More than four decades after Goa opened up as a tourist destination, the local population is slowly turning against the influx of “outsiders” who threaten the local way of life. In fact, it is not the short-term visitor from the West who is facing the cold shoulder, but people from other parts of the country.“Bhaile” is the mildly derisive term employed by Hindus and Catholics alike on “outsiders” who are unable to fit in. During the peak tourist season from October to February, the common topic of conversation across Goa is the rising price of fish attributed mainly to “outsiders” gobbling up the fruits of the sea.The animosity against “outsiders” has worsened since the 1990s when scores of Muslims from Karnataka and Maharashtra flocked to Goa in order to set up businesses, lured by the relative communal harmony in the state.But what has really riled all Goans cutting across caste and creed is the decision by some politicians last year to implement the Regional Plan 2011. Under this, vast tracts of farm and forest land were to be converted into plush townships and sold to investors across the country and abroad.A month-long agitation which saw saffron-clad sadhus of the Sangh Parivar share public space with the Catholic clergy forced the Government to scrap the Regional Plan. The Government’s decision to set up 17 Special Economic Zones that came shortly after is being seen as another version of the scrapped Regional Plan.BJP leader Manohar Parrikar was the first leader to point out that the Government’s own data that promised employment to nine lakh people would bring in a tsunami of “outsiders” to Goa. Parrikar even called for restrictions on entry and stay of people from other parts of the country in the state.Soon, people like former MLA Matanhy Saldanha, a veteran activist with links to the BJP, hit the streets to protest against SEZs. Saldanha, a school teacher and an activist taking up the cause of fishermen for more than three decades, however managed to win over large sections of the Catholic community and the powerful Church in his agitation.Data from the last Census which indicated that the population grew from eight lakh to 13 lakh in a decade are being bandied about in such protests. The decline in the Catholic population from 45 per cent at the time of liberation in 1961 to about 30 per cent at present is being shown as symptomatic of “outsiders” slowly increasing in numbers.Leaders who have participated in the recently concluded SEZ agitation say they are fighting for a larger cause of protecting the identity of all Goans. “We supported and participated in agitations against SEZs not because Catholics fear migrant population would outnumber them but to preserve our land from destruction,” said Fr Meverick Fernandes, a member of SEZ Virodhi Manch and also the in-charge of Church’s social wing.Advocate Aires Rodrigues of the ‘Utt Goenkara’ is of the opinion that SEZs would have destroyed Goa of its unique identity. “Some of the Ministers were promoting the SEZs without even getting the Cabinet approval for it because of the pecunery benefits,” he alleged and said that Goans have already become a minority because of the faulty development plans.Even as the debate rages on, Goa’s industries are running away. According to sources, the state will collect Rs 20 crore less this year by way of excise. Last year, the Central Excise revenue from Goa fell 12 per cent to Rs 725 crore as against over Rs 820 crore collected in 2005-06.In fact, a number of companies have quit the state after the tax holiday was withdrawn in 2004. Big pharma companies like Procter & Gamble and Dr Reddy’s have moved their facilities to Himachal, which offers tax concessions.
