Respected editor, With due regards,Mr.Richard Cabral has really written a very distinctly studied write up on Konkani Language.It is one of the official languages of BHARAT.As the writer says,this language is very closely associated with Sanskrit.In fact all the Bharatiya state languages regard Sanskrit as the mother language.Besides Sanskrit still exists in all the states of Bharat,in various forms.Sanskrit deserved the status of national language of this great nation Bharat. I was born in Goa,in 1937.My mother tongue definitely being Konkani.But there were no Konkani schools.So I did my Vernacular Final in Marathi.The exams were held in Malavan.Then I had to switch over to English,as s.s.c.exams could not be followed in Marathi.Portuguese were our rulers,so it was compulsory to appear for Premeiro Grau in Portuguese,before one entered the fifth standard of English.Then French was my second language for s.s.c.exams.Hindi was then supposed to be the Rashtra-Bhasha.So I learnt Hindi,up to Kovid of Wardha Hindi Institute. So learning languages is not a problem. The government at the centre,should have gone for a centalised education policy,with Mother-tongue in primary levels,and Sanskrit and English in secondary levels.This would have encouraged the state languages and with Sanskrit at national level,would have eased the National Integration.English naturally acting as International language. As for Konkani,it definitely must have the Devnagari script,rather then Roman or Kannada scripts.As Konkani is linked to Sanskrit,whose script is Deonagari. With best regards, Damodar V.Bale. Mr. Richard Cabral could perhaps give a second thought.
