East Midnapore Village Keeps Portuguese Legacy Alive, Surnames Pass SIR Scrutiny
In Mirpur, residents carry Portuguese surnames tracing back 300 years to mercenaries from Goa hired by Rani Janaki Devi. Despite foreign lineage, their voting rights remained intact during the SIR process. Over generations, families integrated locally while preserving surnames like Tesra and Rozario, with the village cemetery standing as a lasting symbol of this unique Indo-Portuguese heritage.