Archive · 15 Nov 2025
Goa's Belonging: Settler Desires Clash with Local Realities
Imagine Goa is like a big, beautiful house.
Many people from other cities are moving into this house because they love how it looks and feels.
They want to make it their home and feel like they truly belong there.
However, the people who have lived in the house for a very long time are starting to feel like strangers in their own home.
The new people are changing the house a lot, buying up rooms, and making it harder for the original residents to live comfortably.
Some of these new residents also just want to enjoy the house's beauty without really getting to know the people who live there or helping with any house problems.
They often see Goa like a movie set, not a real place with real people and real issues.
This makes the original residents feel like they are losing their home, even as the new people try to find theirs.
New settlers in Goa express a desire to 'belong,' feeling like outsiders despite choosing to live there.
The author critiques this 'performance of displacement' by settlers, arguing it ignores how they contribute to gentrification and displacement of locals.
Cinematic portrayals, particularly 'Dil Chahta Hai,' have shaped an image of Goa as a metaphor for freedom and escape, influencing settler aspirations.
Real estate speculation and Airbnb rentals are driving up costs, making Goa unaffordable for many locals and altering village landscapes.
Goans feel increasingly displaced in their own state, as settlers seeking belonging often fail to engage with local crises or take responsibility for the place they claim to love.
- Who
- New settlers and long-term Goan residents.
- What
- A conflict arises from settlers seeking a sense of belonging in Goa, which is perceived by some Goans as gentrification and displacement that makes belonging difficult for locals.
- When
- Ongoing, with significant impact observed in recent years due to increased real estate development and tourism.
- Where
- Goa, particularly in villages within the Bardez district such as Aldona, Siolim, Moira, and Assagao.
- Why
- Settlers are drawn to Goa's perceived lifestyle and escape from urban conservatism, while Goans are concerned about the economic, social, and environmental consequences of unchecked development and real estate speculation.
Settlers' Perspective
Goans' Perspective
Desire to Belong
Settlers' Perspective
New settlers express a desire to belong in Goa and feel like outsiders, often leading to creative expressions like films about their struggle.
Goans' Perspective
Many Goans feel displaced in their own land due to the influx of settlers who gentrify villages and make belonging impossible for long-term residents.
Engagement with Local Issues
Settlers' Perspective
Settlers tend to live in their own communities and do not engage with local Goan life, politics, or crises.
Goans' Perspective
Settlers should use their skills, networks, and privileges to protect Goa and engage with its pressing issues like environmental degradation and water scarcity, rather than just seeking belonging.
Perception of Goa
Settlers' Perspective
Settlers often view Goa through an outsider's gaze, perceiving it as a picturesque, empty, and metaphor for freedom and self-discovery, influenced by cinematic portrayals.
Goans' Perspective
The settlers' romanticized and often absent portrayal of Goa erases the local population and their struggles, reducing Goans to service roles and ignoring the state's real economic and political crises.
- Settler Settlements
- Primarily in Bardez villages like Aldona, Siolim, Moira, Assagao.
- Economic Shift
- From mining and tourism to real estate speculation and Airbnb rentals.
- Impact on Locals
- Unaffordable rents, gentrification displacing locals, perceived lack of engagement from settlers.
- Cinematic Influence
- Films like 'Dil Chahta Hai' popularized Goa as a metaphor for freedom and self-discovery.
- Political Reaction
- Rise of parties like Revolutionary Goans, focusing on migration issues.
- Settler Income Source
- Savings from big-city salaries (e.g., Pune, Bombay, Bangalore, Delhi).