Does Goa have a death wish?
There are dozens of reasons why tourists overstay their visa limit in Goa. Some like the place so much that they simply stay on. Others miss a flight back and then run out of money. Still others fall ill. There could be over a hundred reasons why a tourist could, conceivably, overstay his or her visa limit, and not one of them would be in any way sinister.
Goa has been a destination for seekers of peace, tranquillity and beautiful beaches for decades now. First it was hippies from the USA in the 1960s and 1970s; then British and German sun seekers, from the 1980s onwards. The latest visitors have been Israelis and now, increasingly, Russians.
In over four decades, hundreds of visitors must have overstayed their visas, some for serious problems but most for trivial reasons. Only a minuscule few, if any, could be a cause of concern to the authorities.
Then why are courts in Goa treating Russians who overstay as elements dangerous to the security of India? Over the past few months, two Russians whose visas expired have been sentenced to a year’s imprisonment and a fine of Rs10,000 for their ‘offence’.
Let us look at the first case, one Aleksandr Solomin, 40, who was arrested on 29 May after he came to the police to get an exit permit. His case came up and was decided in a record time of three weeks (it usually takes years). Not surprisingly, he was pronounced guilty.
It was not just the unusual harshness of the sentence that was astonishing - one year in jail and a fine of Rs10,000, instead of the usual fine of $100 (Rs5,000) for most overstaying tourists - but the remarks of the judge, who held that by overstaying his visa, Solomin had committed a “crime against the Indian nation”!
The case has caused outrage in Russia. In fact, the Indian Business Alliance (IBA), an association of Indian businessmen in Moscow, has taken up the matter with the Indian Ambassador and lodged a strong protest. IBA Secretary Abbas Syed Maseem said that there was not a single case in Russia where, on overstaying, a visitor was sentenced to jail, much less for a ‘crime against the nation’.
Now, one more Russian tourist - Ilya Rusanov - has been sentenced to a year’s imprisonment over an expired visa. Rusanov was arrested at Morjim. His visa had expired two months previously, along with his passport. This time, the judge said his “inadequate behaviour” was the reason for the decision.
Is India a banana republic run by a paranoid dictator, to treat visitors who overstay as enemies of the state?
Tourism is the source on which most Goans - directly or indirectly - make their livelihoods. Last season, the number of British visitors to Goa dropped sharply, as a result of India’s quixotic new visa regime and the Goa government’s senseless crackdown on British retirees living in Goa. Had tourist numbers from Russia not risen sharply, several Goan establishments would have been in trouble.
Having successfully alienated the British tourists, are we now trying to do the same with the Russians? Does Goa have a death wish?

That’s the way!
A few days ago, we queried why the Goa Police was so efficient in some cases, and so lackadaisical in others. As an example of the latter, we cited the murder of Naresh Dourado in Vasco.
As if in response, the very next day, Vasco police announced that they had caught Naresh’s alleged killer. Good work!
The alleged assassin is a 19-year-old boy, apparently from a broken family. This is distressing. It shows that not all the fruits of ‘progress’ are sweet.