Beyond the Workhouse: Regulating Vagrancy in Goa, India

Although homelessness is extensive in India, there has been little research on the rural dimension. This study examines the social and legal regulation of homelessness in India, focusing on the rural areas and providing a case-study of Goa. The term 'vagrancy' is used in the title of the paper in order to reflect the nature of legislation which criminalizes the vagrant individual perhaps more than other forms of homelessness. Historically, British Raj legislation on Criminal Tribes and vagrancy is contrasted with the Portuguese religious charitable perspective adopted in Goa. This is complemented by a contemporary case-study of the regulation of homelessness in the state of Goa. Goa is described as the place where the 'new India' and the 'old India' meet, with affluent tourists (both Indian and Western) encountering the 'old India' of poverty and homelessness among the migrant workers who service the tourist industry. Particular reference is made to the case of the Lamani??defined as a gypsy group??who are often constructed as the main cause of social ills within the state. This historical and socio-legal analysis is complemented by reference to fieldwork conducted in Goa.