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Remembering Aquino Braganca (b. 6 April 1924), who fought for freedom
of the former Portuguese colonies in Africa. An online tribute
http://aquinobraganca.wordpress.com/ (includes many historical
references, some photographs and documents)
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Borges is always wide awake
By Sebastian M. Borges
Dear friends,
This is in reply to Tomazinho Cardozo (Topic no. 6, Goanet Digest IV, issue
#359.)
At first, I did not take the title "Mr. Borges Please Awake! " seriously. But,
on reading the very first sentence, I sat bolt upright. Here it is: <<I have
gone through the reply of Sebastiao Borges posted on Sunday, 5 Apr 2009 at
22:33 hours. >> Fabrications are the staple fare dished out by politicians,
and we know that Tomazinho is a pastmaster in the art of fabrications; but this
one takes the cake. I do not know from where he obtained the day, date and
time of posting; except for the month and year, EVERYTHING ELSE IS FALSE! The
time of posting generally does not have a bearing on the subject under
discussion. But since he has deliberately mentioned it, there must be some
purpose which I am not able to fathom. Perhaps he has introduced this
innocuous bit of "information" so as to capitalize on it at a later date. Or,
perhaps, he wants to suggest that I was well and properly inebriated when I
posted it. If so, I wish to inform him that I
have not taken a sip of any alcoholic beverage for the last sixteen years, on
medical advice. Prior to that, right from birth, I had been only a moderate
drinker! Now let me take up the material points he has raised.
He says, <<…..my manuscripts in Roman script were not considered by GKA
pointing to the fact that OLA defines Konkani as Konkani written in Devnagori
script. It was politely rejected requesting me to transliterate it into
Devnagori script which I did not do. >>
Now, who exactly did not consider his manuscripts, and made the polite request?
The President of GKA? If yes, was it Kakodkar, Bhembre or Naik? If some
other office-bearer, then who? If it was a body of GKA, then which?
<< The book was an anthology of 101 Kantaram in Konkani. I was entrusted to
compile that book. I could not do it because prominent Kantaram composers did
not co-operate. >>
I do understand Tomazinho's predicament. When the execution of a project is
dependent on inputs by various others, the person in charge faces a lot of
frustration if the expected cooperation is not forthcoming. This must have
been the experience, to a greater or lesser extent, of others too whom he
accuses of not doing anything in a particular direction. But does Tomazinho
give them that consideration? When a finger is pointed at some dirt, shouldn’t
that finger itself be clean?
Secondly, THE PROJECT IS STILL ON TOMAZINHO'S NAME, as far as the GKA is
concerned; it is effectively blocked. Has he communicated to the GKA his
inability to complete the task so as to enable the GKA to assign it to someone
else, capable and willing, if it so desires? If not, will he do so
immediately? There may not exactly be a dearth of people who could accomplish
the task.
<< My article to which Mr. Borges has replied is the "Adverse Impact of OLA". >>
True. But it purported to be a "second part of his reply" to my rejoinder on
"Endangered Languages. " No connection was shown between the two articles, nor
were any of my points alluded to. At least I have quoted his statement to
which I was referring, in every case.
<< For the sake of argument, let us suppose that the said book was published.
Would it change in any way the adverse impact of OLA on Konkani in Roman
script? >>
Why not? And there was at least one more tiatr-related book (khell-tiatr),
scheduled for publication, which has not seen the light of the day; and there
were more, I am told. Had this hiatus not occurred, perhaps it would have
become a tradition with GKA of publishing books in Roman script. Some other
writers would have come forward with their works. But the hiatus, perhaps,
created a myth that GKA, on a matter of principle, does not publish books in
Roman script, leading to non-receipt of more manuscripts. And the myth is
being used by Tomazinho and his ilk for their own profit. They have painted
the GKA as a witch and persons like S. M. Borges as poisonous snakes which spit
venom ("vikh onkta") at Roman script. Shouldn’t these people, who today strut
as protectors and promoters of Konkani in Roman script share at least a part of
the blame?
