GRLA warns against revival of divisive linguistic politics

MARGAO
The Global Romi Lipi Abhiyan has strongly condemned the statement of Subhas Velingkar claiming that Marathi is the “true language” of Goa.
GRLA convenor Kennedy Afonso said such statements are deeply irresponsible, historically inaccurate, and have the potential to disturb the linguistic harmony carefully preserved by the people of Goa.
“It is highly objectionable that an ultimatum has reportedly been issued to the BJP Government to declare Marathi as the Official Language of Goa before the Assembly elections scheduled in December. This so-called ultimatum appears to be nothing more than an empty threat. Velingkar is fully aware that no further Legislative Assembly proceedings of significance will take place before the elections. Therefore, this announcement seems to be a calculated move aimed at polarising voters and assisting political interests by once again dangling the ‘Marathi carrot’ before the electorate,” he said.
Kennedy said the Global Romi Lipi Abhiyan also holds sections of the Devanagari lobby responsible for repeatedly allowing the Marathi lobby to raise this issue time and again. “The unity displayed by the people of Goa during the historic Konkani language agitation was fractured when only Devanagari script was declared as the sole official script of the Konkani language. Had both Devanagari and Romi scripts been granted equal official status, the Marathi lobby would not have found the space or encouragement to repeatedly question the linguistic identity of Goa,” he said.
He added: “It must be remembered that the Catholic community played a pivotal role in the Konkani agitation, with seven martyrs sacrificing their lives to secure Konkani as the Official Language of Goa. Their sacrifices remain a testament to the unwavering commitment of Goans to protect Konkani and their unique linguistic identity.”
Reiterating that Konkani, in both Devanagari and Romi scripts, represents the true linguistic and cultural identity of Goa, Kennedy said any attempt to revive divisive language politics must be firmly rejected in the interest of unity, harmony, and respect for the sacrifices made during the Konkani language movement.