Nearly a decade ago perhaps no one at that historic meet which witnessed a mammoth gathering on 14th November 1985 at the Azad Maidan Panaji (incidentally that was Children' Day and the birth day of India's first Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru) DEMANDING RECOGNITION TO KONKANI LANGUAGE realised that covertly a criminal act of deceit was inflicted by a section of the Hindu Brahmins on a section of the people of Goa (mainly Cristaos ) who were conversant with the Roman script, when four years earlier on 21 November 1981 the members of General Council (for Konkani) of the Sahitya Akademi decided to impose Konkani ONLY in the Devanagari script "as acceptable" to the people of Goa instead of BOTH Roman and Devanagiri.
Today these traitors in the garb of maintaining communal harmony are now maintaining a discreet silence on the exposures made by this writer and several others. One of the traitors who took Rs 1000/- as car allowance from KPA funds (and has not denied it till date) is well esconed in the recently constituted Goa Pradesh Congress Committee apparently to create more damage. It is this section of the Hindu Brahmins that had spread the myth that the Hindu Bahujan Samaj (non Hindu Brahmins) were supporting Marathi when in reality they were one -----in agreeing that Konkani is their mother tongue as is the case of every "niz goencar" but they only demanded that the Marathi language used for cultural and written purposes be given due recognition owing to long usage which was justified. The hatred that was being directed towards the Hindu Bahujan Samaj by instigating the Cristaos was only to cover the chicanery of a section of the Hindu Brahmins who played the mischief in the act of denying official recognition to the Roman script. This is now sought to be rectified with an amendment. It is a clarion call given to all the 36 members of the Goa legislative Assembly irrespective of the parties that they belong, to immediately prepare the legislation to bring about the amendment in the coming session. It is also a reminder that this historic meet was addressed by Mr Pundalik Naik the Convenor of the Konkani Porjecho Avaz, the lone MLA of the then Goa Congress Mr Luizinho Faleiro and the present Deputy Speaker of the Goa Legislative Assembly Ms Victoria Fernandes lone INC women representative to take positive steps in this direction. A peep into memory lane gives an insight into the MLA's that "supported" the Official Language Act 1987 in its present form. Of the 18 Indian National Congress MLAs elected to the 1984 Goa Legislative Assembly which was then an Union territory with 30 seats with 2 i.e. one each for Daman and Diu only the following are still in power Mr Francisco Sardinha Curtorim Mr Subhash Shirodkar Shiroda Mr Harsh Zantye Bicholim Mr Dayanand Narvekar Tivim Mr Pratapsing Rane Sattari Other vanquished are Shaik Hassan Haroon, J B Gonsalves Manu Fernandes Vassu Paik Gaonkar Simon D Souza Pandu Naik Dr Luis Proto Barboso Francisco Monte Cruz Chandrakant Vernekar Dr Sripad Cuncoliencar Voikunt Dessai Sambhaji Solanki Shambu Bandekar Of the lone Goa Congress (elected unopposed) Mr Luisinho Faleiro Navelim is still in power but now pledges allegiance to the INC Of the three Independent members none are in power they were Jivanbhai Prabhakar late Francisco Branco Uday L Bhembre _______________________________________________________ Of the 8 Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party MGP only Mr Ravi Sitaram Naik Ponda is still in power but from then until now he has meandered from INC BJP and back to INC Others vanquished are Babuso Gaonkar Ramakant Khalap Prakash Velip Ashok Naik Kashinath Zolmi Chandrashekar Divkar Srikant Malik _______________________________________________________ There are also questions which need answers were these MLA's who in their manifesto promised recognition for either or both Konkani and Marathi as official languages or that they would constitute a Government aided Konkani and Marathi Academy were aware that a section of the Goan population (mainly Cristaos ) the 125 diocesan schools that switched over to Konkani in Devanagari script (without a standardised text without properly trained teachers in academic year 1989-90 onwards)or the Catholic Church aware of the mischief committed on 21st November 1981 at the Sahitya Academy New Delhi? and if yes, can they not be treated as traitors alongwith the others? and if they did not will they now stand up now that they are in the ruling party and speak out with the courage of conviction and undo the injustice??? This is the question every Goan must ask for its now or never. There is a deluge of influx of migrants to Goa --- a peep at the Railway terminus the Airports the Inter state Bus terminus are witness to the new entrants to Goa and all this because there is a Government in power insensitive to the alarming change in demographic composition of the State. They were out of power from 24 October 2000 to 2nd February 2005 or 7th June 2005 and are now interested in filling their own coffers in fiscal year (2005-06) Therefore it is the Goan in Goa outside Goa and abroad whether the Gulf countries on the seven seas or the Western countries to pull up their respective MLA's and demand of them that the Roman script be given official recognition that the mother tongue of Goans thereby be strenghtened and the people of Goa will then only be able to work together and show to the world that it is our culture our ethos that makes us different from the others. With the INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (24 Nov - 4 Dec 2005) and the Gomant Vishwa Sammelan slated for 7th January 2006 this is time opportune for the International media and the World wide Goans that will descend into Goa to give wide coverage to the gross injustice inflicted upon Konkani in Roman script (mainly cristaos) and hence do not miss this opportunity to give life, strenght and support to the movement. Watch out for more details in this columns as the days pass by. Goans would do well to circulate this to all and sundry to build the movement. GODFREY J I GONSALVES BORDA MARGAO GOA [EMAIL PROTECTED] 9822158584