Tag: Konkani

Scholarly Articles

The Untouchable Citizen

By JASON KEITH FERNANDES

 

On 6 June 2017 Jason Keith Fernandes spoke at St. Anthony’s College, Uni. of Oxford on “The Untouchable Citizen”. Exploring the emotional terrain of the citizenship experiences of groups in Goa in this presentation he argued that the linguistic choices made by the government of Goa ensured that it is not merely caste that is at the centre of citizenship experiences but in fact untouchability itself. Building on evidence from Goa he suggests that what obtains in Goa is not different from many other parts in India, allowing the suggestion that India is marked not as an egalitarian polity, but a casteist one.

Popular Essays

The ‘Mothers’ of Goa

By DALE LUIS MENEZES

 

Every few months the issue of identity emerges in Goa, and vociferous debates and discussions undoubtedly follow. One can observe a certain tendency wherein political issues are reduced to issues of Goan identity. This is done by emotionally appealing to the masses that their existence solely depends on protecting an abstract idea – the Goan identity. This abstract and loosely-defined idea assumes different forms around events, symbols, and objects as the political and ruling classes see fit. One way in which these emotional appeals are made is through the idea of ‘mother’.

 

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Popular Essays

Freedom of Speech and Expression: Caste, Creed, Cringe!

By ALBERTINA ALMEIDA

 

Recently, with the killing of Gauri Lankesh, the controversy over Sudirsukt and the death threats to writers such as Kancha Ilaiah Shepherd, certain facets of freedom of speech have come under sharp scrutiny, making one question  who cringes about what speech and expression, what is the ambit of freedom of speech that we value, and who does so at what times.

 

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Books

Book Launch: Renver Borovp: Nibond & Niyall

Renver Borovp: Nibond & Niyall (Writings on Sand: Essays & Reflections), writings by the late Fr. Martinho Noronha, edited by Dale Luis Menezes, will be released on Friday, 6 October, 2017 by the Archbishop of Goa and Daman, Rev. Filipe Neri Ferrão at the Multipurpose Hall, Krishnadas Shama Library or the Central Library, Patto, Panjim, Goa at 4 pm. The book is published by the Dalgado Konknni Akademi.

 

The title of the book draws from Fr. Noronha’s weekly column, written in the Konkani weekly Vauraddeancho Ixtt from 1978-1982. The inspiration for this title came from the biblical story of the woman taken in adultery where Christ writes in the sand. Fr. Noronha explained that the incident had a deep significance for him, as he believed that what is written on sand has the potential to touch our hearts. Fr. Noronha served as the editor of Renovação, the bulletin of the Archdiocese of Goa, after he finished his stint as a columnist for Vauraddeancho Ixtt.

 

This compilation contains all the articles that appeared in Vauraddeancho Ixtt. Fr. Noronha’s column dealt with issues of everyday life. For instance, the ever-rising price of sugar in the 1970s and 1980s was a recurrent topic in his columns. Additionally, Fr. Noronha reflected on Goan and national politics, Goan identity, the Konkani language and the controversy over the failure of the Roman script in Konkani, as well as issues pertaining to the Church and Christians in Goa. These writings allow us a critical insight into the recent past and bear witness to the fact that despite the passage of decades the many issues that Goans face remain constant.

Sorgest Pri. Martinho Noronha-n boroilolea Renver Borovp: Nibond & Niyall hea pustokachi uzvaddaunni Gõy ani Damanvche Arsebisp, Manadik Filipe Neri Ferrão hanchea hatantlean Sukrar, 6 Otubr 2017 disa sanjechea 4 vorancher Multipurpose Hall, Krishnadas Shama Library vo Central Library, Patto, Ponnje, Gõy hanga zatoli. Hea pustokachem sonkolon ani sompadon Dale Luis Menezes-an kelam ani Dalgado Konknni Akademi-n pustok chhaplam.

 

1978-1982 hea kallant Pri. Martinho Noronha Vauraddeancho Ixtt satalleacher Renver Borovp hea nanva khala aplo vibhag-lekh (column) boroitalo. Tea nanvacho adhar gheun hea pustokak mathallo dilolo asa. Borovpi hea mathalleachem xrey Povitr Pustokant aslolie eke ghoddniek dita. Niti khatir jednam Jezu mukhar ekie pordvar ostoriek haddli tednam Tannem renver kitem tori boroilem. Pri. Martinho amkam sangta ki khub pautti ami kagdacher boroilolem visortanv punn renver boroilolem-i amchea kallzant rigonk xokta. Renovação hea Gõy Arkdiosezichea niyall-potracho (bulletin) Pri. Noronha sompadok aslo. Vauraddeancho Ixtt satalleacher vibhag-lekh borovpachem bond korun tannem Renovação-chim sutram hatant ghetlim.

