“Ghorcho Bhedi Bhailo Chor ?”…... Fraud on the Roman Script
Each time the leaders of Romi Konknni Movement meet for a discussion anywhere, there is one particular sentence one gets to hear over and over again and that is “The Clause in the Official Language Act of Goa 1987: Konkani means Konkani in Devnagari Script , was the biggest fraud of the 20th Century”.
Each time I hear this, I go home and think to myself if indeed there was a ‘fraud’ of such a magnitude then who are the people responsible for this “fraud” and if we know who they are, why have we let them go scot-free?
Unfortunately for me , I was not in Goa during this period and as a result did not have the faintest idea as to who all could these fraudsters be. Neither was there anyone willing to provide me with the
answers.
I started wondering as to why people want to keep this part of the
game under wraps. Why this suspicious silence?
My inquisitiveness to investigate made me probe for answers at every
opportunity I got. Who could be the main architects of this “fraud”
and why are they left to go scot-free?
I said to myself , let me begin from the beginning. First of all, who
were the interested parties? Meaning who were the “stake-holders”?
Then I noted:
a) The Government of Goa , Daman & Diu.
b) The Opposition Parties in the Assembly.
c) The Independent M.L.As.
d) The People of Goa, Daman & Diu.
It is but logical to believe that at that time all the stake-holders
were consulted, discussions held and compromise-formulae worked out.
Now, as the subject of discussion was Goa and Konkani I’d like to, for
the present, leave out Daman & Diu and their interests in the Official
language Act of 1987. Let me concentrate on Goa and Konkani alone and
the so called “fraud”.
This “fraud”, as I understand means depriving “Romi Konknni not only
of it’s rightful place in the Official Language Act of Goa 1987 but
also was a conspiracy to kill Romi Konknni and propell Devanagari
Konknni into prominence.
There is a famous saying in Konkani “Ghorcho Bhedi, Bhailo Chor”
which means to say, “An outsider cannot rob a closed house without
having an insider for an accomplice”. To make this analogy more
relevant in the present context , I’d like to take the entire
Political System and the Devanagari Lobby as “Outsiders” and the
protagonists of Romi Konknni as “Insiders”.
I am told that some of the Romi Konknni Leaders who are still around
and were a part of the “Konknni Porjecho Avaz (KPA)” then, were called
for consultations on the issue and they tell us that in the Original
Draft of the Bill there was no “clause” at all mentioning “Konkani
means Konkani in Devanagari Script” and that this “clause” was
introduced only at the last minute without consulting any one of them.
They further add that , even they came to know about this “clause”
only on the morning of the day, namely 05 February 1987 through local
English news papers.The Official Language Bill was introduced in the
assembly on 17th July 1986 and it was passed in the Assembly on 04
February 1987. The people had no reason to doubt their own leaders.
The entire rank and file of the Romi Konknni users accepted this as a
“fraud” , as told to them, and set about their work of bringing an
amendment to the Bill to rectify the “fraud”.
It was an uphill task and many Romi Konknni Leaders are , even as I
write, working towards this end. Still however, in the midst of all
this work the thought of how a people’s Government could commit a
“fraud” on the same people who elected it , kept bothering me ie. how
our leaders of Romi Konknni were kept uninformed of such a major
change in the final draft of the Bill.
I also often wondered why “this bothering thought “ keeps popping up
in my mind from time to time. But now, I finally know the reason why.
There is a reason. There is always an explanation to everything that
happens. There has to be.
Recently, while on an another work of Romi Konknni, I was browsing
through some old newspapers and I accidentally came across a page of
“Herald” Wednesday dated 9th July 1986, and there it was. An answer to
my “bothering thoughts”. An “expose” of a lie deliberately hidden
under the carpet for so many years.
On the newspaper was printed the final draft of the Official Language
Bill of Goa 1987 prepared not at the last minute by the Government but
much in advance somewhere around 1986. The same final draft leaked
out and reached the office of Herald and Herald brought it out in
print on the 9th July 1986. The final draft of the Bill was there for
everyone to see complete with the clause “Konkani language means the
language in Devnagiri Script”.
Then who are these Romi Konknni leaders who tells us that they came to
know of this “Clause” only on the morning of the day the Bill was
tabled in the House?
The final draft of the Bill was there in the Herald for everyone to
see , 7 months before it was tabled. Were our Romi Konknni leaders the
only ones who did not read this issue of Herald? Or, is it that our
Romi Konknni leaders had taken all of us for a ride ? The reason was
now crystal clear to me and for everyone else to see.
There was definitely an “injustice” but there was no “fraud” of the
type our Romi Konknni leaders claim to have taken place. We were sold
off by our Romi Konknni leaders who were in KPA. It was, as the old
Goan Romi Konknni saying goes “Ghorcho Bhedi Bhailo Chor”.
By Wilson Mazarello
(Convenor, Romi Lipi Action Front)
know of this “Clause” only on the morning of the day the Bill was
tabled in the House?
The final draft of the Bill was there in the Herald for everyone to
see , 7 months before it was tabled. Were our Romi Konknni leaders the
only ones who did not read this issue of Herald? Or, is it that our
Romi Konknni leaders had taken all of us for a ride ? The reason was
now crystal clear to me and for everyone else to see.
There was definitely an “injustice” but there was no “fraud” of the
type our Romi Konknni leaders claim to have taken place. We were sold
off by our Romi Konknni leaders who were in KPA. It was, as the old
Goan Romi Konknni saying goes “Ghorcho Bhedi Bhailo Chor”.
By Wilson Mazarello
(Convenor, Romi Lipi Action Front)
