Goan foreign
Jug Suraiya
11 November 2009, 12:00am IST

‘Dogs and Indians not allowed’, was said to be a common sign in the
India of the British raj. Over 60 years after independence, you might
expect to

see a sign in today’s Goa: Dogs welcome, Indians not
allowed. Forty-eight years after it was liberated from Portuguese rule
and incorporated into the Indian republic, many parts of Goa have
become virtual foreign enclaves which are out of bounds for
Indians. Lured by the sun-and-fun image of Goa popularised in the
West, a large number of foreigners have taken up permanent or
semi-permanent residence in the ‘sosegade’ state, which in the late
1960s became a haven for hippies.

But today’s foreign residents in Goa are an altogether different breed
from the gentle flower children of the hippie era. Mainly from Russia
and Israel, many of them have exploited loopholes in the Portuguese
property laws which still obtain in Goa to acquire houses and land
holdings which have been turned into cafes and resorts which enforce a
‘whites only’ policy and discourage Indian customers.

Following a number of complaints from Indian tourists who have either
been barred admission to such establishments, or been denied service
by the Goan staff, the state government has added an ‘anti-racism’
clause to its policy regarding the granting of licences to beach
shacks which are located on government-owned land. Shack Owners’
Welfare Society president Cruz Cardozo has reportedly criticised the
legislation as it could be misused by business rivals to harm
competitors.

But there could be other, more basic objections as well, pertaining to
the democratic right to the freedom of association. What this means is
that, in a democracy, you are or ought to be free to associate with
whom you like, or feel comfortable with, and are equally free not to
associate with those whom you find distasteful or who make you feel
uncomfortable in any way.

Regrettably, all too many Indians of the travelling classes are known
for their loud and generally inappropriate behaviour, particularly
when foreign women are present. In recognition of this lamentable
reality, the railway ministry is seriously considering a proposal to
provide reserved coaches for foreigners on tourist routes. Is foreign
rule going to make a re-entry into India through the back door of a
railway coach, held open in welcome by none less than railway minister
Mamata Banerjee, renowned for her fiery pro-poor and pro-people
rhetoric?

Why not? We in India have long been enjoined by the sarkar to treat
the foreign visitor as an honoured guest. And what better honour can
one confer on favoured guests than to allow them to enjoy the myriad
attractions of Incredible India made even more incredibly attractive
by the absence of potentially boorish Indians? Racist? Not at
all. Mamatadi is only trying to make foreigners feel more at home
while travelling in India, in keeping with the time-honoured tradition
of Indian hospitality. And with the norms of democracy and the right
to associate or disassociate with whomsoever one chooses.

For example, in its heyday the city then known as Calcutta revealed
its truly cosmopolitan character by playing host to a number of social
clubs and similar institutions which were meant for one or another of
the many communities that made up the city’s colourful social
mosaic. So there was the Judah Club for Jews, the Armenian Club for
Armenians, the Dalhousie Institute and the Grail Club for
Anglo-Indians, and so on.

Far from being exclusionary, such institutions demonstrated the
inclusionary ability of Calcutta and of India at large to accommodate
different cultures and creeds in its eclectic and pluralist fold.

Bearing this in mind, the Goan authorities might like to rethink the
anti-racism clause in their licensing policy. If Russians want to meet
only other Russians in Goa, let them, and more power to their
vodka-tippling elbows.

And the same for Israelis, and anyone else.

Indeed, the signs in Goa and elsewhere in India should read: All
welcome including dogs and racists.

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