by Jason Keith Fernandes and Dale Luis Menezes
Context:
In 1987 subsequent
to mass demonstrations composed overwhelmingly of bahujan Catholics the
legislature of the Union Territory of Goa, Daman and Diu recognised Konkani in
the Nagari script as the official language of Goa. This
recognition of script was used to privilege a brahmanical project of fixing the
identity of Konkani in the Nagari script alone, sidelining in this process the
more vibrant and older tradition of writing Konkani in the Roman script, and
its largely Catholic users. Consequently, a movement for the official
recognition of Konkani in the Roman script emerged as a result of a systematic
campaign of suppression of cultural and literary productions in the Roman
script. More recently, with the Kala Academy,the premier state-supported
cultural body announcing awards for literature in the Roman script, it is being
maintained by some that the Roman script may in fact destabilize the status-quo
that favours the Nagari script (and therefore brahmanical hegemony), leading to
a number of persons coming out seemingly making concessions to the Roman
script. One such overture was made by Prabhakar Timble in The Navhind Times, Goa. Timble is a legal expert as well as the
former State Election Commissioner of Goa.
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While Timble seems to be supporting
the recent decision of the Kala Academy to offer literary works in the Roman
script to obtain awards, his real fear is that the status quo as regards the
place of Konkani in the Nagari script will be upset if the demands of the Roman
script activists is allowed to go further. This fear is clearly evident in his
statement: “The official language accepted in Goa is Konkani in ‘Devanagiri’
script. This is a settled issue because of the sacrifice and enlightened minds
of the leaders of all communities.” Indeed, the core of the demand of the Roman
script is not that literary works in the Roman script get awards, but rather
that Konkani in the Roman script be given its legitimate place in the Official
Language Act (OLA). This demand has been made because even though this form of
Konkani is an older version of Konkani, and continues a vibrant production of
Konkani culture, it has been subjected to all kinds of abuse and suppression in
the years since the OLA was enacted. Further, while Konkani alone may be
recognised as the official language of the state, the fact is that the
operation of the Act continues to give official language status to
Marathi. This has resultedin Goa having
two official languages, de facto. The issue of the status of official language being
awarded in favour of Konkani in the Nagari script is, therefore, by no means “settled”.
Indeed, contrary to Timble’s suggestions, there are very large numbers of
members of the bahujan samaj who
refuse to acknowledge Nagari Konkani as a legitimate Goan language because they
see it as a ploy to ensure brahmanical supremacy in Goa. Consequently, the lone
Nagari Konkani newspaper that exists has one of the lowest figures of
circulation, lower than Konkani newspapers in the Roman script, and many times
lower than Marathi language newspapers. These bahujan samaj activists would possibly accept Romi Konkani as an
authentic language, but continue to refuse to accept the Nagri version. It is
in recognition of this reality of the operation of the OLA, and to ensure that
Konkani in the Roman script also enjoys the status that these two other
languages enjoy, that the activists for the Roman script have been agitating
right from the days that the OLA came into effect.
The other argument that Timble
throws up, and one that must be subjected to greater scrutiny, is his
suggestion that the “Romi script is an accident of history”. It was this very
suggestion that formed the basis of excluding the Roman script from the OLA.
The implications of this argument are extremely dangerous since it suggests
that the people who spoke the Konkani language had a certain trajectory of
cultural development already chalked when its fulfilment was interrupted. The
interruption implied is clearly: the arrival of the Portuguese and the
establishment of theirrule in the subcontinent. If the arrival of the
Portuguese is seen as the cause for this accident of history, then surely there
are a number of other accidents that occurred. The most crucial of these is the
conversion of a sizable portion of the Goan population to Christianity. Must
this Christianity also be seen as an accident of history because its growth
coincides with Portuguese rule? Timble may well suggest that this “accident” be
accepted and understood, but it is because these historical facts are seen as
accidents that the Roman script and its cultural productions have been
consistently deprived their rightful place in officially recognised Goan
culture. Even if the state celebrates aspects of Goan culture that result from
Portuguese intervention in local society, these are seen as exceptions rather
than the rule. Herein lies the problem where Catholics are regarded as
outsiders and foreigners to the acceptable national community, and any assertion
of their difference is construed as being unacceptable. This intolerance of
difference is amply evident in Timble’s suggestion that “‘One language, One
Script, One community’ is not a wrong dream. But, it is an ideal paradise whose
time has still not arrived.” Like the other votaries of the hegemony of the
Nagari script, Timble too clearly believes that difference is a problem that
must ideally be erased. By this logic, one can imagine that in Timble’s
paradise all persons will be Hindu as well.
In conclusion, the statements of
support by persons such as Timble should be read with caution. These statements
do not recognise the legitimacy of Konkani in the Roman script, nor the demand that
the Roman script be given an official place in the OLA. The sole purpose of
Timble’s statement of support is to ensure that the delicate balance of
linguistic power that currently exists in favour of both Nagari Konkani and
Marathi is not tilted towards Marathi and Konkani in the Roman script. The fact
is that while Konkani in the Roman script continues to be patronised by its
loyal supporters in Goa, Konkani in the Nagari script has failed to achieve
this position largely because it is an artificial creation that has sought to
suppress Konkani in the Roman script, and has failed to achieve the trust of
the Hindu bahujan who continue to use
Marathi as a weapon against this particular Konkani.
(This response was first published on roundtableindia.co.in, on 28 October, 2013)
To read the same article in Konkani, see here.
To read the same article in Konkani, see here.
