MARGAO
As the state braces to commemorate the passage of the Official Language Act on February 4, the Global Romi Lipi Abhiyan (GRLA) has appealed to all the legislators to rectify the discrimination that has been going on for the past 38 years by giving the Roman script its rightful place in the Official Language Act (OLA) and schools of Goa.
Global Romi Lipi Abhiyan president Kennedy Afonso has stated that the Official Language Act 1987 was a conspiracy, hatched by the Devnagari lobby to destroy the Roman script. “Exactly 38 years ago, on this day, February 4, 1987, after a long and bloody agitation, with seven martyrs laying down their lives, the Goa Official Language Act 1987 was passed, making Konkani in the Devnagari script the official language of Goa, and Marathi to be used for all official purposes. We salute the efforts made by all the Konkani stalwarts who were at the forefront of the movement, including the 7 martyrs who laid down their lives to make Konkani the official language of Goa,” he said.
Kennedy, however, said that for the Christian Catholic community, which was at the forefront of the Konkani language movement, it was a day of mixed emotions, betrayal, which fuelled anger and protests. “While they were happy that Konkani was made the official language of Goa, the fact that the Roman script was not included in the OLA was a very bitter pill to swallow. To rub salt into the wounds, Marathi was also given the accord to be used for all official purposes. Today, after 38 years, it’s important that we introspect over the decision made by the government of Goa back in 1987. Amendments need to be brought in, where required, to give Roman Script its rightful place in the OLA,” he added.
The million-dollar question, he said, that everyone needs to ask is this—has Konkani, as a language, benefited by making Devnagari the sole official script of Konkani in Goa since 1987? “Of course not. All statistics point out to a decline in the Konkani language. Over 2 lakh Konkani-speaking people have dwindled since the last census in 2001. The Konkani language is on the UNESCO endangered list of languages. All this despite Devnagari being taught in schools for the last 38 years, and the government spending crores of rupees on its promotion and development,” he added.
