(The below post is self explanatory and it appears 'devnagari lipi only' was cunningly incorporated by those who write and read marathi and want devnagari for KonkNi..just to pocket the award money, who care if no one is interested??? Definitely not Mangaloreans, who by far are the largest producers of KonkNi literature in Kannada script, even old Goa records were maintained in Goikanadi, so Kannada script can and will claim as the recognized scripts for KonkNi.)
Konkani Liberation Convention (Sotaak jeek meLche vater) 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. This post was by: "Marcel M DSouza, Machcha Milar, President, Writers Forum, Mangalore" Posted on Wed May 19, 2010 4:20 a.m. in mangaloreanCatholics.com Moderator: Ancy D'Souza, Paladka Ancy DSouza <[email protected]>; MD. Message: 8 Date: Sun, 23 May 2010 21:30:02 -0700 (PDT) From: Sebastian Borges <[email protected]> To: GoaNet fred <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [Goanet] Konkani in Devnagiri script will kill Konkani Message-ID: <[email protected]> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 Dear friends, Jerry Fernandes (Mess. #4, Iss. #487) seems to be going around in circles. By (a) Romi Konknni and (b) Devnagari konknni I understand (a) Konkani language WRITTEN in Roman characters and (b) Konkani language WRITTEN in Devnagari characters. But for Jerry these terms stand for Konkani SPOKEN in two different accents, (a) the one he understands and (b) the one that goes over his head! And he says, "Hope you understand." I confess that I cannot understand. In fact, how could anybody understand? I would request him to provide a few sentences in what he calls "Romi Konknni" and some (not necessarily the same) in what he calls "devanagari Konkani." Then perhaps we could make some sense of what he wants to say. Perhaps, like many members of his tribe, he cannot write properly one single sentence in his Romi Konknni using Roman characters. Gratuitously, he provides a few sentences in Hindi, which is certainly beside the point. And I am not, nor was, a professor of the Konkani Language. So he could cut that out too and refer to me simply as 'borges'. I can certainly write him a message in my Saxtti Konknni using Roman characters: "Zannmuga! Kit sangom sodit'tem tem ispoxtt utramni sarkem kompletament buroi. Bextto goddbodd kiteako? Soglem sark buroilea magi amchean teje folladik bhasabhas korum zatoli. Somjil muga?" I hope this has not gone over his head. If it has, then he can give it one more name, perhaps 'Modi Konknni'. Again he is getting hypothetical. Instead of giving a couple of quotes from my writings which point to my strong love for devanagari Konkani, he says many others have also got the same impression, and advises me to go through my own writings on goanet to find out! This does not get us anywhere. I again invite him to justify his assertions on the basis of his own clearly-stated observations. That will certainly save a lot of time and band-width. His final sentence certainly went over my head. Perhaps, following in his footsteps, I should call it "devanagari English"! Here it is : <<Hope to read your Konkani or Konkni as is said in devanagri, in devanagri language, where by I want to see if I can really understand it at all.>> It appears that Tony de Sa (Mess. #8, Iss. #482)has got his facts mixed up. Konkani was taught in Goa in the Primary classes from June 1962 in Devanagari script in some five schools of which Loyola High School, Margao was one. My former colleague, Remedios Rebello, presently Principal of Fr. Agnel Multipurpose Higher Secondary School, Verna was one of the students. This was not the result of any machinations by politicians but a wise independent decision of eminent Catholic educationists. In fact, the MGP government was against this. Later, when Konkani was taught as the third language in middle school, too it was the Diocesan Society of Education in tandem with Konkani Bhasha Mandal that did all the spadework. Even the introduction of Konkani as a language at SSC examination was a masterstroke of a stratagem. The students were taught the language at standards VIII and IX, and then the Government was approached for permission to offer it at Std. X. The Government initially refused. Then it was told that the students would find it impossible to cope with any other language suddenly in the crucial final year. The government relented but queried: where will you get the books? And the answer was: We have the books! The fact is that Felicio Cardoso and his colleagues had already kept the books ready. The rest is history. All the students were from Diocesan schools and 90 percent of them Catholics. The script has always been Devanagari. Following this, the language became a subject at Higher Secondary and also the F.Y. B.A. of Bombay University. When Goa University was started in 1985, Konkani became a subject at M.A. and it was taught by Professor Olivinho Gomnes. The first batch of M.A.s passed out the same year that the Official Language Act was passed by the Goa Legislative Assembly. Perhaps Tony is referring to the large-scale introduction of Konkani as the medium of instruction at the Primary level in Diocesan schools, in 1991. But even here he errs. Who would have taught of introducing computers and language labs in Primary schools in 1991?! Even colleges did not have them. I do not know which part of Goa Tony lives in. I have never heard of 'ponnos' being taught as 'fanas' in a Konkani school; perhaps it is a Marathi school where it would be the correct term. And 'pachvo' means green, not yellow, for which the Konkani term is 'hollduvo' which some people from Bardez (for whom LL is silent) pronounce as 'ouduvo'. Floriano (Mess. #4, Iss. 483) and Ariosto Coelho (Mess. #3, Iss. #484) mean well. But is it possible, given the arithmetic of the present (or even future) Goa Legislative Assembly? Even when Floriano's Goa-Suraj Party hopefully succeeds in forming the Government in Goa, and moves to amend the Act, he would be well advised to ensure beforehand that he has sufficient support to pass the amendment without making Marathi the Official Language. My contention is that no Hindu MLA will ever support the insertion of Roman script without simultaneously making Marathi the Official language. Sotachench zoit zatolem. Mog asum. Sebastian Borges
