Goa ’s Inevitable Demographic Engineering

[Harold Schiffman]

Goa's Inevitable Demographic Engineering
by Nandkumar Kamat


One of the concerns associated with the current debate on special
economic zones (SEZs) relates to the heavy influx of migrant labour.
The obvious consequences of such influx are seen in terms of
demographic dilution of the Goans leading to their political and
social marginalization within a few years. There are limited choices
for Goa and Goans. Either they would have to reconcile to the fact
that a new Goa with multiple identities would emerge inevitably or
treat Goa unfairly as their private property.

However, in the coming years Goans would have to step aside and be
compelled by circumstances to make space to accommodate the new
settlers and their vocal leadership. Goa would no longer remain a
melting pot of different cultures but in all certainty would be a
distillation flask which would produce the distillate of a new Goan
personality. If we become only the prisoners of poetic nostalgia then
the dynamics of the transformation would be lost. The present trend
clearly points to a radical phenomenon of demographic engineering
about which the Goans would not be able to do anything
constitutionally because they, their rulers and their misguided
developmental and macroeconomic policies have made Goa a Mecca for
migrants. Even if SEZs are scrapped this process would not halt. Goa's
infrastructure, economy, business, wholesale and retail trade and
commerce, fisheries and tourism, telecom, shipbuilding and navigation,
solid waste collection and disposal depends heavily on the unskilled,
skilled or semi-skilled migrant labour force.

There are well-entrenched and well-established cartels which Goans
would not be able to take over. Goa has not yet warmed up to a
realistic developmental debate. All the movements in the past were
based on sentimental exploitation of the masses and completely failed
to predict the economic, social and ecological destiny of Goa. One of
the battle cries during the opinion poll movement was pre-empting the
'influx' of Marathi speakers. Fears had been raised that tiny Goa
would be taken over by the Maharashtrians if the pro-mergerists were
to have their say. Goa retained its' union territory status. The
alleged Maharashtrian colonization did not happen. The Marathi
speakers form an insignificant section of the migrant population. But
migration was taking place after large projects such as the Mandovi
and Zuari bridges, Anjuna and Sealulim dams were initiated. With the
development and expansion of the Mormugao Port Trust the shipbuilding
industry created opportunities for migrant skilled and semi-skilled
workers. The tourism boom began in 1980. That caused the first major
intra-state labour shift. Goans in tourism areas immediately discarded
their traditional occupations and jumped on the lucrative tourism
bandwagon. They did not have the vision to pursue both the enterprises
simultaneously. It is comic today to read that the Lamani trinket
sellers in Colva are not afraid of the local police. The Lamanis are
merely occupying an economic space created by ill-planned tourism.

The 1975-95 period saw a revolution in mechanized trawling. The labour
deficit in this sector was met by the migrants from southern and
eastern India. The ban on coastal silica sand exploitation in 1977
served as a boon for alluvial sand mining from rivers which attracted
labour from Karnataka.

The Sanjivani sugar factory was another driving force behind labour
influx. The 19 industrial estates attracted migrant labour for jobs
which Goans found impossible to do. The phenomenal rate of
urbanization between 1981 and 2001 could also be linked to a massive
expansion of the urban construction industry. According to 2001 census
nearly two lakh migrants are been permanently settled in Goa. Hindus
and Muslims account for a majority of them. Naturally this migration
trend is seen to be jeopardizing the political, social, cultural and
economic space of Goa's religious minorities unprepared to accommodate
such a large influx.

The inheritance of Goans is determined by the civil code which is not
applicable to any migrant settler. Goans circumscribe their cultural
and social life within institutions like the temple or parish church
committees and the village communidades - privileged institutions
which are presently barred to non-Goan migrants.

The exclusive cocoon of Goan identity sustained by some Portuguese
laws would be now pierced by the forces of globalization. Goan society
would now need an important mid- course correction. Konkani, the
official langauage did not become their economic and cultural shield.
Concerns had been expressed during the language agitation that Marathi
speaking Maharashtrians would compete with Konkani speaking Goans in
employment. This was a probably a major reason to deny the official
language status to Marathi in 1987. But after 20 years Goans are still
agitating over issues which have no connection to the dreams which
were painted after passing of the official language act. Konkani has
almost vanished from the port town of Vasco da Gama. The fear of the
heavy influx of migrants were raised during the agitation for the
realignment of Konkan railway route. There is no doubt that the Konkan
railway route has become a vehicle of accelerated economic
transformation between Roha to Mangalore. Goa failed to derive
strategic benefit from this route because economic and industrial
activities which could have roped in Goans were not planned
simultaneously. Therefore thousands of jackfruits are allowed to rot
in Goa when there was a demand in North India for this tropical
delicacy. But fish from Coromandel coast are made readily available in
the local market at premium price by the enterprising Telugu traders.

It is too late for Goa to undo the self-destructive model of
development which is inevitably leading to demographic engineering.
The visible impact of demographic engineering is the demographic
transition. Even neighbouring Maharashtra is experiencing this
phenomenon, if one reads the text of the address delivered by the
Union Minister for Agriculture, Mr Sharad Pawar on the occasion of the
20th anniversary of the Marathi weekly 'Sakal'. The text is published
as a cover story in the weekly's December 8 issue and could serve as
an eye opener for all those who are debating Goa's developmental and
social problems. Mr Pawar has categorically expressed concerns over
the demographic changes, labour and sectoral shifts occurring in New
Mumbai, Thana, Nagpur, Pune and Nasik on account of migration. Most of
the questions which he has raised in this well prepared address are
also applicable to Goa.

Goa's politicians have been avoiding these questions and have been
embracing self-destructive and unsustainable models of development.
Demographic engineering could happen as a deliberate state policy or
it could take place as a natural fallout of economic, industrial and
infrastructural development. Goa won the battles of opinion poll,
official language, statehood, railway route realignment but lost the
race to build a sustainable society without demographic dilution. The
bitterness of defeat is stamped now on every agitation.

 http://www.navhindtimes.com/articles.php?Story_ID=121027


-- 
**************************************
N.b.: Listing on the lgpolicy-list is merely intended as a service to
its members
and implies neither approval, confirmation nor agreement by the owner
or sponsor of
the list as to the veracity of a message's contents. Members who
disagree with a
message are encouraged to post a rebuttal. (H. Schiffman, Moderator)
*******************************************