Dears,
The Goa Education Act,1986 and Rules thereunder pre-date the Official
Language Act,1987. According to the learned Adv. Uday Bhembre,[ who was a
MLA when the Bill to create the said Act was passed by the Goa,Daman & Diu
Legislative Assembly in February, 1987] the OLA made under Article 343 of
the Indian Constitution has no bearing on the Recruitment policy of the
state governed under Article 309. He is emphatic about education,
employment and culure/religion NOT being linked to OLA, 1987.
*Has the Official Language Act any bearing upon the Education Policy of the
government? No. The
two are independent of one another. Education policy is based on pedagogical
principles and other principles and not on the Official Language Act.
*Knowledge of Konkani is made essential by the Government of Goa for
recruitment of employees of certain categories. Is this rule made under the
Official Language Act? Has any Goan suffered any disadvantage or
discrimination? No. That rule is
not made under the Official Language Act. Article 309 of the Constitution
gives powers to the government of a State to make rules regarding
recruitment. Knowledge of Konkani is made essential through a rule made by
acting under Article 309.
*Is the Official Language Act applicable to the use of Konkani outside the
sphere of governance or ‘official purposes’? No. The Act
applies only to the official purposes. It does not apply to religious,
literary, cultural or commercial fields.
So is everyone in Goa MAD to be fighting over this script or that ???????
Is Adv. Uday Bhembre's shishya, the Education Minister of Goa, going to ask
his Education Department to "revise its policy" and bring it on par with
that of the Kala Academy [KA] and the Goa Konkani Akadei [GKA] to give
grants-in-aid to Primary Schools should they shift to KONKANI medium in
ROMAN SCRIPT from the next Academic semester/term or Academic year, as the
case may be as possible and done according to the Answers of Adv. Uday
Bhembre reproduced below???
Did writers in Konkani in Roman script suffer any disability after the
Official Language Act was enacted?
Yes. Kala Academy interpreted the law to mean that the government
recognized Konkani only in Devanagari script. Therefore, books in Roman
script were not considered for awards which Kala Academy gives. Goa Konkani
Akademi too interpreted the law in the same manner and its schemes for
assisting writers and publishers of books were restricted to books in
Devanagari script only.
Does that disability continue?
No. Kala Academy has revised its policy and the books published in Roman
script are eligible for awards. Some months back the Goa Legislative
Assembly passed a resolution to encourage writers in Roman script. As
follow-up action the government issued instructions to Goa Konkani Akademi
which has made all its schemes and programmes applicable to writings in
Roman script. Writers and publishers in both scripts can now avail of the
same opportunities and benefits.
Mhojea nakkantli nhoti ghe re, Saiba.
Mhaka naka gho. MHAKA NAK GHO !!!!!!!
Viva Goa.
Miguel
N.B.
The article below by Adv. Uday Bhembre, former Independent MLA from Margao,
member of the Goa Konkani Akademi and current Chairman of the Congres
"Vichar Vibhag" was published on the front page of the Navhind Times
PANAORAMA on Sunday, 13 August, 2006. Only the sequence of the 'Question &
Answer' has been changed, not a single word has been changed in the text
below downloaded from www.navhindtimes.com
Disunity in Diversity
by Uday Bhembre
I have observed these days that a number of people who comment on the script
issue miss the point and in the bargain the discussion gets derailed. Some
mistakenly believe that there is opposition to the use of Roman script for
Konkani while some others display wrong notions about the Official Language
Act, its object and the sphere of its operation. I felt awareness and proper
understanding of basic facts will help healthy discussion which is so very
necessary in a democracy. I have, therefore, formulated 20 questions and
tried to provide their answers, most of which are facts. Answers to a few
questions are, of course, my opinions which are shared by many of my Hindu
and Catholic friends in the Konkani movement.
What is an Official Language Act?
It is a law that declares one or more languages to be used for official
purposes. ‘Official purposes’ mean purposes relating to governance. Article
343 of the Constitution declares that Hindi is the official language of the
Union. Article 343 empowers the States and Union Territories to enact laws
to adopt a language or more languages for official purposes.
Has the Official Language Act, 1987 come into force?
Unlike the Mundkar Act, Agricultural Tenancy Act and similar Acts, an
Official Language Act does not come into force at once. This is so because
the language to be used for official purposes cannot be changed overnight.
It has to be introduced in stages after due preparation. The Act provides
for notifications to be issued from time to time for use of the Official
Language for specific purposes.
Has any notification been so far issued under the Official Language Act,
1987?
Yes. Two notifications have been issued so far. They are to the effect that
if one writes a letter to the government in Konkani, it will be replied to
in Konkani; similarly, if one writes to the government in Marathi it will be
replied to in Marathi. Beyond these two notifications the Official Language
Act, 1987 has not been implemented in any manner.
