Konkani lovers and activists take an oath to demand justice for Roman script in the Official Language Act.
MARGAO
Members of the Global Konknni Forum, tiatrists and well-wishers on Wednesday took an oath at the memorial of Konkani language martyr Floriano Vaz to demand justice for Roman Script in the Official Language Act.
The Romi Konkani lovers and activists have vowed to form 12-member teams in each and every village to take the fight for official status for Roman script to the logical conclusion.
After paying floral tributes to Floriano Vaz, the oath was administered to the Roman script lovers as they vowed to fight for equal status for Roman script in the Official Language Act.
Forum president Kennedy Afonso told the media that Floriano Vaz along with six other Konkani activists from Agassaim had sacrificed their lives by shedding blood for the cause of Konkani language. He, however, lamented that injustice was meted out to Roman script as the Official Language Act gave recognition only for Devnagari as the official language of the state. “Grave injustice was done to the Roman Script Konkani lovers and the minorities who have been using Konkani in Roman script”, he said.
He added: “We would like to tell all and sundry that Floriano Vaz is not dead, but his spirit is still alive in our midst. We will go to each and every village and create 12 Florians to take the battle forward. With this force at every village, we will one day achieve the goal of according official status for Konkani in Roman script,” he added.
Kennedy informed that the Forum has now started the movement to knock on the doors of the Commissioner, Linguistic minorities Commission, New Delhi for justice.
Margao Municipal Councillor Camilo Barretto recalled that he along with the South Goa ST Association was instrumental in installing the statue of Floriano Vaz at the Gogol junction to pay tributes to the martyr who was shot dead while participating in the Language Agitation. He, however, lamented that repeated attempts have been made to remove the statue from the junction when statues adorn traffic junctions across the state.
Activist Walter Lobo pointed out that Saxttikars had played a big role in the language agitation which culminated in Konkani getting the official language status. While questioning attempts made to remove the statue of Floriano Vaz from the Gogol junction, Lobo underscored the need to beautify the statue befitting the sacrifice made by the martyr for the cause of Konkani.
Several Konkani lovers, writers and activists participated in the oath-taking program organized by the Global Konknni Forum.
