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Journalism of Courage
Is Goa missing the beach for the sand? After the extended focus on the death by rape and murder of a 15-year-old British teenager, the state seems to be closing in on itself. The popular discourse emanating from Goa bears a striking desire for isolation. Incidents like the murder, goes the argument, are a blot on Goa8217;s peaceful reputation. It is, argue some, a consequence of the seedy aspects of its famed party scene, the drugs especially. Goa must therefore be shielded from this influence that arrives with the visitor 8212; both the tourist and the part-time resident. Thus the demands to stop real estate sales and to curb the revelry. The government is evidently keen to oblige. Already, new night curfews have been announced; henceforth, shacks shall not serve alcohol after 11 pm and they must shut down an hour later.
The logic is certainly arresting. Seedy transactions are attaching themselves to fringes of the party circuit. So ban the party! So it is with real estate. A global mafia is said to be buying up land. So: do not allow anybody to buy land.
Goa8217;s people are being ill-served by a dominant discourse that blames tourism and development. Just consider the unexplained decision by the state government to cancel 15 Special Economic Zones. Goa8217;s problem is that the industrial and tourism sectors are so underdeveloped 8212; for evidence, ask anybody who tried to get a middle-tariff hotel room in Goa this past season. Without that infrastructure, it is difficult for the seaside state to assure consistent business to the ancillary service providers who attach themselves to the sector. In the absence of well-regulated service providers, parallel players move in. Goa8217;s problem is not too much tourism, but too little.