<< Thirdly Mr. Borges harps on non-publication of one book. He has no courage
to state that I have written and published 23 books in Konkani in Roman script
which includes Tiatrs, Kantaram, Short Stories, Poems, Mando & Dulpods, One Act
Plays, Essays, etc. >>
Let us take the case of a person who has valiantly saved the lives of 25 people
from drowning after a boat had capsized; he then goes and kills another person.
Will be forgiven for this crime? Tomazinho has written and published several
books which bring credit to himself; but the book he has prevented from seeing
the light of the day is being used to discredit the GKA. And Tomazinho himself
is one of the stone-pelters! And if I were to write about his own books, would
I not be straying far away from the subject of this thread?!
<< He talks of a Monograph of M. Boyer, a book of C. D'Silva and a CD of a
project which, according to him, was left on the table of the President of GKA.
What relevance this has got to the adverse impact of OLA on Konkani in Roman
script? He asks me throw some light on them. Mr. Borges, as I have stated
earlier, you are a very important member of GKA. What prevents you to throw
some light on all these 'issues'? >>
I am not aware of the games people played in the GKA prior to 2005. But I am
writing in the light of my experience since my nomination and formal induction
there in 2006. The monograph on M. Boyer as well as the Rs 60K project on
Mando (with 30K as advance) was assigned to Michael Gracias before my
induction; hence I was not aware of them. I came to know about the monograph
first time on 11/09/2007 when Michael bitterly complained about the treatment
he received at the hands of GKA, during the anniversary function of JIVIT. I
wrote to GKA about it saying that such a thing should not have occurred and
steps should be taken to see that this is not repeated, that the GKA should
apologise to Michael if such a thing had actually happened or demand an apology
from him for publicly sullying the good name of GKA, if what he said was false.
When I personally went to GKA, I was shown the documents which vouchsafe for
the truth that the manuscript was not
rejected as claimed but he was asked to make certain changes and additions,
befitting a monograph, by the EDITORIAL COMMITTEE OF WHICH TOMAZINHO WAS AN
IMPORTANT MEMBER. (He had declined to look at any Devanagari script book, and
hence went through every Roman script book.) The recommendation of the
Editorial Committee was UNANIMOUS. [It was during this visit that I also
stumbled upon Michael Gracias' application for assistance to publish five books
under Poilo Chonvor scheme, in spite of his having publicly vowed to boycott
the Akademi!] The most surprising part is that Tomazinho, in spite of knowing
the truth, did nothing to clarify the position from the same dais which he
occupied. Neither did he do this two months later, when M.Boyer's biography
was published at Kala Akademi. Here too he was on the dais. When he was
confronted with this at the subsequent meeting of the GKA Executive, he said
that that he did clarify the matter at the Kala
Akademi function. The truth is that Michael's grouse was published by the
newspapers the next day but not Tomazinho's clarification, assuming he did make
one.
The question of the mando CD came up during the meetings of the GKA Executive.
The fact about the CD being left on the President's table was also reported
during the meeting. [Tomazinho now feigns ignorance of this fact!] Also that
it contained only three pages of typed matter. TOMAZINHO CONTACTED MICHAEL ON
HIS CELL-PHONE THEN AND THERE and conveyed what Michael had said. (We also
heard his side of the conversation.) Michael told him that everything is there
in the CD. It was presumed that perhaps the file is password-protected. So
Tomazinho requested Michael to come to the Akademi and help open the file. He
never showed up. It was later also found that THERE IS NO OTHER FILE on the
CD! Tomazinho has been an intermediary in this matter all along.
One day Fausto Da Costa asked me, "Prosorbab, C. D'Silva-ge bukacher Goa
Konknni Akademint konn tori boison asa fuim. Tum bi nhu mure? " (Prossorbab, I
am given to understand that someone is sitting on C. D'Silva's book at Goa
Konkani Akademi. Is it you!?) Then he explained the matter to me, at length.