What benefit have the people received under the Official Language Act, 1987?
None at all. The aforementioned notifications are not of much consequence.
As there is no implementation of the Act in any other manner no citizen has
received any benefit under the Act.
Is the Official Language Act applicable to the use of Konkani outside the
sphere of governance or ‘official purposes’?
No. The Act applies only to the official purposes. It does not apply to
religious, literary, cultural or commercial fields. In these and other
non-official fields people are free to use any language and any script they
want. For example, one can write and publish a book in Chinese. One is free
to run a school to teach Portuguese, French, etc. One is free to use Roman
script in whatever way one wants.
Has the Official Language Act any bearing upon the Education Policy of the
government?
No. The two are independent of one another. Education policy is based on
pedagogical principles and other principles and not on the Official Language
Act. Some States like Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, etc, have made the
teaching of the Official Language as a subject compulsory in schools. There
is no such rule in the State of Goa.
Knowledge of Konkani is made essential by the Government of Goa for
recruitment of employees of certain categories. Is this rule made under the
Official Language Act? Has any Goan suffered any disadvantage or
discrimination?
No. That rule is not made under the Official Language Act. Article 309 of
the Constitution gives powers to the government of a State to make rules
regarding recruitment. Knowledge of Konkani is made essential through a rule
made by acting under Article 309. There is not a single case of any Goan
having suffered in this matter on account of the script.
Is the government precluded from using other languages or Roman script for
Konkani?
No. The Government of Goa publishes invitations in four languages. It uses
Roman script for Konkani in some of its publicity material. The recent
example is a brochure published by the education ministry where the slogan
is printed in Konkani in Roman script. The Official Language Act does not
prohibit such use.
Are the prospects of Roman script for Konkani adversely affected by the
Official Language Act, 1987?
As stated earlier, the Official Language Act, 1987 has not been implemented.
Secondly, it has no applicability outside the sphere of governance.
Therefore, the use of Roman script for Konkani is not affected in any
manner. It is used without any break or impediment for religious purposes;
for writing or publishing books; for publishing journals or periodicals, for
writing tiatros and songs, etc.
Was Konkani in Roman script neglected by the institutions of the government
like Kala Academy and Goa Konkani Akademi because of the Official Language
Act?
No. Except for the schemes pertaining to books as explained herein below,
all programmes and schemes continued. For example, Kala Academy continued to
hold Tiatr Festivals; to celebrate Tiatr Day and to felicitate Tiatrists; to
organize workshops for Tiatr-writers and artistes, etc. Goa Konkani Akademi
published compilations of written texts of tiatros in Roman script to
commemorate hundred years of Tiatr, organized tiatr-writing competition and
gave prizes; included tiatr shows in its drama festival, etc.
Did writers in Konkani in Roman script suffer any disability after the
Official Language Act was enacted?
Yes. Kala Academy interpreted the law to mean that the government recognized
Konkani only in Devanagari script. Therefore, books in Roman script were not
considered for awards which Kala Academy gives. Goa Konkani Akademi too
interpreted the law in the same manner and its schemes for assisting writers
and publishers of books were restricted to books in Devanagari script only.
Does that disability continue?
No. Kala Academy has revised its policy and the books published in Roman
script are eligible for awards. Some months back the Goa Legislative
Assembly passed a resolution to encourage writers in Roman script. As
follow-up action the government issued instructions to Goa Konkani Akademi
which has made all its schemes and programmes applicable to writings in
Roman script. Writers and publishers in both scripts can now avail of the
same opportunities and benefits.
Is it true that books published in Roman script are not eligible for Sahitya
Akademi Award?
Yes. The reasons are: Sahitya Akademi has recognized 28 languages. As a
matter of policy it accepts only one script for each language even if a few
languages are written in two or more scripts. As regards Konkani Sahitya
Akademi referred the issue of script to the Konkani Advisory Board in 1981.
The unanimous recommendation of the Board that Devanagari be used for
Konkani was accepted by the Sahitya Akademi and it has been executing its
programmes for Konkani in that script. Late Fr Antonio Pereira of Goa, late
V J P Saldanha of Mangalore, Mr N Purshottam Mallya of Kerala and Fr Willie
D’Silva from Karnataka were members of the Advisory Board.
Are not Konkani writers who write in Roman script at a disadvantage as
regards Sahitya Akademi Awards?
In 1981, the Konkani Advisory Board posed a similar question to the office
of the Sahitya Akademi not only regarding Roman script, but also about
Kannada and Malayalam script in which Konkani is written in Southern States.
In answer, they suggested that either the book be transliterated into
Devanagari or it may be printed in two scripts one of which is Devanagari.
Following this suggestion three Konkani writers writing in Kannnada script
have received Sahitya Akademi Awards. Shri C F D’Costa’s book was
transliterated. Shri J B Moraes and Shri J B Sequeira published their
collections of poems in Devanagari and Kannada. Goa Konkani Akademi has a
scheme for giving financial assistance for such transliteration from one
script into another.
