Cuncolim’s history yet to find mention in school curriculum

the goan I network rMARGAOrrIn fact, successive governments have only paid lip service to the demand of the Cuncolim Chieftain’s Memorial Committee to document the historic revolt and introduce the same in the school curriculum in order to educate the younger generation on the valiant battle of the villages of Cuncolim, Velim, Ambelim and Assolna against the Portuguese rule. rHopes were raised in the year 2014 when the Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar assured MLA Vishnu Wagh on the floor of the House that the government would constitute a panel of historians to undertake a study on Cuncolim history and make necessary recommendations. Till date, however, the ground reality remains unchanged. Manohar Parrikar is back in power after a three-year stint in Delhi, but the formation of the panel of experts to conduct a study on Cuncolim’s history is yet to see the light of day. rSays Cuncolim Chieftain’s Committee president, Oscar Martins: “The Committee had knocked the doors of successive governments since 2000. We have only received assurances from successive governments and historians that Cuncolim’s history ought to be included in the school history books, but in vain”. rMartins recalled that the issue had echoed in the Parliament when it was raised by MP Shantaram Naik in his first stint as Rajya Sabha MP. “While the MP’s speech was welcomed by the Parliamentarians, there was not much headway since the issue fell in the domain of the State Legislature,” he added. rIncidentally, while successive governments have cold-shouldered the demand for inclusion of the Cuncolim history in the school text books, the Chieftains Memorial Committee is on the job to produce a documentary as well as compile a book on the historic revolt. “The production of the documentary by the Chieftains Committee is in the final stages. Our sole intention is to put the historic revolt in the right perspective before the younger generations on the valiant fight of the people of Cuncolim to protect their religion and freedom,” he added. rThe Cuncolim Chieftains Memorial Committee commemorates Chieftains Day on July 15 every year to salute the village chieftains from the villages of Cuncolim, Assolna, Ambelim and Velim for their battle against the Portuguese as well as remember the 16 chieftains who were massacred by the Portuguese at the Assolna fort after being called to sign a peace treaty rCuncolim Municipal vice-chairperson Shashank Desai said the people of Cuncolim had resorted to non-cooperation movement against the Portuguese, more than three centuries after the Father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi had launched the non-cooperation movement against the British rule. He said the municipality has initiated a project to illuminate the Chieftains memorial near the municipal building at a cost of Rs seven lakh. rTrustees of the Chieftains Memorial Committee, Sripad Desai and Bhiku Desai pointed out though the long-pending demand of Cuncolkars to include the historic 1583 revolt in the school curriculum remains unfulfilled by successive governments, they asserted that people of Cuncolim will continue to raise the issue at various platforms till the village history finds mention in the school books.