Daijiworld News Network (VM)

Mangalore Feb 9: While the Vishwa Konkani Parishad (VKP) will boycott the 25th conference of the All India Konkani Parishad (AIKP) to be held  in Goa between February 10 and 12, a delegation of more than 30 persons from DK district will participate and voice their protest against the ‘One Script, One Literature and One Community’ policy of the AIKP. This was discussed at a meet organized at Sandesha Foundation recently and formally announced to the media on Wednesday February 8.

VKP president Eric Ozario said that a huge protest rally has been organised at the Azad Maidan at Panaji on Friday at 4 pm by the Dalgado Konkani Academy to coincide with the inauguration of the three-day convention of AIKP.

The All India Konkani Parishad, instead of uniting the Konkanis, has systematically succeeded in dividing on communal and regional lines, due to the retrograde policy it professes, he alleged.

In the implementation of this fascist objective, it has constantly tried to impose the Devanagari script on all and has attempted to destroy other scripts mainly Kannada and Roman, he added.

Ozario said that unity among people cannot be achieved by destroying varieties but by respecting them.

In the name of AIKP found out to be a non-registered body, an exclusive club of a handful of organisations, which are by and large inactive yet claim to represent the Konkanis at the all India-level. The fact that the AIKP has duped the government by obtaining funds to the tune of lacs of rupees is yet another testimony to their style of working. We have also requested the Goa government not to release any funds for the conference, he added.

Mandd Sobhann co-ordinator Stany Alvares and Konkani Writers Forum secretary Edward Nazareth were also present.

Earlier speaking to Daijiworld in an exclusive interview, Fr Pratap Naik of the Dalgado Konkani Academy, Goa said that the protest to be held at the Azad Maidan would gather supporters of Konkani in Roman script and those who oppose the convention. “Our demand is that equal status should be given to Konkani in Devnagri, Roman and Kannada scripts.

Commenting on the fraud by the AIKP, Naik said that around Rs 12 lac have been obtained by the Parishad from the government, which is again a misuse of public money. The Academy has filed an FIR with the DIG and had demanded investigation into this scam.

He further added that pressure is being laid to amend the language act giving equal status to Konkani in all the above stated scripts.