Francisco Luís Gomes
He was a polyglot; highly proficient in the use of Konkani, Portuguese and French, and additionally possessed a good understanding of English, Italian, Spanish, Latin and Marathi.
[1] Gomes saw it as his life's mission to advance the cause of freedom, truth and justice, and thus followed in his father's footsteps by taking part in civic affairs.
He strove for the creation of a society based on the principles of liberty, equality and fraternity, and campaigned against socio-economic injustices committed on the colonised peoples across the Portuguese Empire.
It shines on its surface, but does not penetrate to its entrails.Gomes became internationally renowned as an eminent economist and political scientist due to his principal works which were published while he was incumbent in the Cortes Gerais.
[6][8] He argued that the comunidades were no longer suited to the exigencies of the time and instead called for the liberation of the lands under their control, and its replacement by individual ownership of the tenant.
[6] In 1866, Gomes published his famous historical novel Os Brâmanes (The Brahmins), the first novel by a Goan,[12] which focused on the practise of caste-based discrimination in India, particularly of untouchability among the Hindus.
[6] Its theme is centred on the love of liberty, justice and concern for the downtrodden, and focuses on the life of the Anglo-Indian community in the Faizabad district and its relationship with the native inhabitants.
[13] In it, Gomes also alluded to the anti-colonial uprisings by the Ranes in Goa in the statement: "Impartial men who are moved by justice and not by racialism want India to be ruled by Indians".
[4] He was a devout Roman Catholic who judged the world according to the ethical standards of his faith, tracing his philosophy of equality to Jesus Christ.
[15] While Gomes bemoaned the loss of India's ancient cultural heritage, he believed that the only chance left for the Indian people to have a civilisation of their own laid on colonial rule.
[15] At the same time, however, he decried attempts by the Western colonial powers to use their dominant status for the purpose of exploiting, rather than guiding and educating their subjects.
[15] Gomes further believed that the European colonial powers should eventually leave and entrust the governance of India to its people, once the period of "tutelage" was over.
[15] Gomes was the recipient of numerous honours, in view of his significant contributions in the fields of literature, history, economy and political science.
Due to his significant contributions towards the study of political economy, the Society of Economists of Paris appointed him as an Associate Member, a rare honour which he shared with four other eminent personages, namely, William Ewart Gladstone, Mungueti, John Stuart Mill and Richard Cobden.
[8] Upon his visit to France on the occasion of the Universal Exhibition held in Paris in 1867, the elite among the French economists and philosophers paid a public tribute to Gomes for his contributions to the study of political economy.
