteenth century, the most attractive migratory land was Zanzibar that shifted to East Africa (Mombasa, Dar-es-Salaam, etc.) in 1890s and early 1900s. In Zanzibar, many Goans were employed in the Sultan’s government also. Some were also employed in the British administration throughout British East Africa.
In East Africa, majority Goans were involved in business – retailers, shop owners, employees of Goan enterprises, tailors, shoemakers, etc. Later they established restaurants, bakeries and photography studios.
Goans also started training as lawyers, doctors and other professions reflecting the changing status of Goans in foreign lands. So, by 1880 more than 29,000 Goans had left Goa and by 1954, the number of emigrants had risen to 1,80,000.
More recently, in the last few decades, Goans have used their Portuguese passports to migrate to the UK. It is estimated that currently there are around 6,00,000 Goans living abroad.
Goan community abroad
When Goa was annexed to the Republic of India in 1961, the number of emigrants making a beeline to foreign lands increased. While many applied for and were granted Portuguese passports to enter European countries, there were those who left in big numbers to the Gulf countries.
By 1970s, there was a significant number of Goans in Africa, Europe and the Middle East. Historically, owing to early migratory waves, there are many Goans living in erstwhile British colonies such as Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania and in Portuguese colonies such as Mozambique and Angola. Today, Goan diaspora is living in USA, UK, Australia, Canada, France, Kenya, Middle East, Pakistan, etc.
For the Goan, the reason of emigration was never war or conflict or seeking refuge. It was primarily in search of economic opportunities and so they can live what they’d like to think as ‘better lives’ and to provide better educational opportunities and job prospects for their children.
The Goan diaspora has been a successful lot of people and Goans have achieved a lot in the countries they migrated to. They have also integrated and assimilated well with the local communities in foreign soil.
Goans living abroad have formed organisations and associations that cater to their interests. They also come together to maintain their cultural and social identity.
For example, World Goa Day (WGD) is a signature event that has attained global status and is celebrated by Goan associations all over the world.
Since its inception, WGD celebrations have only grown in countries like USA, UK, Australia, Canada, Kenya, Tanzania, Middle East, Portugal, etc.
WGD was introduced to commemorate the anniversary of the inclusion of Konkani in the 8th Schedule of the Indian Constitution by the Indian Parliament on 20 August 1992. On this day, Konkani was accorded status as one of the official languages of India.
The event aims to uphold the legacy of the Konkani language, heritage and culture for future generations. It was initiated by Rene Barreto who is in UK and has been instrumental in bringing Goans across the world together on one platform.
Notable Goans and their works
Several Goans, who either emigrated from Goa themselves or whose predecessors left Goa at some point, and those who continue to live in Goa, have earned a name for themselves, in various fields such as arts, cinema, music, law, business, etc.
Portuguese lawyer and professor 91-year-old Narana Sinai Coissoró is a retired politician of the right-wing CDS – People’s Party. He was born in Portuguese Goa in 1931. Narana is a former Deputy to the Assembly of the Republic in Portugal and was the leader of his party parliamentary group between 1978 and 1991. He also heads the Goan Community Centre in Portugal.
Goan writer and poet Vimala Devi (Teresa da Piedade de Baptista Almeida) was born in 1932 in the village of Britona in the parish of Penha de França, across the Mandovi river from Panjim. She wrote articles and poetry for Portuguese language publications – Diário da Noite and O Heraldo. She moved to Lisbon in 1957 to work as a translator and later wrote and published many works there.
Author and artist Frederika Menezes was born in Panjim in 1979 and is best known for her book, Unforgotten – a love story for young adults published in 2014. Born to physician parents, she grew up in Altinho area of Panjim and was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at the age of one. She has also been working actively for the cause of the differently-abled.
Renowned Marathi theatre actor, Natya Sangeet musician, Hindustani classical vocalist and father of Lata Mangeshkar, Pt. Deenanath Mangeshkar was born in 1900 in Mangeshi. His father, Ganesh Bhatt Navathe Hardikar served as a priest at the famous Mangeshi Temple in Goa.
Indian fashion designer late Wendell Rodricks was a Goan who took Indian fashion on global platforms. He was also an activist especially raising his voice for gay rights and the environment. In 2014, the Government of India conferred upon him its fourth-highest civilian award – the Padma Shri.
Bombay High Court judge Anuja Prabhudesai was born in 1962 in Mapusa, Goa. She is the first woman from Goa to be a High Court judge in India. She joined the bar in 1985, practised law in Goa including at the Goa bench of the Bombay High Court.