Year: 2026

“The Samiti argues that farmers were cheated, that some have not been paid at all, and that the same land is now being discussed for five-star hotels, gaming, and high-profile festivals. If these claims are true, the government owes affected families transparency, speed, and justice. No development narrative can survive if people who lost their land are left waiting for years. On that point, the anger is understandable. Yet the opposition to the racing festival is not being positioned as a demand for accountability. It is being presented as a blanket rejection. The language is absolute. “We will not allow unnecessary events.” “Return the land to the farmers.” “Take the festival elsewhere.” This is not a negotiation. It is a veto.” Protest as Default: Is Goa Opposing Itself Into a Corner? Goa’s politics of protest has reached a point where it is worth asking an uncomfortable question. Are we opposing specific policies and projects, or have we inadvertently become opposed to everything by reflex? The latest flashpoint is the proposed Indian Racing Festival at the premises of Manohar International Airport in Mopa. The Goa Kul Mundkar Sangarsh Samiti has demanded that the event be cancelled, arguing that farmers and residents of Pernem were misled during the land acquisition process for the airport and have yet to receive full compensation. These grievances are serious and cannot be brushed aside. Land acquisition in Goa has a long and troubled history, and distrust between communities and the state did not arise overnight. But the leap from unresolved compensation issues to outright rejection of a short-term sporting event raises deeper questions about where Goa is headed and how public dissent is being framed. The Samiti argues that farmers were cheated, that some have not been paid at all, and that the same land is now being discussed for five-star hotels, gaming, and high-profile festivals. If these claims are true, the government owes affected families transparency, speed, and justice. No development narrative can survive if people who lost their land are left waiting for years. On that point, the anger is understandable. Yet the opposition to the racing festival is not being positioned as a demand for accountability. It is being presented as a blanket rejection. The language is absolute. “We will not allow unnecessary events.” “Return the land to the farmers.” “Take the festival elsewhere.” This is not a negotiation. It is a veto. This pattern is familiar. The festival was earlier proposed in Mormugao and dropped after protests. Now it has moved to Pernem, and the same resistance has followed. The question Santosh Mandrekar asks is revealing. Why does the government shift events from one place to another when people oppose them? The counter-question is equally important. Is there any place left in Goa where people will not oppose them? If every large event, infrastructure project, or economic initiative is met with the same response, the problem is no longer just governance. It is also a crisis of consensus. Goa cannot simultaneously demand jobs for youth, diversification beyond tourism, global visibility, and higher revenues, while rejecting every attempt to host events that bring investment, visitors, and attention. An international racing festival is not a casino. It is not a township project. It is a temporary event using existing infrastructure. To equate it with permanent land misuse blurs important distinctions and weakens genuine causes. There is also a troubling tendency to conflate unresolved past wrongs with present proposals. If farmers have not been compensated, that issue must be fought on its own terms through courts, audits, and sustained public pressure. Blocking unrelated activities does not resolve compensation disputes. It only ensures that the airport remains underutilised and politically radioactive. The demand to move the festival to Sanquelim or Valpoi illustrates another contradiction. If racing events are acceptable there, why are they unacceptable in Pernem? Are some regions expected to absorb development while others remain permanently frozen? This selective opposition risks deepening regional fault lines rather than addressing injustice. At some point, Goa needs to decide what it wants its future to look like. An airport cannot exist only as a symbol of betrayal. It must also function as an economic engine, or it becomes a monument to paralysis. That does not mean ignoring local voices or bulldozing dissent. It means engaging honestly, separating legitimate grievances from ideological opposition, and being clear about what is negotiable and what is not. The government, for its part, has contributed to this mess. Poor communication, delayed compensation, and a habit of announcing decisions without local consultation have eroded trust. Transparency should not be an afterthought. It should come before dates are declared and banners printed. But protest movements also need introspection. If the answer to every proposal is no, the question eventually turns inward. Are we protecting Goa, or are we trapping it in a cycle where fear of change outweighs the possibility of reform? Goa deserves better than governance by stealth and opposition by default. Development without justice is unacceptable. But so is a future where nothing moves because everything is opposed. The challenge is not choosing one over the other. It is learning, finally, how to hold both together.

Opinion

“The Samiti argues that farmers were cheated, that some have not been paid at all, and that the same land…