In short, "C. D'Silva had given a manuscript of his tiatr for publication to
GKA. But there is no sign of it for more than a year. Therefore, he feels
that someone there is blocking its publication. And some people suspect you. "
This was news to me. The matter had never come up for discussion at any of
the GKA meetings I had attended. So I made enquiries. I was told that there
is a manuscript and Tomazinhobab is looking after it. More than a month later,
when Agnel de Borim (another member of GKA) mentioned that this was the subject
of discussion in tiatrist circles, I asked Tomazinho about it. And this is
what he said. "There is one page
missing in the manuscript. I asked C. D'Silva to supply the missing page or
help rewrite it. He is asking ME to do that! How can I complete HIS tiatr? "
So this is the situation. Romi writers, especially tiatrists have no time to
spare even for the publication of their own works. As is well-known, a tiatr
manuscript has its use only during the season when it is being staged. After
that it is discarded. Such mss have been collected and submitted to GKA for
publication, just to give the impression that there is so much material in
Roman script awaiting publication. C. D'Silva's mss must have lost the missing
page when it was in active use during rehearsals. Obviously, since he had no
time or interest to read it before handing it over to GKA, the flaw was not
detected.
I have also referred to Mario Menezes' tiatr which, Mario was told, was
"rejected by GKA because of faulty grammar. " Martin Minino Fernandes, another
member of the Editorial Committee, claims that no manuscript was ever rejected.
Therefore, no such resolution was passed by that Committee. Hence, the
question of the GKA office sending Mario a letter to this effect just does not
arise. Then who conveyed this "information" to Mario? Tomazinho himself?
Whoever it might be, but it was the GKA which was defamed on that occasion too.
And Tomazinho, as is his vont, did not lift a finger by way of explanation.
Therefore, who were the culprits and who was being blamed? Nobody would
believe that these are the deeds of Tomazinho; because he is projected as the
protector and propagator of Roman script, eager to ensure that people who read
and write in Roman script "live with dignity and honour"! And the blame was
placed at the door of GKA and S. M. Borges, the venom-spitting snake!
One notices a clear pattern in the above incidents. False charges are made
against the Goa Konkani Akademi, the INSTITUTION (not against any individual
office-bearer). The charges are made by persons closely associated with
Tomazinho Cardozo. They are made publicly, repeatedly and in the very presence
of Tomazinho. The latter, in spite of being a member of the Governing Council
of the Akademi and of its Editorial Committee, never steps forward to clarify
(assuming there is a misunderstanding) even when he is directly in the know of
the truth. Would it be too far-fetched to infer that the charges are made
under the direction and tutelage of Tomazinho? Let the reader judge. Is this
also an impact of OLA? Or are these attempts to rescue an endangered language?
Another question arises here: In order to ensure that they "live with dignity
and honour, " if such despicable games are played by these honourable people
post-2005, which period they claim as the "golden" one for Roman script as far
as the GKA is concerned, what might they have not done in the earlier years?
<< I hope Mr. Borges will focus his writings only towards the issue in question
in future. >>
It is Tomazinho who strays from the path; I only follow his tracks.
<< Mr. Borges states that the demand for equal status to Roman script along
with Devnagori script is stupid. According to him it will end in making Marathi
also the Official Language of Goa. This is yet another myth of Mr. Borges. >>
Have we forgotten what happened when the matter came up on the floor of the
House the last time. Manohar Parrikar said, "We shall fulfill the demands of
BOTH the Dalgado Konknni Adkademi and the MRPS. " Now the only demand of MRPS,
as its name Marathi Rajbhasha Prasthapan Samiti itself says, is the
installation of Marathi as the Official Language of Goa. On hearing this, some
NRGs had exclaimed, "Why Marathi? " Tomazinho is no novice. He very well
knows what a Legislative Assembly is. Once an Act is opened for amendment,
anything can happen which has the support of the majority of members present
and voting. We have seen this in the case of revision of the pension of MLAs;
Goan taxpayers were saved on that occasion by the Governor who sent the Bill
back! What is the arithmetic of the present assembly? The Congress does not
even have a majority on its own; it needs the support of independents and MGP
which is definitely for Marathi.
