East Indians

East Indians, or East Indian Catholics, are an ethno-religious Indian Christian community who trace their roots to those who converted to Christianity in the 16th century when Portuguese India ruled over Bombay. They live primarily in the city of Mumbai (Bombay), with smaller populations in portions of Raigad (Uran), Palghar (Bassein)& Thane (Thana) districts of Konkan, in the Indian state of Maharashtra.
History.
Pre-Portuguese era.
The Dominican friar Jordanus Catalani, who was Catalan or Occitan (southern French), began evangelizing in Sopara, Thana and north Konkan in 1323. Sopara was an ancient port and an international trading center.
Most Indian church history was lost between the ninth and fourteenth centuries as Persia converted to Nestorianism in 800 AD. Since church offices and public worship was dependent on a foreign source, when the foreign aid was withdrawn Indians became nominal Christians.
Portuguese era.
The Portuguese came to India in 1498, and their policy was to convert the Indian Christians to Roman Catholicism. Although Brahmins and other high-status Hindus who were ceremoniously converted by the Portuguese were treated with honor and distinction, groups engaged in agriculture, fishing and other rural occupations handed down by their ancestors received neither secular nor religious education. Among the Portuguese converts were a number of descendants of the Christian community reportedly founded by Apostle St. Bartholomew, whom the Portuguese molded into a community sometimes known as "Portuguese Christians".
The Franciscans spearheaded the evangelization of the "Province of the North" (Província do Norte). From 1534 to 1552 a priest, António do Porto, converted over 10,000 people, built a dozen churches and founded a number of orphanages and monasteries. Prominent among the converts were two yogis from the Kanheri Caves who became known as Paulo Raposo and Francisco de Santa Maria. They introduced Christianity to their fellow yogis, converting many in the process. Another notable convert during this period was the Brahmin astrologer Parashuram Joshi, who was baptized on 8 September, 1565 with the name Henrique da Cunha. Joshi;s conversion was followed by that of 250 Hindus, including over 50 Brahmins. In Salsette, the priest Manuel Gomes converted over 6,000 Hindus in Bandra and was known as the Apostle of Salsette.
In 1573, 1,600 people were converted. Beginning in 1548, Jesuits in Bassein (Baçaim) and Bandra converted many upper-caste Hindus; Bassein Cathedral recorded 9,400 baptisms in 1588. The Jesuit superior Gonçalo Rodrigues baptized between 5,000 and 6,000 Hindus in Thane (Tana), many of whom were orphans or the young children of lower-caste Hindus who were sold by their parents. In 1634, Bassein had 63 friars, 30 Franciscans, 15 Jesuits, 10 Dominicans, and 8 Augustines. By the end of the 16th century the Catholic population of the Portuguese Province of the North was 10,000 to 15,000, centered mainly in and around Bassein.
After the Province of the North came under Maratha occupation in 1739 and Catholicism was under severe threat from the Brahmin Peshwas, the native East Indian clergy under an East Indian Vicar General at Kurla managed and nursed the Catholic establishment back to a flourishing population.
British and modern eras.
Changes occurred under British rule. On 11 May, 1661, the marriage treaty of Charles II of England and Catherine of Braganza—Catarina de Bragança, daughter of King João IV of Portugal—made Bombay part of the British Empire as intended since the British takeover of Surat (allegedly as part of Catherine's dowry to Charles). A weakened Portugal, no longer part of the Crown of Spain, had to oblige. Nevertheless, parts of present-day Mumbai (such as Bandra, Thane and Vasai) remained Portuguese well into the first third of the 18th century. Since the early days of the East India Company, there were no other Indian Christians in the North Konkan except the East Indian Catholics. Employment intended for Christians was monopolized by the East Indians. With railways and steamships came immigrants from Goa who were also known as Portuguese Christians. The British adopted a designation which would distinguish
the Christians of North Konkan (who were British subjects) from the Goan Catholics, who were Portuguese subjects (the Mangalorean Catholics were no longer Portuguese subjects). For Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee, the Christians of North Konkan changed their name from "Portuguese Christians" to "East Indian" to impress on the British government of Bombay that they were the earliest Roman Catholic subjects of the British Crown in that part of India and were entitled to certain natural rights and privileges compared with the immigrants.
The Bombay East Indian Association was founded on 26 May, 1887 to advance the education, employment, rights and economic development of the East Indians. P. F. Gomes, who was knighted by Pope Leo XIII in 1888, was its first president and J. L. Britto its first secretary. D. G. Almeida donated to establish an education fund.
During the 1960s, the Archdiocese of Bombay estimated that there were 92,000 East Indians in Bombay: 76,000 in suburban Bombay and 16,000 in the city.
In September 2014, local non-governmental organizations such as the Watchdog Foundation, Mobai Gaothan Panchayat, the Bombay East India Association, Vakola Advanced Locality Management, Kalina Civic Forum and the Kolovery Welfare Association formed the Maharashtra Swaraj Party (MSP).
The party, which represents the East Indian community, was expected to support five candidates from Mumbai's suburbs in the 13th Maharashtra Legislative Assembly elections.
Architecture.
A typical Koli house consists of a veranda ("oli"), used for repairing nets and receiving visitors; a sitting-room ("angan"), used by women for household work; a kitchen, a central apartment, a bedroom, a devotional room ("devaghar") and a detached bathroom.
Language and literature.
East Indian Catholics speak a dialect of Marathi, which they retained despite Portuguese influence. The Marathi language is central to the community's identity. The author of "Trans. Bomb. Geog. Soc., 1836–38, Vol. I." mentions the dialect of Marathi spoken by the East Indians of Salsette, Mahim, Matunga and Mazagon, similar to the language spoken by the Kulbis, Kolis, Bhandaris, Palshes, Pathare Prabhus, Somvanshi Kshatriya Pathares (Panchkalshis), Kuparis and Vadvals; this may have been Konkani. Some East Indian upper-class families in the Khatri ward of Thane speak Portuguese. 110 Portuguese lexical items are found in Marathi.
Traditions and festivals.
Although the East Indians have preserved their pre-Christian Marathi culture and traditions, many Portuguese influences have been absorbed.
Dress.
Traditional dress for women is the "lugra". For men, traditional wear consists of khaki shorts and a white "banian". A Koli Christian bridegroom usually wears an older Portuguese admiral's uniform, which is preserved and lent out for such occasions.
East Indian women wore a blouse and cotton lugra, with the back pleats tucked into the waist; women did not use the upper portion of the "sari" (covering the head and breast) until they were married. This mode of wearing the sari is known as "sakacch nesane". "Gol nesane", a cylindrical style, is popular with young girls and women.
Cultural groups.
There are five East Indian cultural groups: Kulbis, Samavedi Christians (commonly called Kuparis), Koli Christians, Wadvals and Salsette Christians. as the east Indian working employe were in small numbers they joined all those above to distinguish themselves from, Mangaloreans, and goans, all converted to Roman Catholic in Bombay were called East Indians till today as five East Indian cultural groups: Kulbis, Samavedi Christians (commonly called Kuparis), Koli Christians, Wadvals and Salsette Christians.
Film industry.
The film "Tu Maza Jeev", in the East Indian language, was released on Maharashtra Day in 2009.
Singing competition.
East Indians organise singing competitions in their own language. The competition is primarily held in the evening of important village occasions; for example, Kurla has an annual competition on the eve of the "phool dongri" feast in May at Holy Cross Church.
Reservation.
The East Indians were awarded the OBC (other backward Class) status by the Government of Maharashtra on 1 March, 2006 by the way of official gazette.