A recent Goa government notification has sparked a heated debate over the naming of a 16th-century pillory in Old Goa. Historians have objected to the state using the unofficial Konkani name Hat Katro Khambo (hand-cutting pillar) in the gazette instead of Pelourinho Novo, or New Pillory.
The Department of Archaeology listed the 15 sites that required protection in a March 5 notification, but the naming of the pillory has been met with resistance from historians who claim that there is no historical proof to support the new name.
Historian Dale Luis Menezes wrote a letter to the government stating that all available archives and evidence point to the fact that the pillar was a structure that marked a public area, and that the department has to explain its choice of the name.
The Hindu Jagriti Samiti in Goa, a right-wing Hindu group, has been referring to the pillory as Hat Katro Khambo in an effort to underscore what it describes as the "darkest and most dreaded chapter in the history of colonial Goa".
However, researchers have brushed aside the claim, stating that structures like this Pelourinho can be found in various Portuguese towns and villages, and that there is no evidence to link the pillory to the Goa Inquisition.
Historians have said that the new name was an attempt to link the pillory to the Goa Inquisition, to rewrite its original purpose and convert it into a monument for the victims of the inquisition.
The Inquisition or Inquisição was a ecclesiastical tribunal set up to primarily investigate cases of heresy amongst the neo-converts and New Christians, operating under its own regimento and thereby sought to enforce Catholic orthodox doctrine amongst its subjects.
The department has said that it will examine the feedback received from people at the end of two months and submit its recommendations to the government.
