The Hindu : Karnataka News : Ozario for consensus on Konkani script

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Apr 18, 2005

Karnataka

Karnataka

Ozario for consensus on Konkani script

Jaideep Shenoy

`Only a referendum, the first of its kind, will help settle the issue'

MANGALORE: One of his avowed objectives on the day he took charge as the Chairman of the Karnataka Konkani Academy was to bring about a consensus among the Konkani-speaking communities on the need for a common script for the language.

Turf war

But a month down the line, Eric Ozario seems to be caught in the middle of a turf war between the communities who want their script to be recognised.

The dominant players in this turf war are Konkani writers from Catholic and Gowd Saraswath Brahmin communities. Besides, he must also contend with the Kharvis and the Kudmis. All these factors have strengthened Mr. Ozario's resolve to bring about a consensus even if it means seeking a referendum.

A distant worry will be Goan writers who use Devanagari script. ``We (the Konkani-speaking communities) have fought enough on the question of recognising one script and a dialect as the official language for the past 40 years,'' Mr. Ozario told The Hindu here on the sidelines of a workshop organised by the Konkani Writers' Forum, Karnataka.

"Only a referendum, the first of its kind for the language, will help settle the issue,'' he said.

Recognising that the forum is an exclusive grouping of Konkani writers from the Christian Catholic community, Mr. Ozario said: "They have embarked on a project to bring out academic textbooks in Kannada script. Likewise, the minority institutions' association from the Gowd Saraswath Brahmin community too have brought out textbooks in Kannada and Devanagari scripts. This should stop.''

Stressing the need for a Government order to formally kick-start any official effort to prepare textbooks, Mr. Ozario said: "Unless we resolve our differences and go to the Government together, it will not take the initiative to sort out the differences for us. It is imperative for the Konkani-speaking communities to rise above pettiness of wanting their dialect/script to be recognised."

Mr. Ozario said when Kannada, which has far greater dialects, could resolve the issue it should not be difficult for the Konkanis to do so. On his proposed referendum, he said: "I am willing to give all concerned enough time to place their arguments for and against a dialect or script before the people and come back to me with consensus.''

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