MARGAO: The Global Konknni Forum (GKF) has called for the inclusion of the Roman script in the Official Language Act under Article 29, urging the Opposition and all MLAs from the linguistic minority community to pass a resolution in the Legislative Assembly.
While addressing media persons in Margao on Saturday, GKF president Kennedy Afonso recalled how during the ongoing Assembly session, as a response to a query put up by MLAs Cruz Silva and Venzy Viegas, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant stated that there is no current proposal to grant equal status to the Roman script and that no legislator had moved a Bill to amend the existing Act. He first pointed out that when Advocate Radharao Gracias was the MLA, he had tried to move a Bill, but that he was blocked from doing so. However, GKF contended that it is the responsibility of the 14 elected MLAs representing Goa’s linguistic minorities to propose such a measure.
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“For the past 36 years, these MLAs have failed to address the exclusion of the Roman script, merely offering lip service without taking substantive action,” said Afonso.
GKF highlighted that communities across Goa are increasingly unified in demanding equal status for the Roman script, with numerous Gram Sabhas passing resolutions against the discrimination. The forum insists that the Opposition and the 14 minority MLAs must press the CM to introduce a government-sponsored Bill or support MLA Silva’s resolution to amend the OLA, granting equal status to the Roman script alongside Devnagari.
GKF also demands that minority MLAs individually write to the Commissioner of the Linguistic Minorities Commission in Delhi, detailing the discrimination against the Roman script over the past 36 years.
Afonso emphasised that the government must cease hindering the Roman script to protect Devnagari. He stressed that the people of Goa, especially linguistic minorities, are not seeking financial grants but are demanding their constitutional right to choose their language and script.
Referring to the Chief Minister’s statement in the Assembly about the government providing grants totaling Rs 21.61 lakh for the development of Konkani in the Roman script through a private institution, the GKF argued that this amount represents only 14 per cent of the funding allocated to the Devanagari script, and demanded . equal financial support for the Roman script.
