Celsa Pinto is an Indian historian, educator and author. She was the former Director of Education for the

Government of Goa The Government of Goa is a state government created by the Constitution of India and has executive, legislative and judicial authority of the state of Goa. It is headquartered in Panaji, the capital city of Goa. History The governor's is large ...

. She has published textbooks and curricular guides, and authored several books on the history of Goa for both academic and popular audiences. She is thus noted for her contributions to Goa's educational framework and historiography.

Early life and education

Celsa Pinto was born in

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

between 1950 and 1952. At the age of 13 in 1964-1965, she and her family relocated to Goa. Pinto completed her

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in History at the

University of Bombay University of Mumbai is a public university, public List of largest universities and university networks by enrollment, state university in Mumbai. It is one of the List of largest universities and university networks by enrollment, largest univ ...

in 1975, becoming the first Goan to earn a first-class honours in the subject. She later obtained a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in Goan history under the supervision of

Teotónio de Souza Teotónio Rosário de Souza (18 February 1947 – 20 February 2019) was a Portuguese historian and the founder-director of the Xavier Centre of Historical Research (XCHR), at Alto Porvorim, Goa. Based in Portugal since 1995, de Souza was Head ...

Career

Pinto taught history for 22 years before joining the Directorate of Education, Government of Goa in 1994. Despite early legal challenges, she steadily progressed in her career to become the Deputy Director and eventually served as Director of Education until her retirement in 2011.

Curricular development

In 2024, Pinto authored ''Building the Base: Preschool Curriculum for Teachers and Parents'', a guide published by Goa 1556 that outlines developmental objectives and play-based methodologies for pre-primary educators and parents. Pinto also led the committee that prepared Goa’s Class IX history syllabus for the

Goa Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education The Goa Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (GBSHSE) is a corporate statutory body established by the state legislature through the enactment of the "Goa, Daman and Diu Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board Act, 1975" (A ...

Authorship and research

Pinto’s publications include her concise histories and curricular texts. She has examined Goa’s evolution from pre-colonial times through liberation and statehood in annotated volumes. In a 2019 academic paper titled ''Profiling Karachi Goanness (1840s–1970s): Monuments to Goan Emigration and Identity'', Pinto examined patterns of Goan migration to

. She contextualized this movement within broader developments in the 19th and early 20th centuries, including the annexation of Sindh in 1842, the establishment of the Indian Flotilla in 1850, the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, and the construction of the Lloyd Barrage. Pinto argued that these events contributed to Karachi's emergence as a key port city and created economic opportunities that attracted Goan migrants.

Publications

* ''Concise History of Goa'' (Goa University Press, 2002) * ''Encapsulating History of Goa’s Generations and Eras'' (seven-volume series, 2019–2023) * ''Building the Base: Preschool Curriculum for Teachers and Parents'' (Goa 1556, 2024)

Awards and recognition

In 2019 Pinto received the Goa State Award for her services to education and culture.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pinto, Celsa Living people Women writers from Goa 21st-century Indian historians