There is consistent demand from the Catholic community to request Sahitya Academy to consider books published in Romi Konkani script for the awards. Similarly, the Catholic community is demanding that Romi Konkani be accorded the status of official language of Goa on par with Devnagri.
The Catholic community has sentimental attachment with Romi script. All their religious transactions are in Romi script. The manuscript of Tiatr is written in Romi script. Periodicals such as Gulab and Vavraddeancho Ixtt are published regularly. The circulation of these periodicals is much higher than those published in Devnagri. The Catholic community feels kept out of the Goa’s Cultural Scene.
Akhil Bharatiya Konkani Parishad which was established way back in 1939, gave the slogan, ‘one language, one script’ for Konkani movement. The slogan might have been needed when the very existence of Konkani language was in danger. But today, it is irrelevant and outdated at times. Diversity of scripts will only enhance the language and permit the language to flower and add to our plurality. Time has come when we should embrace all the scripts of Konkani including Romi, Kannada and Malayalam.
The frontal organisations of Konkani movements such as Akhil Bharatiya Konkani Parishad and Konkani Bhasha Mandal should formally write to Sahitya Academy to consider books published in Romi, Kannada and Malyalam while choosing Sahitya Academy Award.
The Konkani stalwarts have gone to the extent of branding the Catholic community as anti-nationals by quoting out of context the thoughts of TB Cunha expressed in Denationalisation of Goa. It was none other than Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose who had demanded that all Indian languages should be written in Romi script. Can anyone dare to brand Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose as anti-national? Mustafa Atatürk Kemal Pasha accepted the Roman script by abandoning Arabian script for Turkish language. Chakravarti Rajagopalachari could not digest Mahatma Gandhiji’s opposition to English language. He told Mahatma Gandhi “Mahatmaji, English language is also daughter of Goddess Saraswati.”
Indian culture is not singular, it is plural. Foreigners used to refer India as ‘Indias’ and not ‘India’. Diversity is the strength of Indian culture. We should denounce any efforts that destroys our diversity. A particular political party tries to build a narrative “ one nation, one religion, one language, one colour” which is not acceptable to the liberals in this country.
A section of Hindu community feels that Marathi should also be given the status of official language of Goa. Marathi’s contribution especially in pre-liberation period of Goan history is immense. Marathi was like an umbilical cord through which Hindu society in pre-liberation sucked values such as patriotism and progressive principles. There is no harm if official language is amended to include Romi script of Konkani along with Marathi and Devnagri Konkani
We cannot afford to divide the Goan community when the very existence of Goa is at stake. We have refused to merge in Maharashtra but we have failed to stop the process of merger of Goa in rest of the country. Once Bijapur and Lisbon were ruling Goa. Today Delhi’s elite are ruling Goa.
There is two-fold migration which is going to change the very demographical profile of Goa. On one side, well educated Goans from all sections of Goan society are migrating to rest of India or abroad in search of employment and on the other hand unskilled, illiterate non Goans are settling in Goa. In near future, Goans will be minority community in Goa.
In the epic Mahabharata, Krishna and Arjun burnt down the ‘Khandavvan’ forest to build new capital ‘Indraprastha’.
Well know Goan Architect Padma Vibhushan had prepared the Regional Plan for Goa in which he had included the fields, orchards, khazans, mountains and forests in Eco sensitive zones and had banned its conversion for residential and industrial purpose. Then Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar for reasons known to himself kept this Regional Plan in a Cold Storage.
Thereafter BJP regimes amended Town and Country Planning Act by inserting section 16 B, section 17(2) and section 39 A wherein lands in Eco Sensitive zones can be converted overnight for residential and Industrial use. This will be a death nail to Goa’s landscape. Part of Goa starting from Porvorim, Panjim, Verna, Margao, Ponda and coastal areas will be fully urbanised in next 50 years.
After every election, MLAs from urban areas are changing the ODPs (Outward Development Plans) of the cities and increasing FARs of Urban areas which are already affected by ‘urban polio’
Due to high rise in labour wages, fields are not being cultivated. There is provision in Tenancy Act that Government could acquire fallow lands if landlords which became the owners of fields after Tenancy Law do not cultivate the lands. No Government has exercised political will to acquire these lands and entrusted these fallow lands to agricultural department to cultivate.
Both Congress and BJP have failed to safeguard the interest of Goa and Goans. United Goan’s Party, Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party and recent Goa Forward Party has failed to exercise escape velocity to go to the next orbit. Today Goa needs a progressive Bahujan Samajwadi regional party similar to DMK and AIADMK.
Let us bury all the differences of scripts and languages and concentrate our energy to solve the socio economical problems of Goa. A new narrative has to be built to maintain the demographic profile of Goan population, landscape of Goan lands.
We cannot afford language fundamentalism as much as we cannot afford religious fundamentalism. We need to build up forward looking, progressive, all-inclusive narrative in the overall interest of Goa.
(The author is a Businessman, Social Activist & Konkani Writer)