By Rajan Narayan

AND a few stray thoughts for yet another Saturday. For a Saturday following the week when Harvard University defied President Donald Trump. For a Saturday following the week when action is being initiated by the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority against the Bambolim Hyatt. For a Saturday following the week when the housie gambling racket has become widespread, particularly in South Goa. For a Saturday following the week when Goa attracts beggars and vendors from all over the country. For a Saturday following the week when Goan Anthony de Sa has been included in the shortlist for the prestigious Commonwealth short story prize.

HARVARD UNIVERSITY
AND a few stray thoughts on Harvard University defiantly refusing to implement an order coming from President Donald Trump. Donald Trump has been trying to take control of the top university in the United States. Trump has been demanding that the faculty and the students of universities should not support the Palestinian people in their struggle against Israel.
The Trump administration has asked Harvard to reduce the role of students and faculty over the affairs of the university. Trump has also asked USA’s top universities, including Harvard, to deport students engaged in condemning the United States-aided Israel genocide inflicted on Palestinian people living on the Gaza area of Israel.
Israel has bombed and killed thousands of women and children in the Gaza Strip. Trump seems to be following India’s Narendra Modi in assuming the power to direct universities on what they may teach, whom they may admit and hire, and which areas of study and enquiry they can follow.
It may be recalled that Narendra Modi has also tried to interfere with the independence of even the top educational centres like the Indian Institutes of Management and the Indian Institute of Technology. The top universities in the world, including the United States, have always been independent. They have preserved and promoted total academic freedom.
However, Trump is a great supporter of Israel and has launched a crackdown on universities, which permitted and encouraged protests against Israel’s attacks on Palestinians and Middle Eastern Arab countries. The Trump administration reduced the funding to Columbia University by $400 million for protesting against Israel on the campus. Several international students, including Indians, have had their visas cancelled for leading and participating in an anti-Israel protest.
In his latest attack on academic freedom, Trump has threatened to freeze the $2.2 billion state funding for Harvard. Trump has also threatened to withdraw the tax-free status of the top universities in the United States. Harvard has announced that it will not allow Donald Trump to dictate on student admissions and what can be taught in its classes. Harvard management has pointed out that it will not permit any curbs on teaching and learning. That the university would not surrender its independence and “no government should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which area of studies they can pursue.”
WE hope Indian universities will also show the backbone to resist the BJP government’s attempt to impose Hindutva ideology on them. The top management colleges and the IITs are wealthy enough to work without government funds. The alumni of these universities can help them to preserve their independence.

GRAND HYATT AGAIN
AND a few stray thoughts on action being initiated by the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority against the Grand Hyatt at Bambolim beachside. There have been complaints that the Grand Hyatt has been digging up the beach to put up a wall along its property border. The hotel has reportedly been using heavy machinery like tractors to put up the retaining wall on the beach which is a public beach. Though several complaints were made by the locals, the Town & Country Planning Department and the Goa Coastal Regulation Zone Authority did not take any action.
The San Andre local MLA Viresh Borkar, along with green activists, filed a common complaint at the Agacaim police station. The TCP was forced to carry out a site inspection of the illegal construction on Bambolim beach by the Grand Hyatt. It is expected that GCRZA will stop the construction of the wall right on the beach. The wall is being constructed and fortified to prevent public access to the beach. No hotel in Goa can claim private ownership of the beach. All beachfront hotels have to maintain free access to the beaches fronting their properties.

HOUSIE RACKET
AND a few stray thoughts on the housie gambling racket which has become widespread, particularly in south Goa. Traditionally, housie is a party game where slips of paper with numbers are distributed to those attending the party. As the emcee announces the numbers, the players have to mark or punch a hole on the numbers on their number strips. There is a wide range of prizes for every line marked first, both vertical and horizontal lines. The person lucky enough to get all their numbers marked is declared as a Full House winner.
The prizes have normally been gifts. However, this was first converted into major gambling racket by Raul Fernandes of OHeraldo. A giant housie contest was held in a public auditorium. Housie coupons were sold at all newspaper outlets. Huge prize money, going up to several lakh, was announced. Except that the money collected was at least ten times the amount that was distributed.
We have no issues with housie gambling since casinos are licensed and promoted by the Goa government. However, both onshore and offshore casinos housie provides entertainment and a means of making money for the aam adami. In London the housie gambling is very common. But the problem in Goa is that there is no regulation of any gambling activity. The housie mafia was using the football games to promote the new form of gambling.
There was a lot of resistance when Chief Minister Pramod Sawant announced a crackdown on public housie gambling. Even South Goa Member of Parliament Venzy Veigas objected to the action taken against the housie mafia. The mafia has been exposed by the president of the Goa Football Association, Caitano Fernandes. The GFA president has made it clear that he is not promoting or sponsoring the public route in the name of housie. We hope that the police will adopt the jaldi five urgency to prevent cheating in the name of housie.

BEGGARS MULTIPLY
AND a few stray thoughts on Goa attracting beggars and vendors from all over the country. Significantly, there are no Goan beggars in any part of the country, including neighbouring Karnataka, from where the majority of the Lamani traders on the beaches come. Beggars, of course, come from all parts of the country as tourists are very generous in giving cash to beggars lined up near the beaches and the religious places in Goa. In front of every temple, mosque and church you will find beggars, particularly on the feast and zatra days.
There is probably no organised begging racket in Goa like in major cities Mumbai and Kolkata. One may recall that the film “Slum Dog Millionaire” shows how children are kidnapped and crippled to beg on Mumbai streets. The big problem is that, unlike in other states, Goa does have a detention home for beggars. So much so, beggars who are arrested, are released after being fined Rs50. Beggars in Goa make a lot of money and have no problems paying the token fine of Rs50. There are claims that some beggars even accept digital contributions on their smartphones.
The Tourism Department has also begun to crack down on vendors on the beaches. The majority of these vendors are the Lamani tribals from Karnataka. They offer costume jewellery and sarongs, particularly to foreign tourists. Many of them also offer head, body and foot massages. They are very enterprising, and many of them picked up foreign languages like Russian. Now Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant has directed that unlicensed vendors on the beaches will be fined Rs1,000.
The biggest nuisance in the tourism belt is the touts of the agents. If you go to Calangute or Baga beach the touts will come up to you and offer you massage, dancing bar, even entry to the casinos. These touts take tourists for a ride with criminal elements in the tourist trade. The government cannot take any action against the touts who are niz Goenkars and enjoy the patronage of local MLAs.
Many unlicensed businesses like massage facilities employ touts on commission basis to get them customers. Competition among small hotels and shacks is so high that they pay touts to get business revenue. As far as beggars are concerned, Goa should put the beggars from out of state on to train or bus and send them back to their home states.
The Lamanis however have made a genuine contribution to tourism to Goa for many years and they should be licensed and regulated. The touts should be sent to prison because they are involved in illegal activities. To create employment, the government can appoint licensed guides in every tourism village.

ANTHONY DE SA
AND a last stray thought on Goa’s Anthony de Sa being included in the shortlist for the prestigious Commonwealth Short Story prize. Anthony de Sa retired as the chief secretary of Madhya Pradesh and has now returned to his home state, Goa. Anthony is one of the 25 writers from among 8,000 entries from 54 countries competing for the Commonwealth Short Story awards. But interestingly Anthony de Sa’s short story “Tamarind” is set not in Goa, but in a village in rural Madhya Pradesh. It’s a tender and dramatic story of memory and inheritance.