This book discusses all the currents and crosscurrents objectively and in great detail, suggesting that Goa is destined to become a multicultural, cosmopolitan state, thriving on horticulture and service industry, eschewing dependence on agriculture and heavy industry.

Tourists come and go without knowing anything of ‘real’ Goa. The author suggests that Goa is not just about beaches, there is a vibrant society trying to cope up with the currents and crosscurrents of postcolonial development. In just 40 years of Liberation from the Portuguese rule, Goa has become the most economically and socially advanced state of India. However, progress has come at a high price.

Development has brought in industries that are threatening the idyllic paradise and migrants who are claiming a share of the Goan space in housing, employment and business. The cultural divide between Hindus and Christians that the Portuguese engendered, still plagues the state in many ways; and to this conflict is now added the growing antagonism between ‘Goans’ and the migrants.