Team Herald
PANJIM: The recent demand to make Marathi as the official language of the State along with Konkani appears to be politically motivated as the issue was settled nearly 38 years ago. However, the protagonists of both the languages feared that any attempt to amend the Official Language Act would lead to a controversy and create rift among the communities.
O Heraldo spoke to some of the protagonists of both the languages to gauge their perspectives.
Former Assembly Speaker Tomazinho Cardozo said, “If you read the Official Language Act, it is clear that the Konkani in Devanagari and the Marathi have got the same benefits. The Act states that Konkani will be the official language and Marathi will be used for all official purposes. Therefore, there is no problem for Marathi lovers. But the loss is for Konkani in Roman script lovers.”
Cardozo, who was one of the leaders of the Konkani Porjecho Awaz, under whose banner Konkani language agitation was fought, claimed that 95 per cent followers of Roman Konkani protagonists fought the battle but ultimately they were betrayed by not giving any place for Konkani in Roman script. Stating that there cannot be two languages for the State, Cardozo said that if the Goa Official Language Act has to be amended then it should be amended making Konkani in both, Devanagari and Roman scripts as the official language of Goa.
“What Subhash Velingkar is doing is trying to create division among the Goan society and I appeal to people of Goa not to fall prey to his game,” he said.
Former Union Minister Ramakant Khalap said, “We had succeeded in passing the Official Language Act making Konkani as the official language provided Marathi language will be used for all official purposes. The question comes regarding granting equal status to Marathi.”
“When the Act was passed in 1987, Goa was Union Territory and the Act stated that Konkani will be the official language for all or any of the official purposes provided Marathi will be used for all or any of the official purposes in Goa and in case of Daman and Diu, the Gujarati language will be used for all or any of the official purposes. The government should make optimum use of the Act for its official purposes. Also those, who are agitating now, are part of the government and they should put pressure on the government to use the Official Language Act for all official purposes,” Khalap added.
Headmaster Anant Agni said, “The Official Language issue has been resolved once and forever long back. It’s clear that some individuals have a hidden political agenda and raise the language issue to gain the attention of people as the Assembly elections are approaching in a couple of years. The Goans are wise and will definitely not fall prey to such gimmicks. The same old faces are found demanding the official language status to Marathi. The younger generation has been convinced with the rights and interests arising out of the Official Language Act.”
Agni said, “The government now has to ensure the effective implementation of the Official Language Act to protect the culture and tradition of Goa and more importantly the economic interests of Goans. Konkani is our identity, and no other language can undermine its significance. Most of those who demand official language status to Marathi have their roots in Maharashtra. These are the same people who supported Goa’s merger in Maharashtra in 1967.”
He said, “Konkani is the only language known to the hundred per cent population of Goa. It’s the language which each Goan learns without going to school and hence by default it's the language of the soil. While Marathi has earned its due respect and recognition, we will not let any attempts to amend the Official Language Act. If the government tries to do so, they should be prepared to face a stronger agitation from Konkani lovers, one that surpasses the intensity of the 1987 movement. Let us unite to protect and promote our mother tongue, Konkani."
Former Konkani Bhasha Mandal, Margao, president Prashant Naik said, “Raking up the Marathi issue by Subhash Velingkar is yet another attempt by him to remain in limelight by hook or crook. If one sees his stance over the years Velingkar has raised communal or controversial issues and has tried to gather attention more towards him than the issue and hence he could not take any of his issues to their logical conclusion. The latest issue of making Marathi the official language of the State will meet the same fate with Velingkar getting some publicity in the media.”