Tomazinho Cardozo
PANJIM: It is a fact that we need an official language for our State, as it helps citizens improve their quality of life in all aspects. But has Goa’s Official Language helped improve the living conditions of Goan citizens? No! The Goa Official Language Act (OLA) has done — and continues to do — great injustice to the minority community of Goa.
Consider the language scenario in Goa in 1987 when the OLA was passed. Goans were divided over both the issue of language and the script. Soon after Liberation, a conflict arose between two languages —Marathi and Konkani. Over 95% of Goa’s population spoke Konkani at the time, but not all considered it their mother tongue. As a result, the majority of Hindus in Goa wanted Marathi to be the official language, while practically the entire Christian community, along with a small percentage of Hindus, supported Konkani as the official language. A fierce language battle ensued, and many lives — especially those of Konkani-in-Roman-script supporters — were lost.
Throughout the agitation, we fought for the Konkani language. At no point was the issue of script raised. It was a fight for Konkani alone, not for any particular script.
However, when the Goa Official Language Act of 1987 was passed, making Konkani the official language, 95% of Konkani supporters had little reason to celebrate. Instead, they mourned for two key reasons: The Act defined Konkani as ‘Konkani in Devanagari script’. Marathi was granted near-equal status, as the Act stated that "Marathi shall also be used for all official purposes."
By doing this, the so-called leaders of the Konkani movement betrayed a significant section of Konkani supporters by imposing the Devanagari script.
This act of exclusion will go down in Goan history as one of the greatest betrayals of the 20th century. And as expected, this led to a reaction. Naturally, supporters of Konkani in Roman script had to fight for their rights, a battle that continues to this day.
Following the enactment of the Official Language Act in 1987, Konkani-in-Roman-script followers faced blatant discrimination. Their written works were ignored, their contributions dismissed, and their representation systematically suppressed. The architects of the OLA, who controlled government and semi-government bodies, attempted to eliminate Roman-script Konkani altogether. Some examples of this injustice include:
• The Goa Konkani Akademy, constituted by the government, neglected Roman-script Konkani supporters. Only one or two members sympathetic to Devanagari script were included in the 12–15-member committee, and they were never considered for the positions of President or Vice-President.
• The same bias was evident in the constitution of statutory bodies at both State and National levels, including the Advisory Board of Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi, where only one out of ten members represented Roman-script Konkani.
• The Kala Academy, which initially gave annual literary awards for books in Roman-script Konkani, eventually succumbed to pressure from Devanagari Konkani leaders and discontinued these awards.
• No supporters or writers of Roman-script Konkani were appointed to positions in institutions such as the Goa Konkani Akademy, the Art & Culture Department, the Official Language Cell, All India Radio, or Doordarshan.
• Literary works written in Roman script were excluded from Sahitya Akademi awards. The message was clear: if an author wanted recognition, they had to write in Devanagari script.
• And now, another conspiracy is in motion—one that will prevent minority youth from securing government jobs. Previously, knowledge of Konkani was sufficient for government job interviews. However, a new requirement mandating written examinations in Konkani in Devanagari script will be a devastating blow to the very community that shed blood to make Konkani Goa’s official language.