Many Goans surrender their passports and move on. Besides the Passport office at Goa, some do so at the Indian Missions across the world. All looking for varied opportunities. Some may be also acquiring a foreign passport while continuing to keep the Indian one in breach of the Indian law. This makes no sense, given that an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cardholder has virtually all the rights as an Indian Citizen except voting rights, unable to contest elections and cannot buy agricultural or plantation properties, which today in Goa are extinct anyways. OCI status allows pursuing various specified professions in India. Advocates, Architects, Chartered Accountants, Doctors, Dentists, Nurses and Pharmacists are all allowed to pursue their profession. An OCI is also entitled to be appointed on the teaching faculty of IITs, IIMs and Central Universities.
We are living in an age where the world is a global village just like no man is an island. There are no distant places any longer; the world is small, and the world is one. It is encouraging and heart-warming to see that the large Goan diaspora, a vibrant community spread across the world, is still maintaining strong connections with their native land, its language, culture and traditions. There is much truth in the well-worn saying ‘You can take a LDGoan out of Goa but you cannot take Goa out of a Goan’.
