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Francis Xavier- Saint or devil? Missionary father, Goan Inquisition

Francis Xavier was a Navarrés Catholic Missionary from Spain. He is also a co-founder of the Society of Jesus. They assigned him to lead an important mission of propagating Christianity in east and south Asia. It was when the European giants like French, Portuguese, Spanish, and the British were in a focused vision to establish colonies.

The parts of the world which the European captured were Non-Christian. Seeing the religious inclination of their colonies established, they introduced the religious missionaries to impart and propagate Christianity. the goal was to establish and conquer the world by keeping religion as a shield.

The locals of the established colonies believed and abandon their previous beliefs by brainwashing and creating superstitious ideas which resulted in them converting to Christianity. Francis Xavier had a way of dealing with the locals who went against his will, which resulted in him killing thousands of people during the Goa Inquisition.

Francis Xavier’s ideology

According to him, he had a vision of freeing the poor Hindus from the clutches of the Brahmins who were at the pinnacle of the superiority of the caste triangle. It was basically converting them from their religion to Christianity through the age-old method of baptism.

Francis Xavier landed in India at Goa in the year 1542. He came to plant the seeds of Christianity but more ferociously and violently. It included oppression and execution of several people, forceful conversions, destroying Hindu temples and idols, which gave him immense satisfaction. He felt like he’s contributing to his cause.

Before Francis Xavier, there were several agitations and movements regarding the demolition of Hindu temples all around India masterminded by the Mughal rulers and some Portuguese sailors who tried to rule the southern part of India. Under the rule of Xavier, this continued with the destruction of Hindu temples in and around Goa, followed by an anti-Hindu policy that came into being passed by the government of Goa.

By this time, there was a clear understanding among the people of the domination expecting from Francis Xavier and his missionaries. Xavier had overtaken the government and was now looking for land expansion for churches and

For his administrative purpose. They converted more Hindus during this period. They destroyed the temples and broke the Hindu idols into pieces. There was a revolution to allow Christianity into India, but the way Francis Xavier did was brutal and desperate.

The rules and atrocities

The moment the government of Goa passed the policy of anti-Hinduism, the atrocities became even more ruthless. they used all methods possible to torture the Hindus, who denied or went against the will of conversion to forcefully convert their religion. during ancient European times, they used different torture methods for the Goa inquisition.

RACK

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The above pic shows the torture instrument Rack– a sophisticated device that was used to dislocate the bones of a person and eventually tear the person’s limbs apart.

It mostly includes the uses of different instruments, weapons, and other relics which would result in severe torture by detaching the limbs, cutting ears, etc. which were carefully engineered by Francis Xavier to break the will of any person for him/her to get converted. He could make most of the things possible with the help of the Portuguese government.

Breast ripper- Francis's xavier torture tool

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results of the atrocities

Do you know During Goa Inquisition the image of the device which is shown above was used to rip off a woman’s breast?

Thousands of Hindus had lost their lives by then fighting a battle with Francis Xavier and his missionaries torturing them with no proof or records to leave behind the people and families destroyed by him. Later, a doctor who escaped a similar galley in Lisbon wrote a book on the torturers that took place in Goa which was later achieved by the secretary of governor in Goa read about the methods they used.

The rules and regulations were made even worse by a minister who was appointed by the pope of the Vatican who said idols of any kind, including stone, copper or any such material. He also ordered to clear off all the temples in a particular period. A Hindu uprising poisoned him, which resulted from his aggressiveness. The income generated from the temples in India was also being transferred to the churches, leaving no space for the temples to survive.

Catherine wheel- torture tool used by francis xavier

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The above picture shows the Catherine wheel. Breaking on the wheel, or Catherine Wheel, was torture and execution in which they placed the victim on a cart-wheel and his limbs stretched out along the spokes. When the wheel slowly revolved, and the man’s bones broken with blows of an iron bar.

Differences made by the Portuguese

The Portuguese gripped tight control over Goa and surrounding areas banning the temple priests and told them to leave the Portuguese territory and abolishing other Hindu practices like celebrating Hindu festivals, ceremonies, Marriage ceremonies.

It increased the employment opportunities for the converted Christians. The Hindus also underwent legal punishments for harassing the Christians. They forced the Hindus to attend masses in the churches to listen to the preachings, etc. Such things were all headed by Francis Xavier and his missionaries. Because of this, there was an uneasy feeling generated among the other religions concerning Christianity.

Francis Xavier was quite successful at propagating his ideology in Goa but left with creating a loop in the religion of Christianity. He left India in the year 1545 to the Makassar islands (present Indonesia). He died in the year 1552 in Shangchuan, China.

HINDU FORGETFULNESS OVER SAINT FRANCIS XAVIER’S ACTIVITIES IN INDIA

Now, years later, where all religious people can live at least in a little peace. But the concept of nuclear families arises. Why am I saying this? Lesser the people, the lesser the opinions. our grandparents are aware of the Hindu torturing for not believing in Christianity. But today’s parents still send their children to Francis Xavier school, because they prefer family over Hinduism.

It’s not wrong of the parents to look for an elite institution for their kids to learn, but they should also remember that today, they can worship the Hindu gods because the tyrant who led a huge massacre of Hindus is dead. The high pope of Vatican city sent formal apologies to the Muslim community for the Portuguese invasion. They made peace with their enemies. Not only them, but the pope has made many apologies to various communities for the wrongdoing of churches and Christians.

Pope apologizing for misdeeds of christians and church

Apologies to others, but what about Hindus?

Hindus got no form of apology when they were the ones who suffered the most. In 1998, it was 500 years since the end of the Portuguese invasion and it would’ve been an excellent time to have made a formal apology to the Hindu community of India, but the Vatican City gave no consideration. Yet, present generation Hindus forget the blood their ancestors shed and continue to be influenced by the Christians. At present, there are almost 300 Xavier schools and 4 universities under the Xavier board in India. But what’s shocking is, the population of Christians is only 2.3% (officially) in India.

what can the present generation do?

So who are the other kids who have enrolled in these schools just because it’s a privileged institution? Hindus who failed to know their history or who are ready to take shame for the sake of their kids?. Whatever it is, it has to stop. Now that you know, if you stop your Hindu kid from befriending a Christian kid, that’s complete racism. But can you change your kid’s school? Yes, there are other prestigious schools and colleges where your kids can become good person.

Can you make your kids strongly believe in their religion from a young age? Of course, you can and this is the need of the hour! Christians can never stop preaching. It’s part of their life to boast about themselves to other people. They believe Jesus is the one true God just as much as Hindus believe in Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu. However, we Hindus do not believe in the idea of superiority, unlike the Abrahamic religions. We cannot change their belief system. But don’t change others, people have the rights to believe in what they want.

Do not destroy Hindu temples, because Jesus told you so. No god has ever said to kill people or spread hate. It’s the humans who destroy their own lives. Let’s not celebrate someone who caused a nightmare among people. Do not destroy, just ignore and move forward. We live in a world where we have a lot of “best” options, not just one. So open your eyes and see the free nation, do not jump to a conclusion because someone told you so. Choose what you want the best for your kid or for yourself. Which is to protect Dharma at every obstacle life offers.

Conclusion

We regard Francis Xavier as a saint in the books of History. He had a noble vision of propagating Christianity all around the globe or at least the places he visited. Historians spoke about him taking up to destroy someone else’s belief and forcefully make them believe something. He tortured and murdered people but disgraced a religion on that very basis by doing so.

In the present day, we need to keep humanity first and work towards the qualities of human life. we should also conserve the environment and help to create peace around this world.

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