From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network - Panaji
 
Panaji, May 27: A Catholic priest who rubbed shoulders with several leaders including from Rashtriya Swayamsevak sangh (RSS) in blowing whistle against government’s attempts to fund English primary schools has expressed his fear that such a move would result in 'Anglicization of the Church.’

Fr Mousinho Ataide’s stand is in contradiction with the church-backed Diocesan Society of Education and Archdiocesan Board of Education, who are supporting English as medium of instruction (MOI) in the elementary education in Goa.

Fr Ataide, a priest attached to Rachol Seminary, 80 kms away from here, where to-be priests are groomed, has feared that supporting English in primary education would result in ceasing of Church services in Konkani as younger parishioners will not understand local languages.

He calls Konkani as Amchi bhaas (our language) and supports primary education in any Indian languages.

The priest has feared that the incident of 1680, when then Church authorities insisted that people should give up Konkani and learn only Portuguese, is being repeated in the form of support to English as MOI.

“The attempt of 1680 failed as people continued with Konkani,” he recalled.

The 61-year-old priest had rubbed shoulders with the leaders who are affiliated to organizations like Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) last year when MOI controversy raised its head. Fr Ataide’s stand in favour of Konkani was unexpected as Church backed institutions openly supported English.

“Who will learn amchi bhaas (our language) if English education is funded by the state government? Next generation will not even be able to talk Konkani,” he feared.
 
“The Church services will have to be in English so that the young parishioners can understand it. It will be Anglicization of the Church,” he said.

Around 140-odd schools attached to Diocesan Society of Education and Archdiocesan Board of Education have been supporting English as a medium of instruction, pressurizing the Manohar Parrikar-led state government to take a stand.

Parrikar has said that he will be pronouncing government’s stand on the vexed issue of MOI in next few days.

Fr Ataide, who supported Bharatiya Bhasha Suraksha Manch, a forum which supports Indian languages as MOI, said that services in the Churches are in Konkani so that the parishioners understand them.

Fr Ataide feared that the support to English will result in vanishing of cultural identity of Goa. “I have no objection, if students are taught in Marathi, Urdu, Kannada, Hindi or any other Indian language,” he said, adding that if students learn only English, they will refuse to speak Konkani back at home.