A Testament to the Atrocities of the Portuguese Inquisition: The Pillar of Severed Hands

The Pillar of Severed Hands! Have you heard about it?

It is one of the historic monuments and is located in Old Goa, India. It has been referred to as "Hath Katro Khamb" in the local dialect of Konkani language, which translates to "The Pillar of Severed Hands." Here, the hands of the Hindus who practiced their religious rituals in secrecy and refused to convert to Christianity were amputated.

This column stands grimly to remind one of the atrocities committed during the Portuguese Inquisition-that somber chapter of Hindu persecution by Christians. The Inquisition of Goa by the Portuguese, from 1560 to 1812, is a horrific period in history that has often been suppressed or omitted by the so-called "secular" circles of Indian historians.

The Inquisition was one means whereby Catholicism and the Church sought to spread their influence. It was designed to establish Catholic religious doctrines and ensure loyalty to Christianity among converts. It involved suppressing religious dissent or "heresy." Anything done or believed that ran against the doctrines of the Church were deemed illegal and thus investigated and punished.

The Portuguese Inquisition in Goa was initiated with the discovery of the sea route to India via the Cape of Good Hope in Africa in 1498 by Vasco da Gama. He returned and told the Portuguese royal family about the new route through which he reached India and finally motivated them to start colonization along the western coast of India, especially in Goa.

Pope Nicholas V issued a decree granting the Portuguese king the right to propagate Christianity in the newly discovered lands and enslave non-Christians. Additionally, the decree allowed Portugal to monopolize trade in Asia under the Roman Catholic Empire. Soon after, in 1510, the Portuguese captured a part of Goa and established their colony there.

Annoyed by the local Hindu traditions, the Portuguese in the colonial period ordered the closure of temples. For the first time in 1541, idol worship was banned in Goa and more than 350 temples were destroyed by Portuguese soldiers. A decree was passed that no religion other than Roman Catholicism could be practised in the region.

In 1542, Francis Xavier and Martin Alfonso were sent to Goa by King John III of Portugal for the conversion of people into Catholicism. But after reaching there, they found that a lot of people were following their ancestor's Hindu faith. Infuriated Francis Xavier asked King John to establish Inquisition in Goa, and thus the nefarious Inquisition started, which lasted from 1561 to 1812 and made the life of local Hindus intolerable.

Teotónio R. de Souza, a historian and Goan, has written, "The Hindu was uncivilized, inhuman, devoid of reason. His idols became the representations of evil spirits." Writes he in his book on "The Portuguese in Goa".

Hindus were stripped of property rights, access to government jobs, and even the right to testify in court. If a child became orphaned, they were forcibly converted to Catholicism. Before signing any public document, Hindus were required to have Christian witnesses sign first. Hindus were also barred from working as village clerks in administrative roles.

In 1567, a law was passed prohibiting Christians from employing Hindus as servants. This systematic oppression sought to dismantle Hindu society, further deepening the suffering of the local population.

Over the next two centuries, more than two hundred thousand people were subjected to persecution and forced conversions. Those suspected of secretly practicing Hinduism were summoned to the Inquisition office. If proven guilty of practicing any faith other than Roman Catholicism, they faced barbaric punishments—among the most notorious was the amputation of hands. It is believed that over these two centuries, approximately 80,000 Hindus were executed by bleeding to death after having their hands severed at the very pillar depicted in the image.

Other forms of torture included public flogging, binding victims to torture racks, burning them alive, and crushing their nails and eyes. Large wheels were also used for torture; accused Hindus were tied to these wheels and spun until nearly every bone in their bodies was shattered. In extreme cases, entire villages were burned to the ground, and women and children were sold into slavery.

Hindu children were often snatched from their parents and threatened with being burned alive in public if their families did not convert. Parents were forcibly made to watch these horrifying acts.

Inspired by Muslim invaders, missionaries imposed a tax on Hindus similar to the jizya—this was known as the "zendi tax." The cruelty and systematic persecution were designed to break the spirit of the Hindu population and enforce complete submission to the Church.

It was during the Portuguese Inquisition that this highly venerated Mangueshi Shivalinga was saved from the Portuguese colonizers by a small community of Saraswat Brahmins who secretly took it from Kushasthali, or the village of Cortalim, to the Hindu kingdom of Sonde, wherein the now-famous Mangueshi Temple was built at the village of Priol.

For more than 800 years, under the rule of different invaders—Muslims, Portuguese, British, and others—Hindus were subjected to inhuman atrocities. Their homes and temples were reduced to ashes, local traditions were destroyed in a systematic way, and foreign religions were imposed on the native people. Despite these barbaric efforts to eradicate Hinduism from the nook and corner of Indian culture, it remained resilient and deeply rooted.

To the Hindus of Goa, the Inquisition represents an unthinkable lot of sufferings-the haunting chapter in their history. The "Pillar of Severed Hands" serves as a grim reminder of the way their ancestors sacrificed their lives to keep their faith and culture intact, even after being brutally tortured and persecuted, and chose death rather than conversion so that their descendants could proudly call themselves Aryaputras, or the sons of the Arya, and as Hindus. Their resistance against all odds allowed Hinduism to survive and continue to thrive, passing their beliefs and traditions down to future generations.

For more details, refer to:

• Teotónio R. de Souza, The Portuguese in Goa
• Alan Machado Prabhu, Sarasvati's Children: A History of the Mangalorean Christians, I.J.A. Publications, 1999.