Aurva Bhargava

Goa Inquisition: Origins of Inquisition in Goa

This is the third part of the series of articles on the Goan Inquisition based on the book written by Anant Kakba Priolkar. Part 1 and Part 2 have been written earlier. Let us now move to Goa of the mid 16th century. Though the Inquisition was officially established in Goa only in 1560, condemning heretics publicly happened much […]Read More

Goa Inquisition: How Inquisition came to Portugal

Based on the book “The Goa Inquisition” written by Anant Kakba Priolkar. In this second part of the series, we shall look at how Inquisition started in Portugal, the country from which this deadly virus spread to Goa. Recall that under the Spanish Inquisition, the Jews were forced to leave the country. Many of the […]Read More

Goa Inquisition: How it all began in Spain

Based on the book “The Goa Inquisition” written by Anant Kakba Priolkar. In the 15th century Spain, there existed a chap named Thomas de Torquemada. In his youth, during one of his travels, he was smitten by a woman of Cordova. However, she didn’t return his advances and instead married a Moor. From then on […]Read More

Rituals vs Bhakti: The False Dichotomy

Note: This is addressed to the modern educated Hindu who believes that Hindu religion is a religion where anything goes, and there are no rules or restrictions. Hence they contend that their point of view is as valid, if not more, like that of a practising Hindu who comes from a traditional background. I write this […]Read More