<<. If one analyses the usage of Marathi and Konkani in Devnagori script in
Goa one finds that use of Marathi is far ahead of Konkani in Devnagori script……
For example there are about 8 dailies in Marathi with a total circulation of
more than one lakh readers ….. >>
This is the legacy of our post-Liberation history. The MGP Government opened
Primary schools in Marathi in every village, especially in the hinterland
talukas. Marathi later became the MEDIUM OF INSTRUCTION upto the SSC level in
many schools there. Therefore, in the course of time the only language that
literate persons, especially Hindu, knew was Marathi. And they read Marathi
newspapers; their obituaries too appear only there – hence the demand for them.
Policemen and lower level government officials use only Marathi in their
day-to-day work because this is the only language they have studied and are
adept at. And THIS SITUATION EXISTED EVEN BEFORE the OLA. On the other hand,
coastal talukas had a surfeit of English medium schools. And the MEDIUM OF
INSTRUCTION in the High schools was English. Barring a few, Catholic children
in these talukas only got a smattering of English, even if they completed their
SSC. They read English papers –
hence, the demand for them and the publication of their obituaries. This
accounts for the four English papers published from Goa. Konkani has never
been the MEDIUM OF INSTRUCTION even at the Middle school level.
<< Anti – Roman script deeds of Mr. Borges and his likes have already
intentionally allowed the Marathi language not only be on par with Konkani but
helped it to grow faster than Konkani.>>
I invite Tomazinho to list at least some of the anti-Roman script deeds of
Borges, irrespective of whether they benefited Marathi to grow faster or not.
The list may be too long. In which case, he could start with the worst deeds.
<< Mr. Borges and his likes support these happenings because they are
benefited through both – Konkani in Devnagori script as well as Marathi
language. >>
I invite Tomazinho to give details of how Borges has benefited in any way from
Konkani / Marathi language. I hereby declare that I have spent more from my
pocket than what I have received from all sources.
<< The demand for equal status for Konkani in Roman script has nothing to do
with the language. The language issue has been settled in 1987. The issue
relates to the specific area of the script only. This issue would have not come
up at all if dishonest leaders of language agitation did not fraudulently
include the definition of Konkani language as "Konkani means Konkani written in
Devnagori script" in the OLA in 1987. >>
As explained above, you don't open an Act for piecemeal amendment of a specific
sentence or section; THE ENTIRE ACT IS OPEN FOR AMENDMENT. Once opened, any
member can table an amendment to any section and IT WILL BE CARRIED IF IT GETS
THE MAJORITY.
This accusation of "fraudulent insertion" by "dishonest leaders" has gone far
too long. I invite Tomazinho to name the "dishonest leaders" and their modus
operandi, the manner in which they accomplished the task. He has been not only
a legislator but also the Speaker. He has been a member of the Congress Party
which got the OLA passed. At the relevant time, Goa had a single-party
government, not a coalition like the present one. The Congress Legislature
Party had a majority, albeit feeble, on its own; it did not need outside
support to stay afloat, but could not afford any dissention either. But the
OLA itself was passed courtesy Rajiv Gandhi who had sent two powerful Observers
to keep the Congress MLAs in check, lest they revolt and vote for Marathi; the
more than deserving place bestowed on Marathi was a sop to placate them. The
Bill was drafted and piloted by the then Congress Government of Pratapsing
Rane. The Congress Legislature Party had
several lawyers among them. Therefore, which "dishonest leaders" of the
Congress party is Tomazinho talking about? Could we have a clear-cut,
unambiguous answer to this question?
<< Why is Mr. Borges not prepared to put an application for the required
information under RTI? If he drafts his letter PROPERLY he is bound to get the
following information ….. >>
So the question which I had suggested will not elicit the desired information!
