The Global Konknni Forum, along with a few Romi-Konkani supporters, held a symbolic protest at Azad Maidan on February 4 (coinciding with the State's Official Language Day) to reaffirm their demand for an amendment to the Official Language Act of 1987 and to grant equal status to the Roman script.
It should be noted that despite the Catholic community being at the forefront, there was no mention or discussion about any script during the entire Konkani movement. The controversial Goa Official Language Act was passed on February 4, 1987, making Konkani in Devanagari script the official language of Goa, with Marathi designated for all official purposes, thereby openly backstabbing and humiliating the Catholic community in the state.
Well, being a proud Konkani-speaking Goan, I do believe that until and unless the above blunder (which has persisted for almost 38 years and has practically divided our Konkani-speaking population along script lines in the State) is rectified, and the Roman script is given its rightful place in the Official Language Act to do justice for the Christian community (which does not use Devanagari but only the most friendly Roman script consisting of a, b, c, d in their day-to-day affairs”even in church services, all correspondence, while reading newspapers, using computers, sending WhatsApp/Instagram messages from their mobiles, etc.), Konkani will continue to suffer, and there are chances that this language might even die a slow death due to the stubbornness/selfishness of the Devanagari-script lobby. That would mark the end of our unique Goan identity sooner or later.
The government should, therefore, come to its senses, bring an amendment to the Official Language Act, and grant equal status to Romi as well to bring real unity among the Konkani-speaking population in the State, to save Konkani, and to safeguard our unique Goan identity.
