Global Konknni Forum elected its new president Prof Antonio Alvares to lead the movement seeking equal status for Konkani in Roman Script.
Photo Credits: Santosh Mirajkar
MARGAO
The Global Konknni Forum’s controversial “Kodel zai vo Romi Lipi zai” slogan, aimed at seeking support from the political class for the movement demanding equal status for Konkani in Roman script, will be toned down as a new committee under the leadership of Prof Antonio Alvares, taking over the reins of office, has sought to downplay reports of a split in the Romi Lipi movement.
Newly elected president of the Forum, Antonio Alvares, as well as Konkani writer Salvador Fernandes, conceded that the “Kodel zai vo Romi Lipi zai” slogan did not go down well with the MLAs or the people supporting the cause of Romi in the Konkani script. "Somehow, the 'Kodel zai vo Romi Lipi zai' slogan did not go down well with the MLAs and the people, as it gave the impression that the Forum was holding out a threat to the elected representatives. The slogan was not liked by the people either. Many said that since the MLAs had all given the Forum appointments, the slogan was seen as a threat when our objective was to engage with the elected representatives to get the decades-old issue resolved via the Legislative Assembly," Salvador said.
Prof Alvares also echoed similar sentiments, saying the slogan gave political overtones to the Romi Lipi movement. He said the Global Konknni Forum would approach all the MLAs and all concerned, with the sole objective of undoing the injustice to Konkani in Roman script. "The slogan 'Kodel zai vo Romi zai' sounded like a threat to the MLAs. But, I have a question to ask the MLAs: Is it not their responsibility to take up the issue in the Goa Legislative Assembly and bring an amendment to undo the injustice to Romi script without being approached by any organisation?" he wondered.
Salvador tried to downplay questions over the split in the Romi Lipi Movement, with a new organisation espousing the cause of Roman script titled Global Romi Lipi Abhiyan, which was formed under the leadership of Kennedy Afonso. "The Global Konkani Forum is still in existence. Only two members have moved out of the Forum. Today, we have elected Prof Antonio Alvares as the Forum’s president. The movement will continue until our objective of getting equal status for Romi Script is achieved. We want to make it clear that the Global Konknni Forum is an apolitical movement," Salvador said.
Prof Alvares said the GKF will continue to pursue the goal of achieving equal status for Konkani in Roman script by getting the MLAs together to bring an amendment to the Official Language Act. He said the Forum will also explore the possibility of getting justice for Romi script through the courts.
