The row kicked up over the passage of the controversial resolution passed in the just concluded session of the Goa Legislative Assembly seeking an amendment to the Official Language Act to give Marathi official status had its echo at Gogol too.
Feels it’s politically motivated, aimed at dividing people
GUILHERME ALMEIDA
MARGAO
Family members of Floriano Vaz, considered as the first martyr of the infamous 1986 Konkani language agitation has disapproved the resolution adopted in the Legislative Assembly demanding equal status for Marathi on par with Konkani.
Floriano Vaz had fallen to the police bullets near his residence at Gogol-Margao, while participating in the mass agitation in late 1986 in support of the popular demand to accord official language status for Konkani language.
Floriano’s younger brother Remet told The Goan on Sunday that his late bother along with the people of Goa had fought to make Konkani the sole official language of Goa and not to accord equal status for Marathi. “Floriano had sacrificed his life for Konkani language and not to give equal status for Marathi. We are surprised that a resolution has been passed in the just concluded session of the Goa Legislative Assembly to give equal status for Marathi”, Remet said, while demanding that the people of Goa should not allow the political class to rake up the issue which was long resolved after a people’s agitation.
“People of Goa have already settled the language row around three decades ago to the satisfaction of all people. Why then is the issue being raked up again now. The politicians should desist from dividing the people on the basis of language”, Remet said.
Incidentally, though over three decades have passed since Floriano was killed in police firing near his residence at Gogol, the politicians as well as successive governments have failed to provide even a job for Floriano’s kith and kin. “The family members have been demanding that the government provide a job to our family, but in vain. Over 30 years have passed since Floriano had died in the movement to make Konkani the official language, but the job promise is yet to be honoured till date”, he rued.
Even the local Margao Municipal Council or the government has done little to honour Floriano’s sacrifice for Konkani language. While the Margao Municipal Council had opposed the naming of the road at Gogol after Floriano, requests to honour the martyr with a befitting memorial near his house has gone abegging, forcing local social activist and Scheduled Tribe leader Camilo Barretto to install Floriano’s bust at the Gogol junction.
Says Camilo: “Floriano has been a hero forgotten by the politicos and successive governments. His family was not even provided a job by successive governments though there were promises galore from the political class. This was one reason why the scheduled tribe community honoured Floriano by installing his bust at the Gogol
junction”.
