To begin with, only the law ensures equality to all.
Have these guys lost it. This seems to be an outpouring of frustration and
anger, tapping into the so called anti Bammon feeling. This article works very
hard to create a divide in the Catholic community. Certain sections know the
stalwarts and pillars of Konkani are in the south, what better way to crack
this Konkani Bastion.
To begin with there are no Hindu Bammons, they are Brahmin. Bammon is the term
used for Catholic converts. The Brahmins do not consider Bammons as true
Brahmins but accept them as less or lesser equal. This being a typical goan
phenomenon.
Mahalsa Pai and Timoja Nayak wanted a hindu ruled state or a state aligned
with a hindu King. Nowhere does it state that they or anybody else wished to
turn Goa into a 'Bammon' state.
"During the Portuguese rule from 1510 to 1961, Bamonns of Goa learnt the
Portuguese language and benefited from the Portuguese rule for education,jobs
and other areas of life. " the term Bammon again being a reference to
Catholics. Such statements have always been spouted by those who are violently
anti Catholic. This shows the mindset of the MRA.
"Romi Konknni and Marathi, were the two Indian languages which were popular
in Goa as written languages and used for all spheres of life such as religious,
spiritual, cultural, literature, educational, etc. " this is outright bull.
Konknni has always been the language of Goa. Prior to the arrival of the
portuguese the script used was Modi and Halekannada, this is possible as for
most of its recorded history Goa was ruled by kings based in present day
Karnataka, prior to this the Modi script was prevalent across Large parts of
India. It was only because of the suppression of Konknni by the Portuguese that
the script disappeared. There are ample proofs that the Portuguese torched
stacks of Written knowledge these Tomes were written in Modi and Halekannada
and no mention is made of Marathi. Only after this Konknni Holocaust, that
Marathi was used in religious matters in Goa. If I am not mistaken the Modi
script was far more widely used then Devnagiri.
"The first Marathi inscription written in 1236 is found on a copper plate at
Kasarpal of Bicholim Taluka." Does this imply that the whole of Goa spoke
Marathi? A cross was found in Sancoale which has been dated as Pre Portuguese,
does this mean that the whole of Goa was Christian before the arrival of the
Portuguese?
"Portuguese missionaries were the first one to start the written tradition to
Konknni in 1556. They used the Roman script to write and print Konknni. Since
then, Romi Konknni developed as a written language. Till then Konknni was only
a spoken language and it had no written tradition." On the one hand they
destroy the written records then have so much love for Konknni that they start
a whole new script? What was the need? The only reason being their plan of
conquest. Change the very culture of the converts to pro Portuguese, they did
this by
1) forcing all converts to change their surnames and live separately not in
joint families.
2) forcing the converts to change their attire to a European fashion
3) banning hindu festivals so that catholic converts would not participate in
the same
4) ensuring a different form of worship and different design of homes and
churches
Last but not the least change their script to a European one. Obviously Konknni
was a robust language and the Portuguese realised that to gain complete
supremacy they had to Destroy the language. Why burn the books if they were not
a threat. Konknni being a main uniting force between Hindu and Catholic was
destroyed so as to further separate the people. Without doubt Konknni had its
own script or scripts and was a dynamic and uniting Language.
"All the known scholars and linguists have said that the inscription is in
Marathi. In Tanjavore temple in Tamil Nadu there are plenty of Marathi
inscriptions in the Devanagari script." This only proves that there was a lot
of trade during those days. Land measures till date in Goa are of sumerian
origin. Does this mean that we were ruled by Sumer, or that the sumerian
language was spoken widely in Goa? The Phoenicians, Arabs, Romans traded
extensively in with Goa based merchants and there will be various inscriptions
if one searches, but were their languages widely spoken.
"In 1987 a Konknni dialect (Devanagari Konknni) of approximately 2% of
Goans, namely the Bamonn community, was declared as the Official Language of
Goa through their manipulative methods! " this again is misleading. The 2%
refers to Hindu Saraswat Brahmins. As I mentioned earlier "Bammons" are not
counted as brahmin and therefore counted as Cathloic not Brahmin. I am
in absolute awe, 2% manipulating 98%? These guys should be governing India.
With such brilliance they will soon conquer the world. How did Mahalsa Pai and
Timoja who belonged to the Saraswat community not see through Alphonse de
Albuquerque?
"The Bamonn Community promoted the Devanagari Konknni to have an upper hand
over the Catholic Community and Hindu Bahujan Samaj, which identified with
Marathi" if the Hindu Bahujan Samaj had not supported Konknni, Marathi would
have been the state language and the Goan Catholics would have been eating
grass.
"Though the Bamonn Community widely uses Marathi still, they promoted
Devanagari Konknni and not Marathi because the Marathi used by them and the
Bahujan Samaj is identical and it is influenced by the standard Marathi. The
Bamonn Community knew very well that Marathi will not give them the greater
advantage over the Bahujan Samaj. To suppress, oppress and subdue the Bahujan
Samaj and the Catholic Community, the Devanagari Konknni was created and
vociferously promoted. It was a Machiavellian or Chanakya's conspiracy hatched
by asection of the Bamonn Community to impose their dialect under the garb of
the Devanagari script as the standard language over the rest of the Goans!"
This is convoluted hog wash. What sense does it make? Why go through this
Machiavellian or Chankya Charade. If my community uses Marathi widely, i will
use all my guile to promote Marathi and we would anyway control the whole of
Goa through control of the Language. What sense does it make to create a new
script, promote it and make sure it is the state language to gain control when
I can do the same thing without raising a sweat. Today can any group suppress,
oppress and subdue anybody. Only the politicians and police who do not know
which caste, class or nationality they belong to.
To close
Konknni is the language of unity. The Marathi Rajbhasha Andolan (MRA) has from
day one pushed Marathi with only one aim. Keep Goa divided on Religious lines.
This will benefit them in two ways. One a quite merger with Maharashtra once
Marathi becomes a state language, and two have a hindu vote bank. They have no
love for Goa and most are those who migrated and held on to their language and
seem to be suffering from some insecurity issues.
Politics makes strange bedfellows, but in this case it is a marriage blessed in
Bedlam. The Romi Konknni Andolon (RKA), seem to have lost their sense of
direction. To have teamed up with a group that is opposed to a united Goa, has
been anti Catholic from the start, is a completely political body masquerading
as an Andolan, and hell bent on destroying Goa is nothing short of stunning.
This new strategy of the MRA has been planned and put into effect by non other
then Brahmins, thats why they have never mentioned the word as it would be
insulting. This plan is to divide the people of South Goa along Caste lines and
divide the Catholic community. It is now upto the people of Goa to tread
cautiously, be wise and not fall into such traps and Machiavellian or Chnakya
Devious schemes.
I would request all my goan brothers and sisters to remember we are one people,
one in thought, one in deed and one in Language and attitude. We are peace
loving, sensible, trust in God, and are content with the blessings God has
given us. Lead us forge ahead unitedly. Konknni is the Language of our state
and as a language can be written a myriad scripts, it is no problem having Romi
and Modi as a script. But no addition languages please as this will open the
doors to demands from other people who have migrated to Goa, where will it all
end? Having Konknni with devnagiri script was the most sensible compromise and
we should use it as often as we can.
God bless and keep you all
Cyrus Sanches
Sets me free, my iPad3
The heat is on. Goa is boiling
