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September is nearing its end and for all those of you who have been singing “that song”, now is the time to wake up! Welcome to yet another edition of Gerard’s Gazette, a weekly newsletter in which I attempt to break down the events of the week gone by and offer a bit of context, as well as a dose of news you may have missed and news behind the news. If this is your first time here, thank you for signing up, and I hope you stick around! And, as always, if you like what you are reading, make sure you pass it around. Thanks for reading GERARD’s Gazette! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. The end of September brings with it ‘World Tourism Day’ an occasion that is celebrated in Goa with quite a bit of fanfare, but which also brings with it the age old question of what exactly does tourism mean for Goa [ https://substack.com/redirect/7cd9a28b-0cd5-4346-9b65-dbb20a102c9d?j=eyJ1IjoiMTdkMzMzIn0.fgOj6myyAgvFoWmj-LgXwMrpDLUf7f7HnFNWVfgXm9c ]. The government, of course, is unfazed [ https://substack.com/redirect/ae324092-8bce-4b18-8db6-41472c5fbe44?j=eyJ1IjoiMTdkMzMzIn0.fgOj6myyAgvFoWmj-LgXwMrpDLUf7f7HnFNWVfgXm9c ], and while the minister did say the unofficial theme was ‘quality of quantity’, how much of that do they really mean and even if they did, it’s not like the enshittification [ https://substack.com/redirect/531feef2-1efd-4fca-a46d-9d9c429f2dd6?j=eyJ1IjoiMTdkMzMzIn0.fgOj6myyAgvFoWmj-LgXwMrpDLUf7f7HnFNWVfgXm9c ] will go away simply because we want it to. This is, of course, not new, [ https://substack.com/redirect/2844a100-2231-4d98-8757-c9433122288b?j=eyJ1IjoiMTdkMzMzIn0.fgOj6myyAgvFoWmj-LgXwMrpDLUf7f7HnFNWVfgXm9c ] but if you are planning on visiting Goa, the fact that other destination [ https://substack.com/redirect/54a708fa-e7a0-4b2f-bb1e-60ff9efc7bee?j=eyJ1IjoiMTdkMzMzIn0.fgOj6myyAgvFoWmj-LgXwMrpDLUf7f7HnFNWVfgXm9c ]s within the country aren’t as appealing, Goa remains India’s favourite tourist hotspot [ https://substack.com/redirect/0f2db244-dedd-4101-9088-6b5310e2c4bb?j=eyJ1IjoiMTdkMzMzIn0.fgOj6myyAgvFoWmj-LgXwMrpDLUf7f7HnFNWVfgXm9c ], for better or for worse. Meanwhile the Legislative Assembly has a new speaker as Ganesh Gaonkar defeated the opposition’s joint candidate Altone D’Costa [ https://substack.com/redirect/94b997f6-0f46-4b0b-96fa-6ec15617edf8?j=eyJ1IjoiMTdkMzMzIn0.fgOj6myyAgvFoWmj-LgXwMrpDLUf7f7HnFNWVfgXm9c ] with voting taking place on expected lines -- 32 for the ruling and seven for the opposition. Outside of that, things have calmed down a bit after the chaos of last week but the undercurrent continues to boil under the surface after activist Swapnesh Sherlekar received a call from a senior BJP functionary in a menacing tone -- probably because Swapnesh videos [ https://substack.com/redirect/cbbf7e7c-9b59-46cc-baf2-f32d23bae61d?j=eyJ1IjoiMTdkMzMzIn0.fgOj6myyAgvFoWmj-LgXwMrpDLUf7f7HnFNWVfgXm9c ] have begun to bite. Elsewhere, the Revolutionary Goans Party clashed with BJP minister Nilkanth Halarnkar [ https://substack.com/redirect/99ce1001-3bd9-4d59-89ab-3a21703d317a?j=eyJ1IjoiMTdkMzMzIn0.fgOj6myyAgvFoWmj-LgXwMrpDLUf7f7HnFNWVfgXm9c ] while sporadic protests, marches and sit-ins [ https://substack.com/redirect/048becf5-fffe-4757-ab82-56e458dca3fc?j=eyJ1IjoiMTdkMzMzIn0.fgOj6myyAgvFoWmj-LgXwMrpDLUf7f7HnFNWVfgXm9c ] have been held to denounce the BJP’s goondagiri. But beyond, there’s something I want to talk about that probably went under the radar during the protests last week. Be careful what you wish for Last week as Goa protested the mob lynching of activist Rama Kankonkar, there was one demand that stood out among the din and chorus of the protest. It was the demand to have the NSA or the National Security Act [ https://substack.com/redirect/fc95592a-7bb4-469a-85b2-6fd692e2690c?j=eyJ1IjoiMTdkMzMzIn0.fgOj6myyAgvFoWmj-LgXwMrpDLUf7f7HnFNWVfgXm9c ] invoked against the accused. The NSA, as you may be