 

Hea pustokant Vauraddeancho Ixtt-acher chhapun yeilole sogle lekhancho aspav asa. Jinnechea chaltea ghoddam-moddincher dor sumanak Pri. Noronha aple lekh boroitalo. Tea khatir 1970 ani 1980-chea kallant jednam sakrechem mol choddot aslem, tednam hie vixim portun-portun ul’lekh zalolo amkam tachea lekhamni vachunk melltta. Tea bhair, Gõychea ani raxttriy rajkaronnacher, Konknni bhas ani lipi vad, ani Igorz ani Kristanvam mukhar aslolea mud’deancher Pri. Noronha-n aplem borovp kelem. Hi borpam sorun gelolea eka kallachem dorxon ghoddoitat ani zaiteach doskam uprantui je prosn tea kallar amkam sotaitale tech prosn atam-i apli tokli voir kaddttat hem Pri. Noronha-chim borpam amkam govai ditat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Popular Essays

Unburdening the Language from Motherhood

By KAUSTUBH NAIK

 

The debate over Goa’s language issue continues because the conflict is far from being resolved.The passing of the much controversial Official Language Act (OLA) in 1987 did anything but resolve it. In my previous columns, I have argued that the passing of the OLA was an act to impose Hindu Saraswat hegemony onto the Goan people, particularly the Hindu and the Catholic bahujan communities. In a book published in 2004, bahujan activist Ramnath Naik termed Nagari Konkani as ‘Bamani’, indicating the caste location from which the Nagari Konkani assertion emerged and is sustained till today. BJP MLA Vishnu Surya Wagh, in his op-ed article in a Marathi daily few weeks ago, also made a similar assertion, attracting sharp reactions from the Nagari Konkani camp.

 

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Popular Essays

A Goan Waltz around Postcolonial Dogmas

By JASON KEITH FERNANDES

 

Some days ago I found myself invited to a ball in Lisbon hosted by the Austrian embassy in Portugal. Revived after more than a decade, the current initiative was conceived of a way to generate funds for deserving causes. In this inaugural year, funds were raised in support of A Orquestra Geração, which is the Portuguese application of the El Sistema method created in Venezuela. Another objective was to introduce Portuguese society to aspects of Austrian, and in particular Viennese, culture.

 

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Popular Essays

Marathi and the Hindu Bahujans

By KAUSTUBH NAIK

 

The presence of Marathi in Goa is looked upon with suspicion by some for its links with the demand for Goa’s merger with Maharashtra from the period between 1961 until the Opinion Poll of 1967. In writing off Marathi as a Maharashtrian import, people often ignore the centuries-long historical presence of Marathi in Goa, as well as its current usage in the public sphere. Gauging by this usage, one can safely say that Marathi is as much a carrier ofthe Goan ethos as Konkani (both Romi and Nagari) and Portuguese.

 

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Popular Essays

When the Lion has its Say: A Review of Parag Parobo’s New Book on Bandodkar and the Goan Bahujan

By AMITA KANEKAR

 

Parag Parobo, the author of India’s first Democratic Revolution: Dayanand Bandodkar and the Rise of the Bahujan in Goa, says that although the two scholarly narratives about Goa—Goa Dourada (the idea of a happy, or golden, empire) and Goa Indica (the nationalist idea which sees Goa as intrinsically Indian)—are commonly understood as conflicting, they actually have one fundamental thing in common: they both are the views of the Goan elite. Parobo’s own book, formally launched on Sunday 15 November in Panjim, breaks with the past for this very reason, that it looks at Goa from the point of view of the Bahujans, the many communities that make up the region’s so-called lower castes.

 

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Popular Essays

The Hypocrisy of Goa’s Protesting Awardees

By JASON KEITH FERNANDES, DALE LUIS MENEZES,

AMITA KANEKAR, VISHVESH KANDOLKAR, and KAUSTUBH NAIK

 

In the context of a number of Sahitya Akademi awardees across India returning their respective awards in protest against the growing intolerance in India, in Goa around fourteen Sahitya Akademi awardees together with Padmashri awardees Maria Aurora Couto and Amitav Ghosh came together and issued a joint statement on 15 October, 2015. One would be struck by the hypocrisy contained in their press note released were it not for the fact that their politics of intolerance is so blatantly displayed all over the same note.

 

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Popular Essays

The Shame of Speaking Konkani – III

By DALE LUIS MENEZES

 

Pride and shame, it appears, are two sides of the same coin. Invariably, pride seems to be a logical solution when an individual recognizes that s/he is being shamed by political institutions and establishments. In the past few weeks we have had occasions to discuss the operation of shame and humiliation within Konkani language politics. The discussion initially focused on a song by Alfred Rose and made some observations about the type of politics in which the man and his work were entrenched.

 

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