Apropos reports in the press about the Braganza Garden revamp and the pedestal of former Portuguese Prime Minister Salazar, it is worth reflecting on how other former colonies have embraced their Lusophone heritage, while Goa chose to turn away from it.
Macau continues to use Portuguese alongside Cantonese, strengthening its links with the wider Lusophone world. In Goa, however, Portuguese was removed after Liberation, breaking a 451-year cultural connection. The irony was clear during the Lusofonia Games, when a Chinese delegate spoke fluent Portuguese, while Goa’s Chief Minister addressed the gathering in English.
Goa could have followed a balanced path”Konkani as the mother tongue, with Portuguese retained as a cultural link. Instead, we dismantled a legacy that could have strengthened our identity, boosted tourism, and connected us with Portugal, Brazil, Angola, Mozambique and other Lusophone regions.
As we redesign heritage spaces, we must ask: are we preserving history or slowly erasing it? The Salazar pedestal should remind us that once culture is lost, it is difficult to recover.
