Write Comment     |     E-Mail To a Friend     |     Facebook     |     Twitter     |     Print

‘EQUAL RIGHTS FOR ALL SCRIPTS OF KONKANI’ – Conference on Sun., March 13, 2016, at Kalaangann Mangalore, at 10 a.m..

‘SO’RV  LIPIYANK  SO’MAN  HO’KKAM’

Jago’tik Konknni So’ngho’tto’n (JKS) firmly believes in the principle of – ‘Respect for Every Variety’ and ‘Seeking Unity in Diversity’ – as the only mantra of Konkani Unity. Moreover, in the globalised world where every regional language is suffocating and gasping for breath, it is in the interest of every language that it is preserved in all its variety. For, if variety is destroyed and one variety is imposed, the language dies.

For many years now, Konkani literature, language and unity have suffered great injustice at the hands of a few manipulators who have successfully managed to capture all power centres, usurp and appropriate every benefit accruing to Konkani, for themselves, and with the help of every trick in the book, have ridden rough shod-over the entire Konkani movement.

It is a known fact that these handful manipulators had also established their hegemony over the Advisory Board of Konkani at the Sahitya Akademi and had ensured that – only the literature in the Devanagari script and the practitioners of Devanagari alone – get all the Awards, Projects, Assignments and Grants that Konkani was eligible for, all these years.

Because of the manipulative brilliance of this minority and the slavish mentality of the majority, Konkani has suffered immensely for long.

Unable to bear this injustice any longer, after every plea and entreaty fell on deaf ears, and protests and struggles were brushed aside, three individuals namely, Shri Valerian D’Souza (Vally Vagga, Mysore), Shri Marcel D’Souza (Macha Milar, Mangalore) – both writers in the Kannada script – and the undersigned (Eric Ozario), a cultural activist, approached the High Court of Karnataka for remedy and justice, in the Writ Petition No. 35120 of 2011(GM-PIL) DB.

Our Pleas were two –

1)      To recognise all the 5 scripts in Konkani (Kannada, Roman, Devanagari, Malayalam, and Perso-Arabic) – for Awards, Assignments, Projects and Grants, and,
2)      To reconstitute the Advisory Board for Konkani with proportionate representation to all scripts.

Having admitted the Writ, after more than 4 years of delay, without providing ample opportunities to represent our case, the High Court in its wisdom, has now summarily dismissed our first Plea, without even commenting on the second.

Though the Respondents in this case were two –

1)   Sahitya Akademi,
2)   Union of India, and,
3 other organisations, impleaded themselves in the case, in favour of the Sahitya Akademi, namely –

         i)        All India Konkani Parishad,
        ii)        Karnataka State Linguistic Minority Educational Institutions Association, and,
       iii)        Shri Srinivasa Patthashala Association (where Konkani is not being taught).

The Court also impleaded the State of Karnataka, who however, did not play their part, as expected.

While we are left with no option but to approach the Supreme Court (a very expensive proposition), the representatives of the Devanagari lobby in Karnataka are using the verdict to beat us down further.

It is sad that those who should have really fought for this cause, seem quite content with the leftovers and crumbs thrown at them, and live in the hope that one day they will be rewarded with the Sahitya Akademi Award, as a few before them have been, for their subservience.

The time has come for all those who have self-respect and the good of Konkani at heart, to come together and decide the next course of action.

For this purpose, a Conference has been convened on March 13, 2016, at Kalaangann, Mangalore, at 10 a.m.. The Conference will take stock of the situation and decide on the remedial measures to be taken.

You are requested to be present in this historic gathering.

Representatives from all over India, even from other languages will join. CLEAR (Campaign for Language Equality and Rights) – a Campaign representing 40 Indian languages (so far 40, more are joining), has assured its fullest support and expressed its solidarity to our cause.

Duty demands that you be present.

VERY IMPORTANT: The Executive Committee of JKS will meet at 1 noon, to pass the required resolutions. Kindly treat this as the Notice.