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From: HERALD EDITORIAL 14 DEC 2004 Where is the famous Goan pride? Where is the famous Goan honour regarding its language Konkani? Konkani is our state language but are we Goans proud of it? Then why is it not being displayed on street signs, hoardings and above all used during various national festivals that this state hosts? Where is the pride and how come no one is fighting for it now? What has happened to all those stormy petrels who fought so assiduously in the 1990’ s? Where are their thoughts now, have they gone astray? It has been a good ten years, since the state and its people fought on the Konkani issue. The then Congress government made Konkani the official language but a walk around any market in Mapusa, Panjim and Margao and one will see English displayed on most street signs. Today it is more fashionable to speak English and any other foreign language but not the state language. What has happened and why are we Goans ignoring our state language and so blasé about it. Every state has its own news bulletin in their own state language and set of programmes in the state language catering to the local people. But in Goa, a different set of rules apply. We may have the Dordarshan Kendra but no news bulletin in Konkani. It is read out in Marathi from Mumbai. Why this step-motherly treatment to Konkani? What is the use of trying to set up a film culture in the state when the news bulletin, which is meant for the common man, cannot be read out in the state language? Yes, where is the Goan pride towards its own language? Where is the government and the people support for the language? The irony of the situation, we screen a Konkani movie at the recently concluded International Film Festival. No doubt it is a matter of pride but the irony the director is from Bangalore. Are their no Goan directors who can make the state proud? Even our mando festivals, which is the bedrock of Goan culture and language, is struggling for wont of funds from the government. It is upto the Goan people to fight and to show pride in their language. Every state in India – be it Punjab, Bengal, Orrissa and even tiny Meghalaya – is proud of their state language. We, Goans, too should show some pride and fight to see that Konkani is used predominantly at all international festivals and irrespective of the cause we should not let our thoughts stray from this issue.
