Team Herald
MARGAO: The Global Konknni Forum (GKF), in collaboration with Mandd Sobhann, Mangaluru, is set to host a symposium on September 29 at Kalaangan, Mangaluru, to address concerns regarding the Sahitya Akademi’s decision to recognise Devanagari as the sole official script of the Konkani language. The symposium aims to discuss the “arbitrary and
discriminatory” actions of the Sahitya Akademi, which GKF claims have marginalised four other scripts of Konkani.
The forum will also examine the demand for equal recognition of the Roman script under Goa’s Official Language Act. Kennedy Afonso, President of GKF, stated, “The Konkani Advisory Board of the Sahitya Akademi has not outlined the criteria used to arrive at its decision, and this symposium will consider whether the decision should be challenged in the Supreme Court of India by associations representing all Konkani scripts from the Konkan region.”
Afonso further pointed out that although Konkani is written in five scripts, it does not have a script unique to itself. He highlighted that the decision to designate Devanagari as the official script was made on November 21, 1981, by members of the Konkani Advisory Board, including Ravindra Kelekar (Convenor), Uday Bhembre, Chandrakant Keni, Dr Manoharrai Sardesai, B Borkar, Dr D Sukhtanker, R V Pandit, and Puroshtam Malliya, all of whom were strong advocates of the Devanagari script.
Afonso argued that this decision was biased, with the board being heavily influenced by a “Devnagari lobby” that manipulated the outcome. He further alleged that the process for selecting new advisory board members continues to favour this lobby, leaving the other four Konkani scripts underrepresented.
“How did the Sahitya Akademi’s Konkani advisory board reach the conclusion to choose Devnagari as the official script?” Afonso questioned. He emphasised that the one language, one script policy contradicts Article 14 of the Indian Constitution, which guarantees equality, and Article 29(1), which protects the linguistic and cultural rights of minorities.
The symposium will seek to resolve whether legal challenges to the decision are warranted and how best to secure equal recognition for all Konkani scripts.