Kharvis want Kannada script for Konkani

MANGALORE: The minority Konkani-speaking Kharvi community has expressed reservation about the call to use Devanagari script for Konkani.

The General Secretary of the Akhila Karnataka Konkana Kharvi Mahajana Sangha, Ramachandra Kharvi, told that the Kannada script is being used to convey Konkani as effectively as Malayalam and Devanagari, and the joint council of Konkani leaders recently gave its verdict that Kannada should continue to be the script of Konakani as Kannadigas used it for effective communication of Konkani in the past. Insisting that Konkani should be written in Devanagari is nothing but imposing new standards on Konkani-speaking people, he said. Mr. Kharvi said imposition of a particular script will only cause a division among Konkani-speaking people. Welcoming the recommendation by the council of senior Konkani scholars in Mangalore, Mr. Kharvi said many bilingual Kannadigas like to read Konkani in Kannada script.