PANAJI
In a move which has potential for triggering heated debate, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said on Wednesday that the state had kickstarted the process of restoring temples, which were destroyed by the colonial Portuguese during its regime in Goa.
Days after making an allocation of Rs 20 crore in his budget last week, Sawant said that the Archives and Archaeology department has begun working on the project.
“Archives and Archaeology are working on it,” Sawant told reporters when asked about the status of the proposal which was mentioned in his budget speech. Sawant incidentally holds the Archives and Archaeology portfolio.
In his budget speech last month, Sawant had said: “Our places of worship are symbols of our rich cultural heritage. At many places in Goa, we find several temples in dilapidated and neglected conditions. During the Portuguese regime, there was a systematic effort to destroy these cultural centres. Considering tourism development, we have made a provision of Rs 20 crore for reconstruction and restoration of these temples and sites”.
The Chief Minister has often spoken about the destruction of indigenous heritage by the Portuguese colonists, whose colonial stint in Goa lasted for 451 years, before eventually being driven out by the Indian armed forces in 1961.
As part of its policy at the time, the Portuguese colonist rulers were responsible for the destruction of temples in the state, which eventually led to the flight of Hindu deities from Portuguese-held Goa to British-held regions adjoining the coastal state in order to escape religious persecution and conversion.
However, this cultural conservation pitch of the CM has invited the ire of many on social media platforms, some even saying the move has a communal overtone.
The Sawant-led BJP government has made a budgetary provision of Rs 20 crore for reconstruction and restoration of temples and heritage sites destroyed during the Portuguese era.
In December 2021, Sawant had said that in the 60th year of Goa’s Liberation, he wants to initiate the reconstruction of temples that had been destroyed by the Portuguese.
“In the 60th year of liberation, we have to start rebuilding the temples. I do not ask for anything. I request you for strength to preserve Hindu culture and temple culture and to reestablish those temples,” he had said.
