Why Goa’s taxi wars signal a larger economic problem

Ramesh Kamat has driven a taxi for 30 years. As he drove me through Goa, his affection for his home state was unmistakable. He rattled off the name of every river we crossed, its tributaries, the names of trees, of the best stores to buy cashew nuts, and of the restaurants with the most authentic Goan food.

In Colva, Kamat pointed to a Goa Tourist Development Corporation hotel on the beach, which had a rundown exterior. “We used to have an ancestral home in this very spot,” said Kamat, smiling. “I used to come here as a child and play with my cousins during my summer vacations.” He pointed to all the shut shops and almost empty restaurants on the beach and said, “None of these things were here.”

Kamat, who asked to be identified by a pseudonym for this story, said that he had known some of his customers for decades and that they had remained loyal to him. It was easy to believe him – his soft-spoken and demure nature make Kamat easily likeable.

But Kamat explained that on some occasions, he has had to display a more aggressive side of himself: specifically, when he has been at the forefront of protests, such as...

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