What will be the effect if Roman script is included in the Official Language
Act in addition to Devanagari?
If the Official Language Act remains unimplemented, as it has remained for
the last more than 19 years, the inclusion will be ineffective and
fruitless. If the law is implemented, the government will have to use both
the scripts wherever the use of Konkani is prescribed. Spheres outside the
limits of governance will remain unaffected and the Official Language Act
will have no bearing upon them to give any special benefit to Konkani
written in Roman script.
Is there opposition to the use of Roman script for Konkani?
No, not at all. Nobody has said or even suggested that the use of Roman
script be banned or stopped. It should continue as long as people want it to
continue. Writers, publishers, journalists should be encouraged irrespective
of the script. Some of the writers/journalists who are accustomed to write
in Devanagari script also write in Roman script and similarly some of those
who are accustomed to write in Roman script also write in Devanagari script.
The ability to write in both scripts is an asset and such writers get wider
readership.
When did Goa’s Official Language Act come into existence?
The Legislative Assembly of the union territory of Goa, Daman and Diu passed
the Official Language Bill on 4th February, 1987. This Bill received assent
of the Governor on 14th April 1987 and became an Act, namely, Official
Language Act, 1987.
What is the position of Konkani in the Official Language Act, 1987?
As per the Act, Konkani is the official language of Goa. The term ‘Konkani’
is defined as ‘Konkani written in Devanagari script’.
Has Goa’s Official Language Act, 1987 failed?
As already stated above, beyond two inconsequential notifications the
Official Language Act, 1987 has not been implemented at all over the last 19
years. It will be, therefore, wrong to pass any judgment about its success
or failure unless it is put into operation properly after due preparation.
Is it necessary to mention script of a language in the Official Language
Act?
Yes. It is necessary to bring certainty in the provisions of the law. Even
in Article 343 of the Constitution the words used are ‘Hindi in Devanagari
script’. Invariably the Official Language Acts in our country mention the
script even where only one script is in use. In the Official Language Act of
the Delhi National Capital Territory three Indian languages are mentioned
and their scripts are specified. They are: Hindi in Devanagari script,
Punjabi in Gurumukhi script and Urdu in Urdu script. If the script is not
specified for Konkani in Goa, the use of Kannada, Malayalam or Perso-Arabic
script will be legal.
Does any Official Language Act specify two scripts for any language?
No. There is no such instance. The reason may be that it involves
duplication at every stage as if one is using virtually two languages
thereby doubling the work, expenditure, etc, besides causing delay.
Why is inclusion of Roman script in the Official Language Act opposed?
While there is absolutely no opposition to the use of Roman script by
whosoever chooses to use it, inclusion of that script in the Official
Language Act is opposed. There are several reasons for this opposition:
1) The Konkani movement has experienced over the last 100 years that scripts
create divisions and sometimes water-tight compartments. They hamper
communication, impede propagation of literature, slow down the development
of the language and delay its standardization. Therefore, there is a
conscious effort to converge gradually on one script – Devanagari, which is
naturally suited to Konkani. Inclusion of a second script and thereby
perpetuating two scripts in the law will be contrary to these efforts.
2) Education in Konkani in Goa began in 1963. In 1990, the Diocesan Society
of Education took a wise decision to introduce Konkani as a medium of
instruction in their primary schools. All education in Konkani -- from
primary schools to the post-graduate level -- is in Devanagari script. In
another 25-30 years’ time, Konkani writers, teachers, journalists,
playwrights will emerge from these generations.
3) Unfortunately in Goa, scripts relate to different communities. They
create divisions and distances between them. After Goa’s liberation a kind
of cultural integration started. The process is on.
4) In a State like Goa where there is a majority community and minority
communities, isolation or alienation of any kind is detrimental to the unity
and harmony. Cultural integration helps to strengthen communal harmony and
brotherhood. The idea of separate cultural identity is harmful to this
process especially because communal elements are actively working to divide
Goans.
5) Multiplicity of scripts has led to fragmentation of the Konkani-speaking
community. Book-publishing is restricted due to smaller markets. The market
for books/journals in Roman script may be at the most 4,00,000 people. That
for books/journals in Devanagari script may be 9,00,000 or so. And that for
Kannada script may be another 6,00,000 and odd. But with the use of one
script the market gets enlarged. Imagine the impact if ‘Sunaparant’, the
Konkani daily newspaper, is circulated from Mumbai to Kochi! Though with a
steady pace Konkani movement is proceeding in that direction. Perpetuation
of two scripts in the law at this juncture will be a blow to that process.
6) If a beginning is made to amend the Official Language Act, it will be a
precedent for any other government to interfere with that law and to change
it according to its whims and wishes.
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