-------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Add your name to the CLEAN GOA INITIATIVE | | | | by visiting this link and following the instructions therein | | | | http://shire.symonds.net/pipermail/goanet/2005-October/033926.html | -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Re: UDAY BHEMBRE's ROAD MAP TO HELL by Godfrey Gonsalves Part IV A friend has pointed to a couple of typing errors in Part I of this chain. The corrected statements are: (1) The books in Roman script were used by the missionaries upto 1684 (rpt. 1684 NOT 1984) when Konkani was banned even from being spoken. (2) It is also relevant to point out here that no native Goan anywhere ever published any Konkani literary work in the Roman script before 1890 (rpt. 1890 NOT 1990). The errors and consequent trouble to goanet readers are deeply regretted. Now, let us move on to Godfreys Road Map to Hell. 4. Godfrey makes the following statements: (a) <<way back in 1981 when he was almost a non entity in Goas political and social circles, he (Bhembre) put his signature and unanimously at that, to a document that destroyed the future of Konkani in Roman script.>> (b)<< but cleverly leaving out a vital document relating to a major decision on 21.11.1981 taken by him and others where the concept of Konkani only in Devanagari script was given the stamp of recognition by the highest linguistic and literary body the National Academy of Letters viz the Sahitya Akademi New Delhi.>> (c) << therefore a decision to recognize Konkani only in Devanagari script could not have been taken by Mr Uday Laximikant Bhembre and the others without the mandate of the people or the adoption of such a resolution by the Cabinet.>> (d) << Mr Bhembre needs to be put to strict proof as to who authorized him to decide for the Konkani speaking people of Goa for that matter of other regions as well.>>
The writer displays not only crass ignorance but also a lack of minimal common sense. How does ONE INDIVIDUAL put his signature to a document UNANIMOUSLY? A decision is called UNANIMOUS only when everyone from among those authorized to take it, and physically present, votes for it. Even if merely one out of one hundred opposes it, that resolution is NOT said to be passed UNANIMOUSLY. Similarly, when ALL the members of the Advisory Board signed the recommendation to adopt Devanagari as the recognized script for Konkani and NONE OF THEM RECOMMENDED OTHERWISE, it became a unanimous recommendation. Each member signed it in his individual capacity, according to his own considered opinion, and cannot be said to be responsible for the signature of others. So, how can you question Bhembre about the action of the other nine? Obviously, the other nine, INDIVIDUALLY, were of the same opinion. The question that weighed on the minds of each of them at that point in time was what course would be the best for the development of the language; for that exactly was their main responsibility and concern. Moreover, they must have taken into consideration the UNANIMOUS resolutions which had been passed in this regard at ALL the previous sessions of the All India Konkani Conference (Parishad) which had been held in the various regions where Konkani is spoken i.e. Goa, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Kerala. The signatories to that document were members of the Advisory Board which had been appointed after following the due procedures laid down for this purpose. These procedures were not exclusively for Konkani; they are uniformly applied to each and every one of the languages recognized by the Sahitya Akademi. These members did not appoint themselves. Nor did they proffer their opinion suo motu. They gave their opinion only after the question was referred to them. And the Sahitya Akademi referred the matter to the Advisory Board because that is its normal procedure. It was left to the Sahitya Akademi to ignore the recommendation of the Board if it thought that the same was faulty, defective or unwarranted. The members do not require any separate authorization; the fact that they have been appointed members is authorization enough. The names of the members of that Advisory Board have been given by Fr. Pratap Naik in another message to goanet. A perusal of that list shows that it contains members from all the regions where Konkani is spoken; it also has writers in each of the four major scripts in which Konkani is written. Therefore, one cannot say that it was constituted solely of members from one particular region or of writers in one particular script alone. There were also Catholic priests on that Board; they were probably influenced, in addition, by the views expressed by Msgr. Dalgado. Godfrey, in spite of claiming to be a journalist, does not know how the Sahitya Akademi works. It is not an arm of the Government but an autonomous body, with rules and regulations for its smooth functioning without governmental interference. It is not bound to follow the dictates of any Government, Central or State. In fact, had the Sahitya Akademi been required to follow Government directives, Konkani would not have earned the recognition which it did in 1975; the then Chief Minister of Goa, Daman & Diu, Mrs. Shashikala Kakodkar had strongly warned the Akademi not to grant that recognition saying that streams of blood would flow on the streets of Goa if such a rash decision were to be taken. The decision of the Akademi was officially declared in 1982 (rpt. 1982). Assuming that someone was aggrieved by this decision, why was the Akademi not approached to overturn it? This question needs to be asked especially to Fr. Pratap Naik and Mr. Tomazinho Cardozo. (The latter was, for one term, a member of the Advisory Board too.) How is it that they have woken up now, after 23 years? They need to explain their slumber or inaction for such a long time. Will Godfrey now direct his questions to these worthies? He could also ask one more question to Fr. Naik: After all the dust he raised on Roman script and on the promotion of his own Graeco-Roman orthography, why does he insist on candidates having sufficient knowledge of DEVANAGARI for enrolling in the Konkani Basic Course conducted at TSKK? (to be continued) S. M. Borges