The application, it now turns, has to be PROPERLY drafted. I do not know
whether the details that he needs now were provided by the recruits in their
application or were recorded during their interview. I also do not know
whether all this is really considered when appointing a person in Government
service. I do know, however, that what matters is the "consideration" passed
on to the respective Minister / MLA by the "selected" candidate. In BJP rule,
the colour of one’s name also mattered! Therefore, if the information obtained
is not as per his desire, he could always fault the drafting. Would it not be
better if he himself drafts the Application? I shall submit it to only one
Department, to start with; if I send it to all the Departments I might be
hauled up in Court for bringing the Administration to a halt by sending a
deluge of frivolous RTI applications. I
trust Tomazinho will oblige with a PROPER draft.
<< He has also given many names of writers and he wants me to tell whether they
are supporters of Konkani in Devnagori script or supporters of Konkani in Roman
script. >>
Although Tomazinho gives the impression that he has read even the marginal
information like the time of posting, it appears he has not read the contents
attentively. He had said, "There are various schemes of the government. If ONE
ANALYZES THE LIST OF BENEFICIARIES, one come across the same formula - over 90%
are supporters of either Konkani in Devnagori script or Marathi. " And to
test his acumen, I had given a list of 30 NAMES which he was asked to sort out
into the three categories. I had not said that they are names of writers, nor
that they are contained in a list of beneficiaries of a scheme for writers.
But, just because there are writers bearing most (not all) of those names, he
assumes that they are all writers. Are the respective writers the only ones
bearing those names in Goa? In fact, sometimes you find more than one WRITER
bearing the same name. For instance, I am told that there are three with the
name Datta Naik. I have met only
one of them. Another I clashed with on RASHTRMAT when he wrote some
articles (in Konkani) on a topic involving Astronomy and Geology. I had
countered him with quotations from Marathi MAHABHARATA as well. He happened to
meet Dr. Harishchandra Nagvekar and commented that he suspects that "someone
from amongst us" (presumably Hindu) was feeding me that information. And Dr.
Nagvekar, who knows me well, disabused him of that feeling. I think the third
Datta Naik is the one who has written some novels. So, to my mind, just the
name is not enough to pinpoint a person. Now, to make it easier for him, I
shall add a middle name to each of the names I had provided: 1. Shivdas
Gajanan Naik, 2. Pratap Carvalho Naik, 3. Lamberto Nicolau Cardozo, 4.
Guadalupe Irene Dias, 5. Tarkeshwar Chandrakant Naik, 6. Nakesh Rama Borkar,
7. Dilip Uday Borcar, 8. Bertha Maria Menezes, 9. Jorge Santana Menezes, 10.
Hema Tukaram Nayak, 11. Jaywant Prabhakar
Sardessai, 12. Martin Jose Fernandes, 13. Fernando Raimundo do Rego, 14.
Romeo Ladislau Almeida, 15. Prabhakar Ashok Tendulker, 16. Bhikaji Yeshwant
Ghanekar, 17. Ramakrishna Shrikrishna Zuwarkar, 18. Prita Bomi Naik, 19.
Maria Piedade Couto, 20. Chandralekha Anil D'Souza, 21. Yusuf Mohammed Xek,
22. Daniel Francisco D'Sousa, 23. Premanand Sonu Lotliker, 24. Agnelo Joao
Fernandes, 25. Teotonio Severino Costa, 26. Caetano Milagres D'Silva, 27.
Fatima Pricilla Mascarenhas, 28. Digambar Vaikunth Kamat, 29. Ramnath Vasant
Naik, 30. Ashok Shivaji Chodankar.
As a further simplification, let him assume that these names are contained in
the list of beneficiaries under the Dayanand Niradhar Yojna. Let Tomazinho use
his expertise and give us the results: the category to which each of the above
names belongs and why. I wish him luck.
Sotachench zoit zatolem.
Mog asum.
Sebastian Borges
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