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Headquarters of the Goa Inquisition. /en.wikipedia.org
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Goa is a nice tourist destination for those who look for old Portuguese churches, buildings, quiet beaches to relax, etc. Though endowed with idyllic beaches with azure blue waters and serene environment, in Goa there lies hidden a streak of sadness and melancholy. If you turn the dusty yellowish pages of Goan history, there is no way you can put down the history book without getting affected mentally. Yes, I am referring to the darkest chapter of its history that is rife with heaps of horrors, no decent human beings could ever imagine such nauseating stuff. The stories of revulsion take us right back to the 'Cave Age' when men were savages. It is an irony, the tortures bordering on insanity was done wantonly with glee by priests in the name of ''Christ''.Built by the Muslim ruler Yusuf Adil Shah of Bijapur (Karnataka) around 1500, the Adil Shah's palace is known, as Panaji´s oldest surviving colonial building and it has become a govt. building since 1961 when Goa was liberated from the Portuguese. The palace,- a sort of fortified building with an arsenal of 55 canons and a salt water moat, played an important role in Goa's political history.
In 1515, it was under the control of Portuguese when Alfonso de Albuquerque´s troops stormed the building and converted into a rest house for the Portuguese Viceroys, who used it for an overnight stop, on their way to and from Portugal. The tradition had it both the new incoming and out going Viceroys were supposed to spend some time here upon their landing in Goa from Portugal or before their departure from here. The new Viceroy would get the ceremonial keys to the city of Old Goa at the Viceroy´s Arch. Around 1759, the capital of Goa was shifted elsewhere and the palace became the official residence of the Viceroy. It was known by then as the Idalcaon Palace, (the Portuguese corruption of the words Adil Shah). The Portuguese made several alterations to suite their needs and this changed the overall appearance of the building. It continued to function as its official vice regal residence until the Viceroys moved to a new residence at Cabo near Dona Paula in 1918.
When ''Goa Inquisition'' was on to preserve the purity of Christianity and cleanse the non-Christians in old Goa, the palace of Adil Shah temporarily became the ''House Of Horror'' called an ''Inquisition House'' by the fanatics. Here, on a wooden table, overseen by a crucifix, sat the dreaded interrogators to interrogate the accused mostly non Christians. The Hindus were in large number. As the dreaded punishments were horrible and gory and not within the realm of human imagination many Hindus fled with their deities across the Goan border to Ponda, where they built new temples. Ponda is today known as the Temple Town. The Jews, mostly Sephardic Jews, who were mostly merchants, were facing the same fate.
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Goa Inquisition master minded by Francis Xavier. en.wikipedia.org
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Above Image: Francis Xavier requested Portugal to launch Goa Inquisition in May 1546. His suggestion was implemented in 1560, eight years after Xavier's death. So, it was Francis Xavier, the fanatical priest was primarily responsible for bringing the Inquisition to Goa and ordering the torture of tens of thousands of Hindus and Jews. Ironically, this crazy priest who spread the message of Gospel of Horror and Torture to realize divinity was canonized by Pope Gregory XV in 1622. Francis Xavier’s embalmed remains are today kept in a silver casket inside the ''Bom Jesus Basilica'' and are on display for public viewing every ten years. Unfortunately, those innocent people who go past him to view his body and seek blessings are not aware of this holy man's past horror and acts of criminality and wanton killing of thousands of Goan ancestors including converted Christians in the name of Christ who is an embodiment of love. and peace.........
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Francis Xavier- satyavijayi.com
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Any whispering of prayer in Sanskrit or any other Indian language or Hebrew, any faintest suspicion of heresy, or act of blasphemy such possessing a small idol or any object of divinity would invite trouble. These mistakes were enough for the fanatical clergy to take action. It meant they would be sent to the ''House of Inquisition'' in the old palace. The palace was provided with torture chambers and prisons.
According Charles Dellon the palace of Inquisition an imposing building, contained about 200 prison cells, many of which were dark and windowless. Dellon, further stated that the 2 inquisitors had their living quarters as well as their chapel in the palace. All inquisitors were nominated by the Portuguese King and confirmed by the Pope and received more respect than the Archbishop or even the Viceroy. Auto da fe, the grisly ceremony of burning the victims alive would take place outside the building. If the victims says he wants to die as a Christian, he will be shown mercy. It means, first, he will be strangled first and then burnt.If a person refuses, no mercy will be shown.and he will be on the stack ready to be roasted to painful death.  |
| Spanish Inquisition. cartoonstock.com |
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| Spanish Inquisition. Cartoonstock. |
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Adil Shah palace -House of Inquisition. Adtravelnotes com.
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It is not a summer vacation on a beach to be inside the house of horror. There were dungeons with no ventilation whatsoever. They were meant for heretics. The arrested people on filthy ground would be subject to torture in the dungeons. Then the priests who kept them in shackles in the spirit of Gospel of Love, would force them to reveal the names of people or friends or families who had been spearheading such ‘heretical’ practices. Prisoners who refused to confess or give up their beliefs in Hindu or Jewish ‘sorcery’ were strangled by executioners or burnt alive in public. No mercy was shown to them.They
used several torture mechanisms. The most dreaded are body, stretching table, wheel of compassion, etc. Waterboarding is yet another method of torture. The most inhuman punishment was torturing young kids before their parents till they would come to terms with the fanatical priests. Violent acts like flogging, slicing of eye-lids and dismembering other parts of the body, etc., all right before their dismayed and horrified parents or relatives were committed without any remorse.
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| religious fanaticism pinrestcom |
Philippe Rene Vyke in his book published in 1903, has mentioned that the terrible acts of the inquisition has caused terror to be so deeply rooted in the memories of the people that nobody dared to name the Palace as the ‘house of the inquisition’, but gave it the mysterious name of ''Hodle Ghar''. The stillness of nights was frequently broken by intense screaming, waling and cries of agony by the victims - men, women, and children. The myriads of torture methods were followed by the crazy and perverted Jesuits. The neighboring area would always look deserted, as the place happened to be spooky.
Acts of Faith lasted up to 1812 and when the Inquisition was finally abolished. it is estimated that by the end of the 17th century, ethnic cleansing of Hindus, Muslims and meant that there were less than 20,000 people who were non-Christian out of the total Goan population of 2,50,000.
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