Dear friends, In his article which appeared on GT of 03/09 at pg. 5, Tomazinho Cardoso accuses his adversaries of "levelling unfounded allegations against the protagonists of Konkani in Roman script." But all he has done is giving false dates of events *_with which he was personally associated_* besides covering his own failings.
He states that the Dalgado Konknni Akademi (DKA) was established in 1989. And this is not a typographical error, because the phrase "just after two years and not 20 years" that follows proves that the year has been correctly printed. The fact is that it was established in 1988, the seeds having been sown by Fr. Pratap Naik at a meeting he called on 14th March, 1987 i.e. within a month of the OLA being assented by the Governor! Following that meeting, Fr. Naik contacted Fr. Freddy Da Costa and Tomazinho Cardozo and impressed upon them the need of starting the DKA. When the DKA was finally established on 28th August, 1988 at Loyola High School, Margao an ad hoc Committee was formed with Fr. Freddy as President and Tomazinho as Secretary. The next Committee was elected on 2nd July, 1989 with Fr. Antimo Gomes as President and Tomazinho again as Secretary. After that, the DKA became defunct only to be revived on 12th May, 2004. Now, could Tomazinho please explain this hibernation when it had such an important task in hand? What activities did it undertake between 1989 and 2004? At no stage during 1987-89, when it was active, did any DKA member ever declare that their intention was to introduce Roman script into the OLA. In fact, the declared intention was to prepare Catholic Goans for a smooth change-over to Devanagari. To that end, the Akademi appointed a Committee to prepare Orthographic Rules for Writing Konkani in Roman script under the chairmanship of Fr. Matthew Almeida s.j. These Rules were published by DKA in 1988 i. e. well before the date given by Tomazinho for the establishment of DKA! Tomazinho poses a question: How many Roman script writers have been given an opportunity to head the GKA? Now, who makes these appointments? The protagonists of Devanagari script? Or the Government? And Tomazinho himself has been a member of the ruling dispensation. Since the term of the President of GKA is 3 years and that of the Legislative Assembly is five, at least one appointment, if not two, must have been made during Tomazinho's tenure as an important functionary of the ruling Legislature party. What efforts did he make in that regard then? Tomazinho bemoans the fact that no books in Roman script Konkani have been published by GKA. This is not entirely true. *_No such books were submitted to it for publication. _* Let him produce the list of manuscripts which were rejected by GKA. In fact, Tomazinho himself had undertaken to compile an anthology of "101 Tiatr Songs." But has not submitted the manuscript thereof till date, even after 15 years! And he does not say that he cannot do it either; there are persons who would be willing to do that job in six months! What will such overly busy persons do as Head of GKA? In contrast, the late Felicio Cardoso completed two anthologies of Tiatr plays, within two years; and these have been published by GKA in Roman script. One can only conclude that the present movement was started by Tomazinho to hide his own sins of omission. And he has certainly profited from it. The above appeared as a Letter to the Editor in GT dated 05/09, but in a rather truncated form. A calumnist, who writes exclusively for English readership, thought that I got the above dates right because I write in GULAB magazine whose founder editor, the late Fr. Freddy J. Da Costa was the President of the ad hoc Executive Committee of GKA. Isn't this preposterous? How can one get correct dates today from a person who expired four years ago? In fact, I got my correct dates from the very reverend whose sidekick the calumnist is. But then, can one expect mercenary writers to check their facts before they shoot them off? I practise the precepts of not only Monsignor Dalgado but also those of Dr. Pratap Naik who wrote as follows in two of his RESEARCH PAPERS (not popular articles, mind you): "(1) This is not the time for standardization. Konkani people are dispersed in several locations, scripts and religions. This is the time to use a single script, to understand each other, to dialogue, to learn from each other. (2) It takes time for a standard dialect to evolve. It is a process. Until that happens, let us write and read in Devanagari. When the time comes, when the day arrives, a standard dialect will automatically present itself. (3) We need a standard dialect for teaching in schools and colleges, for official correspondence, for using a formal language in public gatherings, etc. The only question that remains is, which dialect is to considered standard. (4) We do not yet have a standard Konkani. Therefore, instead of imposing the dialect of a particular community, religion or caste on others, we must use only Devanagari script for writing our own dialect. In this manner, we shall be able to learn each others' words, grammatical forms etc. Thus, within a few years, a standard Konkani will develop in Devanagari script." These research papers were published as late as in 2003, the very year in which he and Tomazinho Cardozo started the script controversy! I read Konkani in four scripts and write in two: in Roman script on "Gulab" and in Devanagari on "Sunaparant," " Zag" and "Dalgadacho Sondesh". The calumnist knows this fact, yet calumniates. He also knows very well that I do not earn my bread from writing in Konkani; yet he nauseatingly harps about defecating in the plate I eat from. Does one need any further proof that he has taken leave of his senses? Perhaps he thinks "Gulab" is another "Goencho Ulo" which he milked dry while the going was good. Ultimately, Truth alone shall prevail! Sebastian Borges --- On Fri, 9/5/08, Miguel Braganza <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: Dears, The article below appeared in the GT page A8 on 03 September, 2008. It was followed on 05 Sept. by a "Letter to the Editor" by "Professor" Sebastiao Mariano Borges objecting to the date of DKA formation and placing it on 28 August, 1988 [instead of 1989 stated by Tomazinho] at a function held in Margao. Perhaps, SMB is right. He writes for the GULAB
