MARGAO
Global Konkani Forum will have special programme on World Konkani Day on 20 August 2024, at 6 pm at the Seven Martyrs Memorial at Agasaim Church, to commemorate the inclusion of Konkani as an official language in the Indian Constitution on 20 August 1992.
Goan diaspora across the world celebrate this day through cultural music, dance and songs. The GKF along with members of the Tiatr fraternity will pay floral tributes to the seven Martyrs who laid down their lives for Konkani language and sing traditional and cultural songs in celebration of Konkani being accepted in the Indian Constitution.
GKF president Kennedy Afonso said when Konkani was included in the Constitution of India as a language, it was done without giving any importance to any particular script of Konkani language, thus giving equal importance to all the five scripts of Konkani that were in use all along the Konkan belt.
“This day was a day of celebration for all Konknni speaking people all across the Konkan belt who love Konknni as their mother tongue”, he said.
Kennedy, however, said the Devanagari Lobby which is Controlling the Advisory Board for Konkani for Sahitya Akademi has gone against this constitutional mandate, by manipulating, and passing a decision on November 21, 1981, that Devanagari is the only official script of Konknni, thus depriving other scripts of Konkani from getting Sahitya recognition thus discriminating and undermining the value of other scripts.
“It is interesting to note that the people who were on the Advisory Board for Konkani were the same people who were members of the Konknni Porjecho Awaz, that ultimately fooled the Catholic community, by making Devanagari as the only official script of Konkani in the Official Language Act”, he said, adding “Regardless of this discrimination, we Goans cherish and love our mother tongue Konknni, and this spirit is reflected as Goans across the world celebrate World Konkani Day on August 20”.
