Konkani Literature: Caught In Script Whirlpool
By Sri Govinda Raju (Raz Andamani) from ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR
Profile: Member of Sahitya Akademy GENERAL COUNCIL 2008-2012
Email: razandam...@gmail.com
In the last general Council Meeting of Sahitya Akademi, the Academy of
Letters of India, held on February 16, 2010 in New Delhi, Edwin JF
DSouza raised the controversial issue of Konkani Script.
The language was written in five different scripts for historical
reasons; Devanagari, Roman, Kannada, Malayalam and Arabic, whereas
Sahitya Academi recognized only the books written in official Devanagari
script to the exclusion of all other scripts.
The bone of contention was that the books written in scripts other than
Devanagri were not considered for awards by Sahtya Akademi and, on cue,
by other organizations and institutions too. It was a gross injustice to
the writers engaged in literary work in Konkani in scripts other than
Devanagari.
To a pointed question of Edwin DSouza whether Sahtya Akademi recognized
the script or the literature; Sunil Gangopadhyaye, President said in an
unambiguous term “literature!” The argument should have ended there but
Pundalik Narayan Naik, Convener of Konkani Language Advisory Board cited
the Govt of India notifications recognizing the Devanagari script as the
official one and also referred to the previous discussion on the subject
in the General Council of Sahitya Akademi that remained inconclusive.
However, the majority of General Council Members did not approve that
the literature created in the same language but different scripts should
be discriminated against when the bulk of Konkani literature was written
in Kannada and other scripts, according to DSouza.
Dr Harish Narang argued that in the hi-tech age of advanced computer
programmes where, on a click of the mouse the script can be changed from
one script to the other, there was any reason why books written in
scripts other than devanagari should remain out of the purview of
awards; unless it was meant to limit the competition.
After a prolonged discussion, on the suggestion of Sunil Gangopadhyaye,
President, the matter was referred to the Language Development Board of
Sahitya Akademi for an early resolution.
Migration and fragmentation
The arrival of the Portuguese lead to major changes in Konkani. The
conversion of Konkanis to Christianity and the religious policies of the
Portuguese caused a large number of Konkanis to flee to neighboring
territories. The isolation of Hindu and Christian Konkanis added to the
fragmentation of Konkani into multiple dialects.
The language spread to Canara (coastal Karnataka), Kokan-patta (coastal
Konkan division of Maharashtra) and Kerala during the last 500 years due
to migration of Konkanis. Although a few Konkanis may have been present
in the neighboring areas and there may have been migrations due to
economic reasons in the past, the main cause of migration was the
Portuguese control over Goa.
It was spread to these areas by Hindu Konkani and Christian Konkani
speakers in three waves of migration. The first migration occurred
during the early years of Portuguese rule and the Inquisition of 1560s.
The second wave of migration was during the 1571 C.E. war with the
Sultan of Bijapur. The third wave of migration happened during the wars
of 1683-1740 A.D. with the Marathas. While the first wave was of Hindus,
the second and third waves were mainly those of Christians.
These migrant communities grew in relative isolation and each developed
its own dialect. Since these communities had to interact with others in
local languages on a daily basis, Konkani dialects show strong local
influences in terms of script, vocabulary and also style.
Other Konkani communities came into being with their own dialects of
Konkani. The Konkani Muslim communities of Ratnagiri and Bhatkal came
about due to a mixture of intermarriage of Arab seafarers and locals as
well as conversions of Hindus to Islam. Another migrant community that
picked up Konkani was the Siddis who were sailor-warriors from Ethiopia.
Source: http://www.lightofandaman.com/news7.asp
