Konknni: Past, Present, and Future by Pratapananda Naik, S.J.

 

KONKNNI: PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE

 

Pratapananda Naik, S.J.

                                

Konknni is an Indo-Aryan language spoken mainly along the Western Coast of India. The European Jesuit and Franciscan missionaries who arrived in Goa in the sixteenth century wrote and published. Konknni texts in Roman alphabet. Prior to the arrival of the Portuguese we do not have any evidence to prove that Konknni was a literary language. However, Konknni was the spoken language in Goa. The Hindu community used and continues to patronize Marathi for many areas of their day to day life. In 1684 Konknni was suppressed by the Portuguese and the use of Portuguese language was insisted. The Konknni grammar and Konknni – Portuguese vocabularies were prepared by the Jesuit Missionaries before 1570. The first Konknni book Doutrina Christam was printed in 1556 by the Jesuits at St. Paul College, Old Goa. Arte da Lingua Canarim (1622) Konknni grammar was the first printed grammar among the Indian Languages.

 

At present Konknni is written in five alphabets, namely, Roman, Devanagari, Kannada, Malayalam and Perso-Arabic. Of this literature is produced in Roman, Devanagari and Kannada alphabets. On 26th February 1975 Konknni was recognized as an independent literary language by Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi. On 04 February 1987 Konknni written in Devanagari alphabet became the Official State Language of Goa. On 20 August 1992 Konknni was included in the Eighth Schedule of Indian Constitution. The official alphabet of Konknni for all Konknnis (Konknni speakers) is not yet officially decided or unanimously accepted by the people.

 

TABLE: 1 Konknni Population according to Census of India

India/State	Year
	1971	1981	1991	2001
India	15,22,684	15,84,063	17,60,607	24,89,015
Karnataka	5,72,828	6,40,738	7,06,397	7,68,039
Goa	5,56,223	6,00,004	6,02,626	7,69,888
Maharashtra	2,72,970	2,12,214	3,12,618	6,58,259
Kerala	73,245	1,00,934	64,008	61,376

 

The claim that there are over 50 lakhs of Konknnis is far from the truth.

According to the Census of India 2001 in India there are 24,89,015 mother tongue Konknni speakers.

In census data under Konknni entry Kudubi/Kudumbi, Malwani and others are included. This data includes 24,20,140 Konknni; 10,192 Kudubi/Kudumbi; 46,851 Malwani; 11,832 other mother tongue language speakers. Census 2001 defines mother tongue as follows: “Mother tongue is the language spoken in childhood by the person’s mother to the person.” If we take this definition literally, then the Konknni population in Goa is far below the recorded data 7,69,888. Because, in a good number of Catholic families, mothers speak to their children in English. Such households might have wrongly given their mother tongue as Konknni instead of English. According to Census 2001 the total population of Goa is 13,47,668. Of which only 7,69,888 (57.13%) persons have declared that their mother tongue is Konknni. According to Census 2001 in Goa, 8190 have declared English as their mother tongue.  This number is not realistic. There must be many more whose mother tongue is English according to the definition of mother tongue given by          Census 2001. For other major languages of India, the majority of a particular language is found in a particular State. For example, Marathi in Maharashtra, Kannada in Karnataka and so on. Though Konknni is the State Language of Goa only 30.93% of total Konknni population is found in Goa!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Konknni Periodicals:

TABLE: 2 KONKNNI JOURNALS

Alphabet	D	W	F	M	B-M	Q	4 M	6 M	Y	O	Total
Devanagari	01	-	-	04	-	-	01	-	-	01	07
Kannada	-	03	01	16	01	06	02	02	-		31
Roman	-	01	-	06	-	02	-	-	01	04	14
Perso-Arabic	-	-	01	-	-	-	-	-	-		01
Multi-alphabet	-	-	-	-		-	-	01	-		01

 

D=daily; W=weekly; F=fortnightly; M=monthly; B-M=bimonthly; Q=quarterly; Y=yearly; O-occasionally

 

Among Devanagari alphabet periodicals the Catholic communities from Goa, Belgaum & Sindhudurg publish a periodical each. Among Kannada alphabet periodicals 28 are published by the Catholic community and 3 by the Hindu community. Among Roman alphabet periodicals 12 are published by the Catholic community and 2 by the Hindu community. In Kannada and Roman alphabets there are many Parish bulletins run by Catholics. Perso-Arabic alphabet periodical is published by Konknni speaking Navayat Muslim community of Bhatkal,  Karnataka. The multi-alphabet periodical is published by the Catholic community. 

 

Konknni education in Goa:

TABLE: 3    Medium of Instruction in Primary Schools (I –IV Std) As on 30. 09. 2009

Management	Total No. of Schools	Konk	Mara	Eng	Hindi	Urdu	Kan	Telugu
NON-GOVT	316	139	046	130	-	03	-	-
GOVT	932+5*	67	887	05*	04	24	15	01
Total	1253	206	933	135	04	27	15	01

* = Central Board,  Konk = Konknni, Mara = Marathi, Eng= English, Kan=Kannada

 

TABLE: 4    Konknni Medium Primary schools according to Management as on 30. 9. 2009

Management	Total No. of Schools
Christian	127
Hindu	06
Muslim	01
Mixed (Hindus/Christians/Muslims)	05
Total	139

 

TABLE: 5 Number of students in Primary schools according to medium as on 30.09.2009

