What is Goa? If you read Maria Aurora Couto’s elegiac tribute, Goa: A Daughter’s Story, it is a land of red mud and green foliage. A land resonant with the clash and harmony of language, politics, history, multiple communities. A land in which the Portuguese past hovers, like an agonised spirit haunting the damp earth and overgrown vaddos, lurking in the shadows of its whitewashed houses and tugging the heartstrings of its doomed musicians. The picture of Goa that has unfolded across our front pages and television screens these last couple of weeks however is a very different one, more sordid than troubled, sensational rather than melancholy. The rape and murder of a British teenager, the attempted cover-up, the subsequent exposure and the ensuing debate have become a verdict not just on the perpetrators of the crime but on Goa itself.In the heated debate that has ensued, security on the state’s pristine white beaches has been called into question. The local police have been projected as corrupt. A nexus between the drug mafia and politicians has been alleged. Much of this criticism has emanated from Fiona McKeown, mother of the deceased, the silver-haired woman who has been the focus of the debate. And regardless of the murmurs about her past and of child neglect, it is her tenacious effort that has served to reveal the cover-up and shown the local authorities in a shockingly poor light. If the police have come off badly for attempting to pass off murder as a case of drowning, the home minister’s demand for an investigation into McKeown’s antecedents seems insensitive. And now to crown it all, a ban on serving alcohol after 11 pm in a lively tourist destination, which is like pasting a band aid over a gaping wound.And yet, despite the ring of truth in some of McKeown’s allegations and the general consensus on the subject of the culpability of the local authorities, is it reasonable or even enough to point a finger in one direction? Do Goa’s problems stem from this one source alone?Unlike the British, the Portuguese, did not invest in infrastructure. As a consequence, Goa was for long an underdeveloped place without roads, hospitals and basic amenities, with even the landed gentry using thunder boxes. Starting in the ’60s perhaps, the state’s manifold beauties were exposed to the outside world and visitors began to flock there in numbers. Thanks to the creativity and marketing skills of Goan migrants to Mumbai —many of whom occupied influential positions in the media — and the growing popularity of the place on the international hippie trail, Goa took on a new mystique. As far as outside perceptions went, two Goas came about: one the complex heritage of the native Goan and the other the pleasurable paradise for outsiders to dip into. Over the years the mystique has grown, strong enough for a third Goa to emerge which consists of a growing number of outsiders who have chosen to make the state their home. These include both Indians and non-Indians, people who have settled there on a permanent or semi-permanent basis, investing in property and setting up business of some sort or other. It is likely that each constituent of this trio of Goas would have varying degrees of, as well as types of, attachment to the land. It is also likely that each constituent may have a different vision for the state’s present as well as the future. So who is to decide what is right or wrong with Goa or what is to be done about it? Take the crucial matter of lifestyle. One of the reasons why tourism has flourished in Goa in preference to other coastal states is the open and easy-going nature of the Goan people, which engendered a certain amount of permissiveness on its beaches. But while locals welcomed tourism and its financial gains, over the last couple of decades there has been serious discontent with the impact of the lifestyle of the tourists on the Goan youth, in particular the flaunting of skin and drugs.And for those who believe it is only the authorities to blame for the rise of crime in Goa, check out this advice from a tourist site on the internet: “When at crowded rave parties, be cautious of the people around you. there are chances that some jerks may, without your knowledge, slip in a few grams of drugs into your bag. and unfortunately if youre caught by a Cop, youve had it and you are in Serious trouble! You cant even prove your innocence as drug laws are very strict in Goa. Also beware of these mad ‘Junkies and Freaks’ as they might prick you with a Needle/Syringe which all of them would have shared for intake of Hard drugs.” Drugs and their misuse are a problem. On the other hand, access to drugs and a certain degree of licentiousness have been a vital element in constructing and sustaining the myth of Goa as a utopian paradise. To just demand and expect the authorities to clean up their act is to ignore the wider reality.amritareach@gmail.com
