Court records and police records are one of the most vital documentation which
expose the oppressions of the voiceless. These oppressions can echo through the
oral tradition but can equally get distorted. For instance, discussions around
the Goa inquisition are often distorted by the oral tradition because not
enough archival research has been done. Researcher Alan Machado has exposed the
limitations and lies of the oral tradition in this respect.
In my latest work Guts, Glory and Empire, I reveal the depth of the Goan
engagement with the 19th century Arab world. This engagement has been forgotten
by collective memory.
All best,
Selma CarvalhoAuthor of Guts, Glory & Empire: The Epic Story of Goans in
Zanzibar, 1865-1910 published by Speaking Tiger.
On Monday, 15 June 2026 at 23:19:38 BST, Frederick Noronha
<[email protected]> wrote:
Dr Vivek,
What you say is true: archives reflect power. The archives were often created
by states, religious establishments, colonial administrations, courts, state
power and elites. They therefore preserve some voices far better than others.
Historians recognise this and have developed methods of reading sources
"against the grain" to acknowledge that archives are not neutral. (In Goa we
see a trend where the archives created by rulers in the sixteenth are read in a
way that suit the ideology of our current rulers too.)
But, the biases of archives does not negate their value. Without archival
records, many of the very structures of power, exploitation, exclusion and
resistance would be far more difficult to reconstruct. Just by nature of it
being elite-produced does not make it useless; it needs critical interpretation.
Oral history is crucial and give space to omitted voices. But oral sources also
have limitations: memory is selective and many experiences disappear with the
passing of generations. It may not be an either-or option.Oral and archival
sources are not opposites but complements. One could build the other.
Incidentally, we are also seeing initiatives like the People's Archive of Rural
India, set up by noted journalist P.Sainath who also happens to be the grandson
of labour leader turned Vice President and President of India VV Giri (1970s).
Besides, archives are not composed solely of the voices of rulers and elites.
Court records (sadly getting destroyed after some time), petitions,
depositions, wills, land disputes, police complaints, religious records, labour
records and other documents tell the stories of non-elites too.
Why not just be conscious of the strengths and silences of both?
How effeciently the archives are being maintained, how many local scholars are
using the same, and how open is access to it (specially to scholars from
abroad, as Dr Christina has noted) are among the key issues which keep coming
up. I feel we should not give any excuse to devalue this centuries-old record
or to make it even more inaccessible and forgotten.
FN
_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/
_/ Frederick Noronha फ्रेडरिक नोरोन्या * فريدريك نورونيا
_/ AUDIO https://archive.org/details/@fredericknoronha
_/ http://goa1556.in +91-9822122436 784 Saligao Goa_/ Goanet :: 30 years of
discussions. [email protected]
_/
http://lists.goanet.org/pipermail/goanet-goanet.org/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/
On Sun, 14 Jun, 2026, 9:22 am Vivek Pinto, <[email protected]> wrote:
With all respect to Dr. Da Silva and others who have labored in various
archives,
Archives, no matter where they are located, metropolis or periphery, are not
only "elite-centric" but protect, solidify, and justify the power of those who
continue (read: us) to exploit (by our writings) those at the bottom of the
social, economic and political pyramid, particularly women and children.
We give them undue importance as they are on paper and we use it to aggrandize
ourselves, academic positions, and whatever else. Religious orders are no
exception to this truth and so let us please stop attributing too much value to
the years we have labored there. We will not get any discount when future
historians read our works, academic or non-fiction "against the grain."
What is "against the grain"? It is not only crucially interrogating the written
record to search for hidden and suppressed truth, but actively searching for
oral sources.
The balance can never be restored. It is a myth.
Best regards,
Vivek Pinto
On Sat, Jun 13, 2026 at 5:34 PM William Robert Da Silva <[email protected]>
wrote:
I agree fully with Dr Celsa Pinto. However, there is another side to the
archives she speaks about. Archives are of the ruling elites and the powerful
writing elites. Everyday archive of people's lives in caste living, occupation,
conflictual relations with the higher and purer castes, religious leaders,
family, employment and their 'archive' of art and culture - these are equally,
if not more, important, and these give a balance to the 'archive' generally
so-called. I have paid greater attention to that part of life and, in language
research, its yield has been colossal.Thank you.William Robert
On Fri, Jun 12, 2026 at 3:10 PM Cristiana Bastos
<[email protected]> wrote:
____agree 100% - but getting a research visa is extremely difficult - for
inidia and many other places. I co supervised a Brazilian doctoral student,
funded for a year of research in lisbon and goa, and after many many attempts
to get a visa to India in order to do research in goa’s archives she had to
give up. She would not risk using a tourist visa for research and went back
from lisbon to brazil… may be there will be another chance for her, but the
energy one has in the doctoral years is unique, i think. Perhaps there is a
way of making things easier for doctoral students?
Thanks
___________agre_________________
De: [email protected] <[email protected]> em
nome de Frederick Noronha <[email protected]>
Enviado: 12 de junho de 2026 07:42
Para: [email protected]
Assunto: [GRN] Experts urge researchers to utilise Goa's rich archival heritage
(O Heraldo)
[archives.jpg]
_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/
_/ Frederick Noronha फ्रेडरिक नोरोन्या * فريدريك نورونيا
_/ AUDIO https://archive.org/details/@fredericknoronha
_/ http://goa1556.in +91-9822122436 784 Saligao Goa
_/ Goanet :: 30 years of discussions.
[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>
_/ http://lists.goanet.org/pipermail/goanet-goanet.org/
_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/
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