PANJIM: In a globalising world where English language holds currency, the language of Goa’s pride and identity Konkani is still are crying for attention, experts fear the language could be “endangered” in future.
They feel that the government’s “inimical” act towards Konkani clearly shows that it does not acknowledge its existence.
Konkani was declared the Official Language of Goa, on February 4, 1987. The Goa, Daman and Diu Official Language Bill, was presented to the Legislative Assembly in 1986 and passed on February 4, 1987, declaring Konkani the sole Official Language of the Union Territory of Goa, Daman and Diu with provisions for Marathi and Gujarati for Daman and Diu.
Ex-Chief Minister and sitting Rajya Sabha MP Luizinho Faleiro was the only MLA in the erstwhile government which in March, 1982, tabled a Private Member’s Resolution to ratify Konkani as the mother tongue of Goans and declare it as the official language. The resolution, which was passed, also envisaged the creation of a Konkani Academy to develop the language.
Faleiro said that during his second term as MLA, this time as a member of the Goa Congress, on July 19, 1985, he tabled the Goa, Daman and Diu Official Language Bill, 1985 in the Legislative Assembly, as a Private Member’s Bill, however it was scuttled out.
However, 36 years down the line, Konkani protagonists point out successive State governments’ failure to protect, conserve and promote this language.
Eminent Konkani writer Uday Bhembre said that the government is acting ‘inimical’ towards Konkani-the language that is facing humiliation and injustice. He said that Goa Official Language Act 1987 is not implemented in toto, which is a biggest betrayal of the people.
“The law itself is violated at every stage. If nothing is done now, the language might become endangered. At every step, rather than protecting Konkani, injustice has been meted out to this language,” he said.
Bhembre, who was chairman of the sub-committee appointed to recommend to the government how to go ahead with the implementation of the Act in 2007, said that the report needs to be made public and implemented for protection and promotion of the language. He said that the report had recommended publishing terminologies- Administrative, Legislative, Legal, Correspondence. “So far only one terminology- Administrative and designation was published way back in 2014,” he said.
He pointed out how the government stopped training its employees and IAS officers on Konkani language and also the failure to make it part of its day-to-day functioning along with English.
Former Chief Minister Pratapsingh Rane said script. “If you see, people now prefer to talk in English rather than Konkani. One needs to understand that efforts have to come in from all sides,” he said.
Renowned Konkani writer Tomazinho Cardozo said that though Konkani was made official language, major injustice was done to the section of society that used to write in Romi script. “In the Act, the government introduced a clause according to which Konkani means only that which is written in Devanagari script. This was the betrayal of the people, who led the Konkani agitation,” he said.
Educationist Prabhakar Timble said, “People's patronage to language is the “sine qua non” (‘without which, not’). This is absolutely necessary. The government patronage facilitates only if people take Konkani with a sense of ownership and belonging.”
“If globalisation is the future, then, the future is also of multilingualism and language pluralism. It is in this future map that we need to place Konkani,” he said.
Timble said that one needs to understand that Official Language is a means to an end. “The end is preferential treatment of locals in employment and economic opportunities. The further end is preservation of Konkani culture and lifestyle. There is a lot to be done in collaboration with NGOs, Industry and Konkani institutions,” he said.
‘Konkani will develop only if Romi Script gets official recognition’
MARGAO: Protagonists of the Konkani Romi script have said that the granting official language recognition to the Romi script will help in the overall development of the language. According to Premanand Lotlikar, former president of Dalgado Konknni Akademi (DKA), “when Konkani movement started, it was maximum Romi protagonists who were in the forefront to make Konkani the official language.” “Konkani writers had immensely contributed towards the development of the language. Unfortunately, they were sidelined. Konkani will develop only if Romi Script is granted official recognition and it is essential for the overall development of the language.”
Former CM Churchill Alemao, a towering leader during the Konkani agitation, told O Heraldo, that the Romi script “never got justice”. “As far as giving Konkani language its rightful importance, it never got justice. We started a movement for Konkani and ultimately Romi Konkani got sidelined and Devanagari got all the importance. They did injustice to Romi, which needs its rightful place.”