Anglo Indians ask Cardinal’s help to ascertain their Goa numbers

PANAJI: The Federation of Anglo-Indian Associations in India (FAIAI) met Filipe Neri Cardinal Ferrao and sought his support in addressing their concerns as well as help in identifying Anglo-Indians in Goa.
Ferrao, who is the president of the Council of Catholic Bishops in India (CCBI), reportedly agreed to support the cause. The federation also sought the CCBI’s help in identifying and reorganising Anglo Indians in various parishes in the country.
The group plans to conduct a survey to ascertain the number of Anglo Indians, which will then help FAIAI petition the Centre to reinstate the two nominated seats in Parliament for Anglo Indians.
“The representations in Parliament and state legislatures for Anglo-Indians were snatched away by the unreasonable attitude of the Central government in 2020 on the pretext that ‘according to the census report of 2011, the number of Anglo-Indians are only 296 and they are well off’, something that is wrong,” said former Kerala MP Charles Dias.
Dias said that as per the FAIAI’s estimates, there are around 4 lakh Anglo Indians scattered across the country. “Many are unemployed, living in rented houses. We are a small minority having a lot of disabilities. There is a crisis of identity and because of the lack of voice, there is no place to express their concerns,” said Dias, who is the president of the association.
Dias was accompanied by a priest from the Delhi Archdiocese, Fr Nicholas Dias, who serves as the chaplain for Anglo-Indians. Fr Nicholas hails from Benaulim and was ordained a priest by Cardinal Ferrao.