Says school script issue not linked to Official Language Act
MARGAO
The Global Konknni Forum (GKF) has accused Chief Minister Pramod Sawant of misleading both the Goa Assembly and the public on the issue of including Roman script Konkani in school education.
GKF Secretary Salvador Fernandes said the Chief Minister’s remarks showed a clear reluctance to support the growth and recognition of Roman script Konkani during his time in office.
“Dr Sawant referred to an old case rejected by the Goa High Court, which had sought official language status for the Roman script under the Official Language Act (OLA). But this is not relevant here. The demand to teach Roman script Konkani in schools is a different matter. The OLA does not mention anything about school education,” he said.
Salvador added that the Chief Minister also referred to a 1981 resolution by the Sahitya Akademi’s Konkani Advisory Board, which supported only the Devanagari script. “That decision was taken by a board dominated by Devanagari supporters and was unfair to the other scripts used for Konkani. Besides, the Sahitya Akademi is a central body for literature—it has no say in what schools teach,” he said.
Salvador also responded to Dr Sawant’s argument that because the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution mentions Konkani in Devanagari script, only that script should be taught in schools. “That listing is for official use and has nothing to do with school teaching,” he said.
The Chief Minister had also said that the Dalgado Konkani Akademi (DKA) is free to start education in Roman script and that the government is ready to support it. “If that’s true,” Salvador asked, “will the government officially recognise DKA’s classes? Will it include both scripts in job advertisements by saying that knowledge of Konkani in either Roman or Devanagari script is compulsory?”
Responding to the CM’s claim that raising the Roman script issue in the Assembly is a political move to divide Goans, Salvador said that divide already happened when the OLA was passed, excluding Roman script Konkani—even though 97% of its users had taken part in the language movement. “Today, only Devanagari supporters benefit from that struggle,” he said.
“If the government truly wants to unite Goans, why doesn’t it give the same level of grants and support to the Dalgado Konkani Akademi as it gives to the Goa Konkani Akademi?” Salvador asked.