Management	Total schools	Konk	Mara	Eng	Hindi	Urdu	Kan	Telugu
Govt	932+5	1956	30635	1530	325	1420	1749	26
Non-Govt	316	30628	7756	25136	-	322	-	-
Total		32584	38391	26666	325	1742	1749	26

 

Catholics were in forefront to run Konknni medium primary schools. While the Hindu managements and Govt. promote Marathi medium primary schools (cf. Table No. 03 & 04). English medium schools are increasing every year (cf. Table No. 03). As on 30.09.2009 Marathi medium primary schools have the highest number of students (cf. Table No. 05). However, every year the numbers of students who opt for English as the medium of instruction are increasing. From the academic year 2011-2012 the majority of Konknni medium schools have switched over to English as the medium of instruction. With this decision Konknni as the medium of instruction will soon come to an end. Though Konknni is the official language of Goa, it is not a compulsory language in schools! One can complete his/her entire education in Goa without learning Konknni! In our neighbouring states one cannot complete X Std. without compulsorily learning the State Language.

At the X std and XII std examination number of students who opt for Konknni as the third language have not crossed 45% and 35% respectively of total number of students who appear for those examinations. Though the break-up of students who opt for Konknni at X Std. and XII std is not available on the basis of religion, from the reliable official sources we have been told that majority of these students are from the minority community. Though Konknni is the State Language of Goa in the entire State there is not a single Konknni medium middle school or high school. While Marathi, Urdu and Kannada medium high schools are found in Goa. According to the official reliable sources most of the private schools offer Konknni as an optional language from V to XII Std. Catholic schools offer 100% this option.  Most of the government high schools in North Goa District do not offer Konknni. Sizable number of schools run by other communities do not offer Konknni as a third language.

 

Konknni in Karnataka:

In Karnataka Konknni is included in the school curriculum from the academic year 2007-2008 in Kannada alphabet. Since Konknni is taught as a subject in Karnataka in Kannada alphabet only, Karnataka govt. has accepted Kannada alphabet as the official alphabet for Konknni in Karnataka. Though the govt. permits to teach Konknni in Devanagari script not a single has opted for this option in the school curriculum.

 

Konknni in Kerala:

Though it is claimed by Devanagari proponents that in Kerala Konknni is taught in schools using Devanagari alphabet, in reality only in one school Konknni is taught as a subject. From Kerala not a single full-fledged Konknni periodical is published. In reality in Kerala Konknnis (Konknni speakers) exist but Konknni continues to be mainly the spoken language and it is hardly used for written purpose.

 

Konknni in Goa:

Prior to the liberation of Goa, Konknni meant Konknni written in Roman alphabet. According to the Bibliography of Konkani Literature compiled by late Mr. Ravindra Kelekar, up to March 1963 there were only 126 Konknni books published in Devanagari script. While during the same period 1060 books were published in Roman script. After liberation the Devanagari proponents managed to win over some of the Konknni writers from the minority community to accept Devanagari script for Konknni. It worked for few years. With the establishment and activities of Dalgado Konknni Akademi and Tiatr Academy, Konknni in Roman script is gaining more popularity day by day.

                In Goa literate Hindus (practically 100%) know Devanagari alphabet. Yet the vast majority of them prefer to read and write Marathi and not Konknni.  10 Marathi dailies are sold in Goa. The single Konknni daily in Goa struggles for its survival. Catholics, who read Konknni, prefer to read it in Roman alphabet. Hence written Konknni does not foster unity in Goa. It is the spoken Konknni which gives a sense of unity.

                In the market Konknni CDs, VCDs &DVDs are found in great numbers. 99% of these are produced by the Catholic community of Goa. Hindus still continue to use Marathi CDs for religious domain and Marathi and Hindi CDs for cultural domain. Tiatrs and Kantaram are still the most popular form of Konknni entertainment in Goa. In Goa, for the natives of the majority community use Marathi as the language of their religious oral and written literature, culture, written communication and social identity. The minority community should try to understand this ground reality and respect the sentiments of the majority community. Though Marathi is not the dominant spoken language in Goa but it has secured a respectable position in hearts of majority community and also a legal protected position in the Official Language Act 1987. Frankly speaking, Konknni in Roman script and Marathi should have been the official languages of Goa. If such a decision was taken in 1987 both the communities would have lived in peace and both languages would have flourished in Goa without language and script controversies. 

                Konknni in Devanagari alphabet is kept alive mainly due to State and Central Governments grants and support. It does not enjoy people's support.  If the Govt. stops or withdraws support to it, what happens to Konknni in Devanagari alphabet? This is a serious topic for discussion and reflection.

 

The future of Konknni:

Konknnis (Konknni speakers) are spread out in different States. They use different dialects and alphabets. Konknni is required only to maintain the cultural identity. In this context, Konknni does not help as a medium of instruction, as a common media for communication or to earn one’s livelihood. So far Konknni is survived because it is a vibrant spoken language. "One script, one dialect, one community" principle          has not succeeded so far to unite Konknnis and in the future it will not succeed.  If we force this principle Konknnis will survive but Konknni will perish. The protagonists of this principle implicitly believe that Aryans, Brahmins, Sanskrit and Devanagari alphabet are related and they are ‘holy/pure/standard’ for all!  Konknni will survive and flourish if we accept the principle of “unity in diversity” of Konknni dialects, alphabets and cultures. The Roman alphabet which is the most popular alphabet among Catholics for written communication, religious, cultural and every other area should find its due place in the Language Act 1987. In Goa for the survival and growth of written Konknni, the Roman alphabet is inevitable.

 

(Published in Goa Today November 2010 pp. 34-36)