It is learnt that fourteen schools and two Government Higher Secondary Schools are being renamed after martyrs. An order has been issued by the government which has listed these 16 institutions with the names of the martyrs. This is a very good move by the government. However it would have been in the fitness of things to name a government school after Floriano Vaz.
Vaz was Konkani language agitation’s first martyr. He fought and died asking for recognition of the mother tongue Konkani as the official language of the state of Goa. He was shot dead in cold blood on December 20, 1986 at noon, near his home at Gogol by a police constable during the height of the agitation that culminated in Konkani being conferred the status of the official language of the state of Goa.
A Konkani tiatr was produced in honour of Vaz, titled “Floriano Vaz-PoiloMatir’. A roundabout has been named in his honour known as the Floriano Vaz Circle and the bust of Vaz was constructed at Gogol traffic junction in Margao.
Despite its significance, Vaz’s sacrifice is often forgotten. It would hence be desirable to name a government school after him.
