It depends on what period you are talking about, and how far back people’s memories go. Portuguese history in Goa is very long, about 450 years, and many things changed over time.

Probably the reason why the Portuguese burned the records is because of the inquisition. Goa was under the inquisition for almost 300 years, even after it ended in Europe. It lasted from 1516 to 1812, when the British forced the Portuguese to end it.

In Goa there was very severe persecution of local Hindu populations during this period. Over 20,000 people were tried, and punishments included all the usual medieval stuff – tearing out tongues, tearing off flesh with pincers, flaying people alive, impalement, pulling out intestines, mangling breasts and genitals, etc. All of these is described in detail by several eyewitnesses at the time. One of the better sources is through the letters of Filippo Sassetti, a Florentine merchant who visited India in the 1580’s and lived there for about 7 years. You can find 32 of his letters published in this book. Unfortunately, I have only seen it in Italian and don’t know of any English translations.

Other contemporary sources include Claudius Buchanan, who visited Goa in 1608, and a Frenchman by the name of Charles Delone who wrote about his visit to Goa in the 1670’s. His book L’inquisition de Goa describes some of the torture and burnings in gruesome detail, as well as the persecution of local Hindus.

Aside from the torture, Hinduism was basically rooted out. Before he declared the inquisition, Francis Xavier drove out much of the local Saraswat Brahmin community from Goa. The shendi - the tuft of hair some Hindus leave on the backs of their heads – became a crime. With the inquisition, a new set of laws were enforced. In 1620, Hindu marriages were banned. In 1625, Hindu temples were banned. Around 300 temples were destroyed, and no new temples could be built. Hindu cremation practices were banned. All men over the age of 15 were required to visit Catholic priests to listen to the gospel weekly.

Because of these and many other laws and punishments, there was a mass emigration from Goa, with almost half the population leaving Goa to settle in surrounding areas during the 300 years of inquisition. A large number of those remaining converted to Christianity.

Even in more recent times, long after the inquisition ended, there was a systematic attempt to destroy local culture and replace it with Portuguese. The local language (Konkani) was banned and could not be taught in schools right until the point when the Indian government annexed Goa and drove the Portuguese out. Hindu religious texts also remained banned until the beginning of the 20th century and the Independence Movement. You’re probably aware that the Indian Independence Movement had a counterpart in Goa, and both had extensive contacts and coordinated their activities. Often when the Brits chased Indian Independence leaders, they would hide in Goa, and likewise with the Goan Independence leaders in British India.

Of course, becoming part of India had its downsides too. India is a poor country, and back in 1961 at the time of annexation, it was poorer still. There wasn’t a whole lot Indians could offer to the Goan people, the whole country suffered through the famines of the 60’s when monsoons failed. Another cause for resentment was that after the Portuguese were removed, many Indians from neighboring areas moved into Goa, which changed Goan demographics substantially. Christian converts were a majority at the time when the Portuguese left, but because of the return of the Hindus, Christians only number around 25% of the population today. Most of these returning Hindus actually had ancestral connections with Goa, their forefathers having fled Goa during the inquisition. But the arrival of a large new population usually evokes resentment anyway.

India is primarily a Hindu/Muslim majority country, and the number of Christians is quite small. This has affected Goan traditions because life after annexation isn’t quite as Christian-centered as it was back in Portuguese times. Another factor is that Portugal gave Portuguese citizenship to many Goan natives after annexation, and a substantial number of them moved to Portugal while retaining Indian contacts and families in India. Portugal is a rich European country in comparison to India, so obviously these emigrants were and are much more prosperous, and there is a feeling among Goans left behind in India that those with families in Portugal are better off. Which, economically speaking at least, they are.