Press Release
 
Panaji, Dec 24: The Romi Lipi Action Front (RLAF) has today served a legal notice on the Goa Government demanding that the Official Language Act be immediately amended to include Konkani in Roman script along with the existing Devanagari script.
 
In the legal notice served on the Chief Secretary of Goa through Adv. Aires Rodrigues the Romi Lipi Action Front has stated that the Goa Language Act which restricts the Konkani language to the Devanagari script was unconstitutional, ultra vires, illegal and void. A copy of the legal notice has been also sent to Goa Governor B.V.Wanchoo and Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar.
 
The legal notice states that if the Government does not within 15 days propose an amendment to the Goa Language Act to include the Roman script that the Romi Lipi Action Front would have no option but to move the High Court.
 
Adv. Aires Rodrigues has in the notice drawn the Chief Secretary’s attention that power given under Article 345 of the Constitution of India to adopt any language does not empower the Government to restrict any language to a particular script.
 
Stating that Konkani in Roman script is used by a sizable section of the population primarily Catholics who constitute a religious and linguistic minority in Goa, Adv. Rodrigues has stated that in terms of Article 29 (1) of the Constitution of India, any section of citizens having a distinct language, script or culture of its own have the right to conserve the same.
 
Adv. Rodrigues has stated that Catholics who constitute about 30% of the population in Goa are entitled to conserve their language Konkani in Roman script and that Catholics in Goa being a religious and linguistic minority have a constitutional right for the Roman script of Konkani language.
 
Adv. Rodrigues has stated that grave injustice was being perpetrated on the users of Roman script of the Konkani language who are entitled to preserve their language and script.
 
Adv. Rodrigues has further stated that Konkani was being taught only in Devanagari script in schools, to the detriment of the Catholic community and their children, who are forced to learn the Devanagari script.
 
Stating that the Romi Lipi Action Front was not averse to the Devanagari script, Adv. Rodrigues has stated that the demand was that both the scripts Roman and Devanagri be used side by side.
 
Stating that the Romi Lipi Action Front for several years have made umpteen representations against the Goa Language Act which artificially restricts the Konkani language to Devanagari script, Adv. Rodrigues has stated that there would now be no alternative but to seek legal recourse as all sustained efforts by the Romi Lipi Action Front have turned futile.