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Beware Of Marathiwadis
O Heraldo editorial
December
11, 2002
We fail to
understand the controversy being raised in some quarters over the stipulation
that those seeking government jobs should receive proficiency certificates
from the Goa Konkanni Academi. It has been established beyond the shadow of
all and any reasonable doubt that Konkani is the exclusive official
language of the State, it is therefore only just and appropriate that
knowledge of Konkani should be an essential prerequisite for any and every
government job. The notification stipulating that knowledge of Konkani
would be essential for government job was first issued during the tenure of
Luizinho Faleiro as the Chief Minister of Goa.
Subsequently, the Marathiwadis challenged the notification before the
judiciary claiming that Marathi had been conferred or at least deserved to be
conferred equal status. This contention was however rejected by the High
court which held that the official language bill was clear that Konkani was
the exclusive official language of the State. But even after this, when
notifying jobs the government departments failed to include the stipulation
that knowledge of Konkani was essential for the post. Worse still, some
advertisements even sought to equate Konkani with Marathi by suggesting that
it was adequate to have knowledge of either Konkani or Marathi. A youth
organisation was compelled to agitate to force concerned heads of departments
to issue clarification to correct the mistake.
Quite besides the fact that it is logical, appropriate and legitimate that
those who seek jobs with the government, should be proficient in the official
language of the State, there is another compelling reason. It has been
repeatedly pointed out that if knowledge of Marathi rather than konkani was
made the prerequisite, it would open the flood gates because everyone from
the neighbouring state of Maharashtra would be eligible for government jobs
in Goa. This would go against the interests of Goa. It is bad enough that in
the first two decades after Liberation, several thousands from Maharashtra
secured jobs and settled in Goa. Indeed, at the topmost echelons of the
government, particularly technical departments like the PWD and the
Electricity Department, there are more outsiders than Goans. It may well have
been that just after Liberation there were not enough qualified Goans to fill
those posts.
But certainly now, this is not true and there are enough qualified Goans to
fill up any and all posts in the government. It maybe pointed out that a
major argument in favour of Goa having its own central officers cadre is the
fact that officials who are posted from Delhi and elsewhere have no knowledge
of the local language and are not required to be proficient in Konkani
either. Since it is now mandatory that knowledge of the official language is
a prerequisite for a government job, it is only logical that the Konkanni
Academi should be the authority to issue certificate of proficiency. Being
dedicated to the preservation and the promotion of the exclusive official language
of the State, the Academi is best equipped to conduct relevant tests and
issue the proficiency certificate.
The Konkanni Academi has been doing this ever since the stipulation making
knowledge of Konkani a prerequisite for government jobs was made. The present
controversy stems from the attempt by the Marathi elements in the BSP to
undermine the status of Konkani. Senior leaders of the BSP, including its
President Laximikant Parsekar, have not made a secret of their designs to
seek equal status for Marathi. In fact, Laximikant Parsekar issued a
statement recently claiming that the Party continued to be committed to
secure equal official language status to Marathi. The present controversy is
proof that the Marathiwadis are at it again.
It is obvious that they are neither reconciled or willing to accept that
Konkani is and has always been the language of the people of Goa. They are
still to reconcile to the fact that Konkani is the exclusive official
language of Goa and that Marathi only has a secondary status as a sister
language. That Konkani Mai status as the lady of the house is beyond
challenge. They are determined to scuttle the notification making Konkani a
prerequisite for government jobs because it is the only area they have not
been able to force the government to confer equal status to Marathi through
the backdoor. The controversy underscores the need for all Goans and all
Konkani mogis to continue to remain vigilant to frustrate the evil designs of
the Marathiwadis.
TGF
comment:
The folks at the Herald appear to have just
woken up. Goans have cried hoarse that after India's 1961 takeover of
Goa, highly qualified Goans were consistently sidestepped for
appointments and promotions in both the private and government sector.
Creative
advertising techniques which saw Goa Government jobs being advertised in Goa
48 hours before last day of application for the job. Folks in Cochin, Bombay
and Delhi would have seen the advertisements 48 days before that.
In
disgust, Goans migrated in droves.
Then
came the coup de grace. After Goans had fought for the official recognition
of their language Konkani, the Marathiwadis combined with the Saraswats and
introduced "Konkani" as the official language.
Only,
this was not the same Konkani that the majority of the Konkani protagonists
spoke at home.
The
Konkani introduced was the S-Konkani which was written in Devanagri script
which very few Konkani protagonists understood.
There is
a parallel in Indian language history is with this kind of chicanery. It involve
the language "Hindi" which was introduced in the late 19th century
with the help of the British colonial regime.
As
IIT-Delhi's Professor Alok Rai describes in his book "Hindi
Nationalism", it is NOT the same Hindi that the majority of Indians
spoke!
So, dear
Heraldo, please do not be surprised ! As always, the chickens are coming home
to roost!
TGF
December 27, 2002
further
reading
1. The Politics of
Stupidity
2. The Cultural
Politics of Hindi Nationalism
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