Dying language

Is it surprising to hear from Dr Tahir Mahmood,Chairman, National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities that Konkani is soon becoming a minority language in the state? Is it strange to hear from the chairman that English is the predominant language spoken in the state and do not be surprised if one day the same gentleman comes to Goa and says “Konkani does not exist.’’ But who is to blame for all that – the government, the people or a wide variety of factors. One main factor behind this deplorable state of affairs is that no attempt has been made to promote the language adequately. Fine we have the various academies that hold various contests and competitions, Konkani is compulsory till Std V and the government has instituted several awards for people promoting the language. But after that - what?

All official correspondence is in English? All the babu’s who come to Goa from outside speak English – now someone has woken up and decided that Konkani classes be taught to all bureaucrats. But why so long to arrive at such a decision. Go to Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and even Leftists Kolkatta – there is pride in the state language and they speak it and the bureaucrats too speak it. Why not here? All sign boards are in English – be it traffic signs and even shop signs. So what do you expect – a flourishing of the local language? It is not surprising that the language is dying out slowly. And then you have festivals like IFFI which slowly add more nails to the coffin. First start in the government offices and then watch it spread all over.