After careful consideration and some research, I have come to the conclusion that this article is a hoax—a clever and elaborate hoax, but a hoax nonetheless. An online search for “Bicholim conflict” or for many of the article’s purported sources produces only results that can be traced back to the article itself. Take, for example, one of the article’s major sources: Thompson, Mark, Mistrust between states, Oxford University Press, London 1996. No record at WorldCat. No mention at the OUP site. No used listings at Alibris or ABE. I can find no evidence anywhere that this book exists. Not being able to find any trace of an OUP book published within, say, the past 40 years? Ridiculous. If this book exists, then the original author of this WP article owns the only copy. I was similarly unsuccessful in tracking down Srinivasan Vasantakulan’s Bharatiya Struggles (1000 AD – 1700 AD) (shown with an ISBN for a Swedish children’s book) or David D’Souza’s Roots of conflict in Portuguese Goa (also with an erroneous and unlikely ISBN). In addition, consider the comment by another editor on the article’s talk page concerning the problems with the dates in the article. If I’m wrong about this, I’ll look like a right idiot, but there are too many troubling things about this article to ignore.
The Daily Dot’s Kevin Morris has a great breakdown of the Bicholim Conflict’s downfall.
179 notes from really cool Tumblrs like ours: