Unusual things happened in the trance scene in Goa (India) this season. I start with an apparently trivial story. The police arrested a group of party promoters led by a German and a Russian DJ in the remote beach of Morjim this last January 11. Nothing special here, had they been caught selling drugs (which was not the case). Since the early 2000s, the government has largely eradicated the trance scene, but smaller secret parties still take place, under informal agreements among villagers, cops and expatriates. In any case, whenever the police raid these unauthorized events, the same outcome is expected: Western party promoters get away with a warning, perhaps losing the sound system, if not paying baksheesh (institutional bribe).
However, the recent arrest was different. To the best of my knowledge, this was the first time that Western party promoters have been arrested on charges of public disorder, as defined in the "Noise Pollution Rules" - a not-so-new law (year 2000) that bans unauthorized audio events from public spaces between 22:00 to 6:00. Ironical, as Goa police has only recently opened its very first anti-narcotics division...
As an additional twist, Goa authorities have been monitoring the trance scene within wider concerns about terrorism. Goa is a top tourist destination, in addition to boasting a significant Christian heritage. Considering the terrorist attacks in Bali, Egypt and Mumbai, it is somehow surprising that Goa has not been hit. Tight community oversight of their rural surroundings seems to be working as a strong deterrent. Nevertheless, authorities worry that free flows of party goers may serve as target (or conduit) for terrorist plots. Otherwise, how Techno freaks and Islamic terrorists are linked is still a matter for Bollywood imagination...
In sum, a new regime of global rave surveillance seems to be on the rise. From demonizing trance parties as drug havens, the State is now employing themes of "drugs", "terror" and "noise" within a single regime of surveillance/environment/development for regulating the local trance scene and tourism. This is not the result of any intentional orchestration, but rather, the expression of the messiness of global forces acting upon rave scenes and tourist resorts around the world.
Yet, where there is power, there is resistance...
Showing posts with label police. Show all posts
Showing posts with label police. Show all posts
06 October 2008
War on Raves in India: Goa and Mumbai
The tourist season in Goa starts again this November. As usual, state authorities and police officers announce measures to curb "rave parties" in the northern region of the coastal state. (To clarify, Western insiders call these events "trance parties", whereas Indians prefer the more generic term "rave" to include both rural trance parties and urban nightclub events in cities like Mumbai and Bangalore.)
For almost 20 years, the official anti-rave stance has functioned more as a rhetoric than any effective police repression. However, in the last two seasons, the mainstream segment of the trance scene has indeed disappeared. And, for the first time, Goa police will have its own Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) unit. Until then, special anti-drug operations had to be issued and executed from Mumbai central.
The trance scene in Goa is now limited to a few licensed bars that must stop the music at 22:00, and to a few micro-parties illegally taking place in the far remote periphery of the state. These are small events promoted by a few Russian and Israeli aficionados for the multinational hardcore populace of trance freaks. No more overt multi-day marathons for loud party tourists, while Goa is still visited by "shanti" backpackers transiting across the state.
"Raves" have become a nightclub phenomenon in urban India at large. Along with it, drug trafficking has emerged as a national concern: geographically widespread even if circumscribed within the upper-middle class youth. This week in Mumbai, police raided a top nightclub (72 Degrees East), detaining 240 revelers, mostly in the 20-25 years of age, 40 of which women, one Israeli tourist, and even a few Bollywood celeb connections... Police has arrested a bunch of drug dealers in possession of cocaine, ecstasy (100 pills), LSD and charas.
Yet, back to northern Goa, the economic importance of party tourism to local communities must be pointed out. Certainly, natives do not approve drugs or criminality; however, they do emphasize that their relations with the foreign youth have overall been quite positive throughout the years. Some research studies have even noted the positive economic impact that low-budget tourism has on local communities.
Not surprising thus, official decisions to eliminate the party scene are originated in the state capital city of Panaji. Northern villagers worry with the consequences of such central decisions, lest that their main income source will vanish. In the past, governmental measures were calibrated and even relaxed according to villagers' complaints, pressure (and also bribery) throughout the season. Yet, perhaps as these communities find alternative economic sources, they would become less inclined to defend party tourism.
Stay tuned. Global Raver will be monitoring one more party season in Goa Dourada!
For almost 20 years, the official anti-rave stance has functioned more as a rhetoric than any effective police repression. However, in the last two seasons, the mainstream segment of the trance scene has indeed disappeared. And, for the first time, Goa police will have its own Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) unit. Until then, special anti-drug operations had to be issued and executed from Mumbai central.
The trance scene in Goa is now limited to a few licensed bars that must stop the music at 22:00, and to a few micro-parties illegally taking place in the far remote periphery of the state. These are small events promoted by a few Russian and Israeli aficionados for the multinational hardcore populace of trance freaks. No more overt multi-day marathons for loud party tourists, while Goa is still visited by "shanti" backpackers transiting across the state.
"Raves" have become a nightclub phenomenon in urban India at large. Along with it, drug trafficking has emerged as a national concern: geographically widespread even if circumscribed within the upper-middle class youth. This week in Mumbai, police raided a top nightclub (72 Degrees East), detaining 240 revelers, mostly in the 20-25 years of age, 40 of which women, one Israeli tourist, and even a few Bollywood celeb connections... Police has arrested a bunch of drug dealers in possession of cocaine, ecstasy (100 pills), LSD and charas.
Yet, back to northern Goa, the economic importance of party tourism to local communities must be pointed out. Certainly, natives do not approve drugs or criminality; however, they do emphasize that their relations with the foreign youth have overall been quite positive throughout the years. Some research studies have even noted the positive economic impact that low-budget tourism has on local communities.
Not surprising thus, official decisions to eliminate the party scene are originated in the state capital city of Panaji. Northern villagers worry with the consequences of such central decisions, lest that their main income source will vanish. In the past, governmental measures were calibrated and even relaxed according to villagers' complaints, pressure (and also bribery) throughout the season. Yet, perhaps as these communities find alternative economic sources, they would become less inclined to defend party tourism.
Stay tuned. Global Raver will be monitoring one more party season in Goa Dourada!
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