Changing of one’s name is not an uncommon occurrence, but when on a daily basis, there are numerous advertisements of persons changing their names, and these changes are not mere corrections of spellings, but complete amendments of the name, it does cause to eyebrows being raised. For the past few years, there has been a phenomenon in Goa, where the advertisements of change of name of persons that have been appearing are of migrants who are adopting Goan names and surnames. At first it might have been a mere curiosity, but then it began to lead to certain concerns.
These apprehensions now appear to have been well founded as the Law Minister has admitted in the House that all of the name changes that are advertised in newspapers in the State are not as per procedure and are hence illegal. The debate on this has kept Goan online forums alive, with demands that the government act to stop this. On Friday the government finally acted in this regard.
There can be various reasons for changing one’s name, including an effort by the migrants to assimilate with the people of Goa. But in this present case it probably goes a lot deeper. The Bahujan Samaj in the State has pointed out to the government that after changing their surnames to Goan ones, the migrants have been applying for and obtaining other backward caste certificates that they use for jobs and admissions. There are also apprehensions that on changing names, there are those who may be exploiting the opportunity given by the Portuguese government to persons of Goan origin to register their births in the Central Registry in Lisbon and obtain Portuguese citizenship. The biggest fear is that the change of name may be a means to grab land, and this is when the issue became a major topic of debate.
The amendment to the Goa Change of Name and Surname Act, which was passed by the State Legislature will make an illegal change of name a cognisable act, leading to a term of up to three months imprisonment. The Act allows a change on name only if it is wrong, there is an improper entry, a correction in spelling to be made, if it is unpleasant or has been erroneously written, and only persons born in Goa can change their names. The last is why the name changes of the migrants can be declared illegal. Hopefully, as pointed out by Benaulim MLA Churchill Alemao, ‘some Yellappa or Nellappa’ will now not be in a position to come to Goa, change his name and reap the benefits that the State reserves for its citizens.
Besides the issue of change of name, there is also the registration of births by migrants that is happening in Goa. Curtorim MLA Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco stated in the Legislative Assembly, that since 2016 there have been 4,197 such births that have been registered in Goa through the courts. This is done seeking the court permission and as per the Central government’s Birth and Death Registration Act. The number 4,197 indicates that on an average there are four births of migrants being registered in the State every day. The question is whether there is any necessity for the births to be registered in the State.
The fears that exist in Goa are not entirely mere speculative in nature. The number of migrants entering the State is increasing, as was seen recently when train loads of migrants got off at Tivim Railway Station on consecutive Mondays. The amendment to the Act will stop the name change, but the migration pattern will neither be halted, nor paused. That will require an entirely different approach to control.
