TUESDAY, APRIL 23, 2024
Luizinho Faleiro
Ever since the Opinion Poll of January 16, 1967, I was aware that to safeguard our identity, we would require Statehood. It was during a courtesy call to Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on January 7, 1980, that I realised that Statehood could not happen unless we had an official language. That was when the twin aspirations of official language status for Konkani and Statehood for Goa took firm root in me.
The same year, as a young Congress MLA, at a meeting of the Goa Pradesh Congress (I) Committee, I tabled a Resolution to the effect that the party supports bestowing official language status upon the language of Konkani. The resolution was adopted by the party and at that time it appeared to be the first victory in the battle for Konkani. I didn’t stop there.
On March 31, 1982, I tabled a Private Member’s Resolution in the Goa Assembly urging the members to ratify Konkani as the mother tongue of Goans and declare it as the official language. The Resolution also envisaged the creation of a Konkani Academy to develop the language. It was passed with all MLAs supporting. This Resolution turned historic as it was one of the first ever Private Member Resolutions to be passed unanimously by the Goa Daman and Diu Legislative Assembly, irrespective of party affiliations of the MLAs.
I followed it up with another Private Member’s Resolution tabled on January 14, 1983, urging the Government of India, to grant Statehood to Goa and fulfill the long-cherished dream of all Goans. This resolution too was passed unanimously by the Goa Daman and Diu Assembly.
In my second term as MLA, this time as a member of the Goa Congress, on July 19, 1985, I tabled the Goa, Daman and Diu Official Language Bill, 1985 in the Legislative Assembly, as a Private Member’s Bill.
Introducing the Bill, I reminded the members that every political party had fought the previous elections on the basis of Konkani and Statehood and therefore it was the bounden duty of all of them who had been elected to fight for official status for Konkani. When the Bill was put to vote, it got three votes. Besides me, it was supported by Margao Independent MLA UdayBhembre and Benaulim Congress MLA Francisco Monte Cruz.
Though the Bill had been scuttled out, my fight for Konkani and Statehood could not be defeated so easily.
On July 29, 1985, just ten days after my Bill had been thrown out, a morcha was held in Panjim demanding official language status. It was a huge success as thousands came to Panjim that day. In open defiance of the government and my then colleagues in the Legislative Assembly, I courted arrest that afternoon, along with 3000 other writers, poets, dramatists, intellectuals and lovers of Konkani. Three other MLAs courted arrest that day and they were Uday Bhembre, Monte Cruz and St Cruz Independent MLA Francisco Branco.
This was a very defining moment in the movement for Konkani, as from here arose a people’s movement for the language, which gave birth to the Konknni Porjecho Avaz, and to this day I remain proud that I played a role in the formation of the movement and was part of it.
I was convenor of the first major meeting for Konkani in Margao on November 10, 1985. We started our work in earnest, reaching out to all the villages through committees that were formed.
Our work bore fruit. There were attempts to block people from coming for the meeting, but come they did, by buses, trucks, pickups, cycles, by whatever means of transport they could manage. The November 10, 1985, meeting was a mammoth show of strength. Addressing the meeting, I proclaimed that though my Bill to make Konkani the official language of Goa had been thrown out of the Assembly, the government would never be able to curtail the voice of ten lakh Goans who demanded that Konkani be made the official language of Goa and that the Union Territory be raised to as State.
That meeting was followed by another in Panjim on November 14, 1985. Panjim was deserted that morning, but by afternoon people began arriving. The crowd was estimated to be around 75,000. There, I made an emphatic statement that irrespective of caste, community and religion, Konkani was in the heart of every Goan. Seeing the crowd before me, I knew that I could not be wrong in asserting this.
After that there was a long period of the agitation. There were bandhs and people gave up their lives for the language. The agitation culminated with the passage of the Official Language Bill in the Assembly on February 4, 1987.
The Bill conferring sole official language status to Konkani was passed by 21 votes to 8, but not before much drama. At 3.30 pm on February 4, 1987, at the end of Question Hour, the Speaker Dayanand Narvekar adjourned the House stating that the Business Advisory Committee would go into session to discuss the rescheduling of the Language Bill. When the Assembly reconvened at 4.25 pm, the Speaker announced a motion to revise the business of the House so as to consider and pass the Official Language Bill on the same day. The Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party opposed this, but I supported it and this motion was passed.
During the debate on the Language Bill, I moved an amendment seeking the continued use of the Roman script for Konkani. This was supported by MLAs Uday Bhembre and Francisco Branco but there was no response to this from the Chief Minister or anyone from the treasury benches. In all six amendments were moved during the debate, but only one that was moved by six Congress (I) MLAs and the two MLAs of Daman and Diu was admitted. This amendment was to provide the use of Marathi for all or any official purposes. Along with Uday Bhembre and Francisco Branco, I had walked out of the Assembly in protest over this amendment, but returned to pass the Bill.
With the passing of the Bill I had achieved one of the twin aspirations of Goa. Konkani was the sole Official Language of the Union territory, but Statehood was still not been granted. That too came within months and Goa was conferred Statehood on May 30, 1987.
(The writer is a Member of the Rajya Sabha and former Chief Minister of Goa)
