MARGAO
The Global Konknni Forum (GKF) has termed as "very amusing" All India Konkani Parishad (AIKP) president Fr Mousinho Ataide’s statement that the demand for equal status for Roman Script will create "a religious divide".
Forum president Kennedy Afonso on Monday said that the GKF and the people of 51 Gram Sabhas of Goa are not against Devanagari or any community that’s using the script, but are only asking for their own rights as enshrined in Article 29 (1) of the Indian Constitution.
“How does asking for one’s own fundamental right create a religious divide? The religious divide was created by the Devanagari lobby when they manipulated the government in 1987 to grant official script status to only Devanagari and bypass Romi,” Afonso said.
He added: “Fr Athaide has, in fact, by raising objections to introducing Roman script in schools, rubbed salt into the old wounds of the community that has been suffering for the last 36 years. Athaide is a puppet, foisted by the Devnagari lobby, only to create a division within the Catholic community.”
Kennedy further said that it’s the elders who have problems learning Devanagari. “The elders he speaks of are the parents of the children who know what is best for their children, as they are aware of the trouble their children are facing while learning Devanagari. How can a child in Std 1 decide what’s good for them?” he said.
Saying the All India Konkani Parishad is not an authority on all Konkani scripts, as its objective is to promote only Devanagari and to choke all other scripts of Konkani, Kennedy said, “They cannot dictate to the government whether Romi should be introduced in schools or not.
“GKF and other allied associations of Romi Konkani, along with the people of Goa, will decide on that. The resolutions passed by the AIKP are irrelevant to us Goans, as they are passed by non-Goan invitees who attended the Parishad as guests. Their resolutions are a joke, as none of the past resolutions passed in previous Parishads have ever been implemented. The Goa government has no obligation to listen to their foolish suggestions. This Devanagari Parishad is not to be taken seriously, as it is not the collective voice of the Konkani-writing people,” he asserted.
Kennedy further said the government of Goa and the elected representatives of the people, however, are duty-bound to listen to what the people of Goa have to say on the Romi issue. “Around 51 Gram Sabhas have passed resolutions demanding equal status for Roman Script in the Official Language Act, and all want Romi introduced into schools. 51 resolutions passed by the people of Goa in their Panchayats are equivalent to 200 Parishads attended by non-Goans. In a democracy, such decisions should be guided by the constitutional and fundamental rights of the people, rather than the preferences of such organisations that are visible only every two years,” Kennedy added.