aware, is a controversial piece of legislation that allows for the preventive detention of persons considered to be “acting in any manner prejudicial to the defence of India, the relations of India with foreign powers, or the security of India.” The reason it is problematic is simply because, the government on its own accord, without having to approach the courts for such an order, can detain a person for up to one year (and possibly more) by saying that he’s a threat “to defence of India, the relations of India with foreign powers, or the security of India.” As an example, the NSA this week was invoked against Ladakh activist Sonam Wangchuk, who is currently in custody [ https://substack.com/redirect/cacb8b64-d163-40d7-b496-b8ddf7fa014b?j=eyJ1IjoiMTdkMzMzIn0.fgOj6myyAgvFoWmj-LgXwMrpDLUf7f7HnFNWVfgXm9c ] under the NSA. By contrast, the if you are otherwise arrested under the BNS (formerly IPC), as per the constitutional safeguards, you can’t be detained for more than 24-hours before being produced before a magistrate, who, when you are produced, is supposed to examine whether you have been validly arrested on justifiable grounds, only after that he can extend your custody. Perhaps taking a cue from the demands of the protesters, the Goa Police has now written to the government that powers under the NSA be given to the district magistrates [ https://substack.com/redirect/8f5febf0-3e4e-4d34-b999-f8df87e05349?j=eyJ1IjoiMTdkMzMzIn0.fgOj6myyAgvFoWmj-LgXwMrpDLUf7f7HnFNWVfgXm9c ]. What this means is that, instead of approaching the government (the Home Department) for an order of detention against an individual believed to be a threat, they can simply approach the District Magistrate for an order under the Act. The difference is that there will be faster decisions and possibly swifter actions against ‘history sheeters’ In their letter to the government, the Police have said that “current measures are proving insufficient to neutralise repeat offenders and organised elements who are likely to act in a manner prejudicial to the maintenance of public order.” [ https://substack.com/redirect/0018f22e-d705-4d46-8de3-499fcfe1e6ef?j=eyJ1IjoiMTdkMzMzIn0.fgOj6myyAgvFoWmj-LgXwMrpDLUf7f7HnFNWVfgXm9c ] Current measures means preventive arrest under the BNSS which allows for the detention of a person for a maximum of 24 hours and cannot be detained beyond that for the purposes of preventive action alone. However, this is a double-edged sword. Who’s to say the NSA won’t be used against the activists instead of those attacking them? Who’s to say it won’t be the weapon of choice for a government all too eager to silence dissent, as we’ve seen happen in Ladakh now? Goa has seen violent protests in the past too. The UTAA protest 2011 which culminated in riots which cost lives comes to mind. But what it didn’t result in is the protesters being treated as ‘enemies of the state’. As Congress leader Adv Carlos said: [ https://substack.com/redirect/0018f22e-d705-4d46-8de3-499fcfe1e6ef?j=eyJ1IjoiMTdkMzMzIn0.fgOj6myyAgvFoWmj-LgXwMrpDLUf7f7HnFNWVfgXm9c ] “Since detention orders have a draconic effect on the rights of an individual, the order needs to clearly spell out the justification for detention, and the constitutional and statutory safeguards must be scrupulously followed.” Here’s how Atala got his Aadhaar card Atala. You will have heard of him before [ https://substack.com/redirect/64df0c5b-fdff-4664-ba98-f8ab4f284a0a?j=eyJ1IjoiMTdkMzMzIn0.fgOj6myyAgvFoWmj-LgXwMrpDLUf7f7HnFNWVfgXm9c ]. The Israeli drug peddler who is on trial in various cases, was most recently arrested (rather re-arrested) for possession of stuff suspected to be cocaine. When that happened, the police came to realise that he was in possession of an Aadhaar card. It was made to sound like a big deal at the time with everyone going gaga over how he got an Aadhaar. The outrage was not entirely unfounded. While it is perfectly legal for a foreigner, resident