Speakers stress cultural and linguistic identity
Prof Subhash Velingkar addressing a meeting at Lohia Maidan, Margao, on Sunday in support of the demand to accord official language status to Marathi.
MARGAO
Asserting that Marathi is the true language of Gomantak (Goa) and must be granted official status, Prof Subhash Velingkar on Sunday warned of electoral consequences for the ruling BJP if the demand is not met before the upcoming polls.
Speaking at a ‘Sankalp Sabha’ at Lohia Maidan, Margao, Velingkar called for the consolidation of a ‘vote bank’ of Marathi speakers and urged people to take to the streets to defend the language. He cautioned that merely reading and writing Marathi does not make one a true supporter of the language.
Velingkar said the movement for Marathi has been ongoing for nearly four decades and accused the BJP of betraying Marathi speakers. He termed the concept of a ‘co-official language’ an anomaly and alleged a systematic attempt to erode Marathi and replace it with another culture.
He further claimed that around 200 Marathi-medium schools have shut since the BJP came to power, blaming policies driven by political expediency. He also alleged that grants to English-medium schools and the scrapping of mandatory Marathi proficiency for government jobs have accelerated the language’s decline.
Warning of political fallout, Velingkar said that if Marathi is not granted official status before the December elections, voters would “teach the BJP a lesson” and could bring down the government.
G R Dhavalikar, also addressing the gathering, said the dominance of English is harming both languages and stressed the need to preserve Marathi as a cultural identity. He called for wider participation in the movement, cutting across caste and ideological lines.
