Demand for historical pillar to be declared national monument

A group of Goa-based Hindu organisations today held a demonstration at a town near here demanding that a historical pillar at Old Goa be declared a 'national monument', as it symbolises the sacrifice of those who struggled to liberate the state from Portuguese rule.
The members of organisations, including Shiv Sena, Hindu Janajagruti Samiti, Sanatan Sanstha, Ranragini and others, held demonstrations in Ponda, 30 kms away from Panaji.
"The 'Hathkatro Khambo' at Old Goa is a symbol of Goan martyrs who sacrificed their lives to guard their self-respect. It is their memory-pillar," said a release issued by the organisations after the demonstration.

"In order to keep the memory of their sacrifice alive in the minds of the future generation, all Hindu organisations, under the banner of National Hindu Movement (NHM), have unanimously demanded that the 'Hatkatro Khambo' be declared as a national monument," it said.
The centuries old pillar 'Pelourinho Novo', better known as 'Hathkatro Khambo', is situated at Old Goa, near the complex of churches which are world heritage monuments.
Historians claim that the freedom fighters were tied to the pillar by Portuguese rulers and then tortured.
The pillar now stands in between a widened road, after attempts by the state government to shift it had met with opposition by locals, including the church.