of India to apply for and be issued a legal card, in Atala’s case, things are a little different. Atala has been residing in India since 2011 when he was extradited from Peru and as such, he had qualified to be a resident of India having spent more than the minimum necessary (182) days in the country by a long shot. The thing is, at the time he applied for his aadhaar card, neither did he have a valid passport, which had since expired, nor did he have a valid visa. [ https://substack.com/redirect/d6ca15d8-654a-4468-9ca4-9a2e785148cb?j=eyJ1IjoiMTdkMzMzIn0.fgOj6myyAgvFoWmj-LgXwMrpDLUf7f7HnFNWVfgXm9c ] So how did he get an aadhaar card then? Well, this week, we finally got our answer. The High Court, in a judgement this week directed the UIDAI, the Aadhaar authority, to reveal to the police the documents Atala submitted in order to be issued an Aadhaar card. [ https://substack.com/redirect/b740a657-634a-49b6-beb4-b070d5bff6cd?j=eyJ1IjoiMTdkMzMzIn0.fgOj6myyAgvFoWmj-LgXwMrpDLUf7f7HnFNWVfgXm9c ]The High Court had previously sought that the documents be presented in a sealed cover. As it turns out, when applying for an Aadhaar card, in the absence of documents to establish your identity, address and date of birth, one can simply get a gazetted officer to issue you a certificate in UIDAI’s standard format certifying the above. It is this method that Atala used to get his Aadhaar card. “The proof of identity (POI), proof of address (POA) and proof of birth (POB) are all provided under certificate issued by a Gazetted Officer of the Government of Goa, in the standard format of the UIDAI, the Gazetted Officer having countersigned the form certifying the place of residence filled in by the Respondent No.3 at Anjuna, Goa. The POI, POA and POB have all been certified by the same Gazetted Officer and are not based upon any other document belonging to the Respondent No.3 to substantiate these three parameters,” the judge Valmiki Menezes, who saw the papers observed. I can assure you, right now, somewhere, a gazetted officer is shitting bricks foreboding what the future holds for him. Eye on the coast The Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority which is never too far away from a controversy, is on the receiving end yet again. The authority tasked with ensuring the CRZ notification is enforced in letter and in spirit, is yet to recover from having been caught out falsifying a decision to allow the construction of a beach wall at the Bambolim beach, is now at the receiving end of a missive from the NGT. Earlier this week, the NGT directed the GCZMA to ensure that it uploads onto its website, the full list of illegal structures that currently dot Goa’s coastline. [ https://substack.com/redirect/a243a48b-c23f-42cf-b842-7aeeed10df27?j=eyJ1IjoiMTdkMzMzIn0.fgOj6myyAgvFoWmj-LgXwMrpDLUf7f7HnFNWVfgXm9c ] The GCZMA had initially sought to upload only those structures which have already been declared illegal and pending for demolition. The argument was, however, not accepted by the NGT, who directed the coastal authority that it has to upload details of every structure with respect to which a complaint has been received, the nature of the complaint and a few other details. This is one thing to keenly watch out for, provided the order is implemented in letter and spirit. That’s all I have for you this week. Make sure you comment or write in, should you have something, anything to say. I would also invite you to contribute via sending in your views, especially on a subject you know something about, and I will be happy to include it as part of the newsletter. You are also welcome to write in with leads and tip-offs or anything that you think might be interesting enough to include here. As always, please share and help spread the word. Until next week, then. Tchau! Thanks for reading GERARD’s Gazette! This post is public so feel free to share it. 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