#TGLife
In recent days, Goa has been witnessing considerable debate over the issue of law and order. On one side, the government imposed Section 144 citing terror attack threats, while on the other side, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has stated in the House that around 85 percent of crimes such as rapes and murders in Goa are committed by migrants.
The key question here is what measures should the government take to maintain law and order in the state and what steps it is taking.
The government imposed section 144 in North Goa district, which led to considerable resentment among the citizens. Defending the government action, the collector stated that the move was a precautionary measure to step up tenant verification on residences and flats which were leased out. Additionally, the government officials also stated that such notifications were issued regularly. However, these justifications only serve to raise further questions. Why does the government need to invoke section 144 if all it wants to do is ensure tenant verification?
What is section 144?
n Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) of 1973 authorises the Executive Magistrate of any state or territory to issue an order to prohibit the assembly of four or more people in an area. According to the law, every member of such ‘unlawful assembly’ can be booked for engaging in rioting.
n Section 144 is imposed in urgent cases of nuisance or apprehended danger of some event that has the potential to cause trouble or damage to human life or property.
n The orders to impose Section 144 have been conferred to the executive magistrate when there is an emergency situation. It also gives the state the authority to block access to the Internet.
n Section 144 also restricts carrying any sort of weapon in that area where it has been imposed and people can be detained for violating it. The maximum punishment for such an act is three years.
n No order under Section 144 shall remain in force for more than two months but the state government can extend the validity for two months and maximum up to six months. It can be withdrawn at any point of time if the situation becomes normal.
issue of internal migration
While a number of major studies talk mostly about international migration, the developing world grapples with internal migration. In many countries such as India, internal migration causes considerable friction as regional identities are strong.
Data from 526 regions in 21 countries show that there is a strong positive relationship between internal migration and domestic riots. If we look at the data for individual countries, internal migration and riots are positively correlated in 18 of 21 countries.
Internal migration is frequently associated with the rise of anti-migrant politics, as parties cater to nativist sentiments or as new parties emerge to cater to such sentiments.
