Welcome
to South India and experience the untouched delightful South by invasions throughout
its history. South India and the Indian heritage is more intact here than in other
regions of the country. This is a land of temples, a land of the devoutees.
One of Goa's important institutions,
Goa's famous and magnificent churches are largely a legacy of Portuguese colonization
Church building was one of the main occupations of the early Portuguese and
in fact one of Vasco da Gama's main missions for finding the sea route to India
was to "seek Christians and spices".
Christianity was forced upon with religious fervor by the Portuguese during
the period of the "Inquisition" with wide scale destruction of temples
and this continued till the official end of the "Inquisition" in Goa
in 1812. Most of Goa's churches were built on the very site of former temples.
The confiscated lands of the temples were handed over to the church and the
communidades. In fact, the first Hindu temple allowed to be constructed by the
Portuguese in 300 years was in 1818 at Panaji.
