Sir, Kindly give publicity to the following press note. thanking you, Marcel M D'Souza Convenor, Ad hoc Sutke Samithi, Mangalore. 9448627490 GENESIS, Ist Main, 4th Cross, Subhasnagar, Pandeshwar, MANGALORE - 575 001
PRESS NOTE History has been cruel to the Konkani people. For reasons as varied as natural calamities, political oppression and cultural suppression, Konkanis have had to suffer many a migration, settling in various regions of the west coast of India. Through centuries, the language came to acquire many more varieties than an average Indian language, with regard to the number of dialects, scripts, customs and traditions. This variety has made Konkani beautiful and unique. While the time-tested and successful mantra of India’s unity – namely – ‘unity in diversity’ should have been also Konkani’s mantra for unity, a small minority of Konkanis have defeated all efforts towards unity, by attempting to thrust their lipi variety on all others and in the bargain have tried to destroy all other varieties that exist. They have, time and again, declared that the Devnagari Lipi is the only true lipi for Konkani and that unity among Konkanis can be achieved only if everyone gave-up their lipi and adopted the Devnagari lipi. In pursuance of this fascist policy – they have established the All India Konkani Parishad and made it an exclusive club of ‘Devnagari Wadis’; they have taken over the Konkani Advisory Board of the Kendr Sahitya Akademi and have ensured that Konkani literature only in the Devnagari lipi is given the Sahitya Akademi Awards; mischievously, added the clause ‘as written in Devnagari’ in the Language Act of Goa; have unsuccessfully, tried to confuse the Govt. of Karnataka while introducing Konkani in the school curriculum, in Karnataka; above all, in the name of unity, have succeeded in dividing the Konkanis through their ‘script politics’ and have done irreparable damage to Konkani literature. The eminent Konkani Litterateur Shri Edwin J. F. D’souza, who is one of the 2 General Council members for Konkani at the Sahitya Akademi, has now taken-up the issue of the wrong policy that the Akademi has been practising – namely giving awards to a script and not to the language – at the highest level and the matter has now been referred to the ‘Language Development Board of India’ for resolution. We are hopeful that, at long last, justice will be done. An Ad-hoc Committee consisting of Konkani litterateurs/activists has been formed to pursue this issue. The Ad-hoc Committee has convened a Convention called ‘Suttke Samaavesh’ (Liberation Convention) to discuss this grave issue and chalk-out a plan of action to liberate Konkani from such damaging policies. The Convention will be held on Sunday, May 23, 2010, at St. Aloysius College Auditorium, from 10am to 4 pm. Delegates from Goa, Mumbai, Bangalore, Mysore, Kerela and from coastal Karnataka will be participating. ‘Unity in Diversity’ will be the motto of the Convention – as against the ‘one script’ politics that has ruled Konkani all these years.
