The Goa Konkani Akademi (Goa Academy of Letters for Konkani) is an organization set up by the Government of Goa in 1986 to promote the Konkani in Goa. Its stated aim is to accelerate the pace of development of Konkani by encouraging writers, researchers, etc. and to bring Konkanis from all areas together. [1]
The Goa Konkani Akademi was founded on 4 March 1986. [2] It is an autonomous body and has jurisdiction over the state of Goa. [3] It undertakes activities for the development and promotion of Konkani. GKA receives grants from the Government of Goa. [4]
The current Akademi President is Pundalik Naik (2002–present). Past presidents were Purushottam Kakodkar (1984-1996) and Uday Bhembre (1996-2002) respectively. [5]
The Akademi was built with the purpose of promoting the growth of Konkani. Some of the major goals stated on its website are:
The GKA carries out its activities under directions issued to it by the Government of Goa. It also assists the state Government in formulating various policies in regard to Konkani. [3]
The GKA conducts various activities
The Organization has various sections
Following have been the Presidents [7] of the GKA, since its inception.
| President | Date |
|---|---|
| Purushottam Kakodkar | 1984-1993 |
| Purushottam Kakodkar | 1993-1996 |
| Purushottam Kakodkar | 1996, Jan to Oct |
| Adv. Uday L. Bhembre | 1996-1999 |
| Adv. Uday L. Bhembre | 1999-2002 |
| Pundalik N. Naik | 2002-2005 |
| Pundalik N. Naik | 2005-2008 |
| N. Shivdas | 2009-2011 |
| Dilip Borkar | 2012 Jan-Apr |
| Pundalik N. Naik | 2012-2015 |
| Madhav Borkar | 2015-2017 |
| Director, Directorate of Official Language | 2017-2019 |
| Suresh Gundu Amonkar | 2019 |
The GKA has been accused of being biased against Konkani publications in the Roman script in the past. Another demand has been that the GKA should be headed by persons of both the major communities in Goa (Hindus and Christians) by rotation. [8]
In March 2017, three prominent members of the GKA committee—Chairman Madhav Borkar, Vice Chairman Jose Lourenco and member Kamlakar Mhalshi—quit their posts "citing issues in receiving funds from the government to conduct various Konkani language promotion programmes." [9]
There have been controversies over the some books that the GKA has turned down or declined to support. [10]
The GKA has a book publishing programme, but visibility of the books produced is seen as probably insufficient to what could be possible. One reason could be the "low-price, no-distributor-margins policy" as being responsible for the lack of interest by distributors, and hence low readership of its books. [11]
The Goa Konkani Akademi's office is situated at Patto Colony, Panaji, Goa. [3]
Konkani is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Konkani people, primarily along the western coastal region (Konkan) of India. It is one of the 22 Scheduled languages mentioned in the 8th schedule of the Indian Constitution and the official language of the Indian state of Goa. The first Konkani inscription is dated 1187 A.D. It is a minority language in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Kerala, Gujarat and Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu.
Media in Goa refers to the newspapers, magazines, radio stations, cable and television networks and online media in India's smallest state. Over the past two-and-half decades, the Goa-linked online media has also grown.
Goan Catholics are an ethno-religious community of Indian Christians following the Roman Rite of worship, from the Goa state in the Konkan region along India's west coast. They are mostly Konkani people and speak the Konkani language.
Waman Raghunath Shennoi Varde Valaulikar, known popularly as Shenoi Goembab, was a noted Konkani writer and activist.
Goan Catholic literature is diverse.
Ravindra Kelekar was a noted Indian author who wrote primarily in the Konkani language, though he also wrote in Marathi and Hindi. A Gandhian activist, freedom fighter and a pioneer in the modern Konkani movement, he is a well known Konkani scholar, linguist, and creative thinker. Kelkar was a participant in the Indian freedom movement, Goa's liberation movement, and later the campaign against the merger of the newly formed Goa with Maharashtra. He played a key role in the founding of the Konkani Bhasha Mandal, which lead the literary campaign for the recognition of Konkani as a full-fledged language, and its reinstatement as the state language of Goa. He authored nearly 100 books in the Konkani language, including Amchi Bhas Konkaneech, Shalent Konkani Kityak, Bahu-bhashik Bharatant Bhashenche Samajshastra and Himalayant, and also edited Jaag magazine for more than two decades.
Uday Bhembre is an Indian lawyer, Konkani writer and a former member of the Goa Legislative Assembly. He is noted for his role as the editor of the Konkani daily, Sunaparant, and as a Konkani language activist. Bhembre is also widely known as the lyricist of the famed Goan Konkani language song Channeache Rati.
Basti Vaman Madhav Shenoy was an Indian Konkani activist popularly known as Vishwa Konkani Sardar and was the founder of World Konkani Centre in Shakthinagar, Mangalore.
Raghunath Vishnu Pandit was a Goan poet. He is best known and most celebrated for his vast poetic production in Konkani. Pandit also produced a significant body of work in Portuguese after the Liberation of Goa in 1961, and also wrote in Marathi. Much of his output was written in a neo-realist style demonstrating a marked concern for the downtrodden sections of Goan society. Among his most noted achievements are the publication of five books of poetry on one day and a prize from the Sahitya Akademi for his 1975 Dariā Gāzotā.
Konkani in the Roman script, commonly known as Romi Konkani or Romi Konknni refers to the writing of the Konkani language in the Roman script. While Konkani is written in five different scripts altogether, Romi Konkani is widely used. Romi Konkani is known to be the oldest preserved and protected literary tradition beginning from the 16th century AD.
The Konkani language agitations were a series of protests and demonstrations in India, concerning the uncertain future and the official status of the Konkani language. They were held by Goans in the then union territory of Goa, Daman and Diu governed at the time by the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party. The agitations involved citizen journalism, student activism and political demonstrations.
Pundalik Narayan Naik is a Konkani-language poet, short-story writer, novelist, playwright, and screenwriter from Goa. He has 40 books and two films to his credit.
The Dalgado Konknni Akademi is an organisation located in Panjim, Goa that works for the development and promotion of Konkani in the Roman script.
Joaquim Heliodoro da Cunha Rivara was a Portuguese physician, professor, intellectual and politician. He excelled as a scholar of the history of the Portuguese presence in India and as a champion of the Konkani language.
Damodar Mauzo is a Goan short story writer, novelist, critic and script writer in Konkani. He was awarded the Jnanpith Award in 2021, Sahitya Akademi Award in 1983 for his novel Karmelin and the Vimala V. Pai Vishwa Konkani Sahitya Puraskar award for his novel Tsunami Simon in 2011. His collection of Short stories Teresa's Man and Other Stories from Goa was nominated for the Frank O'Connor International award in 2015. He has served as a member of the executive board, general council, as well as the finance committee of the Sahitya Akademi.
Dr. Jayanti Naik, from Amona in the Quepem taluka of Goa, is a Konkani writer and folklore researcher from Goa. She is a short story writer, dramatist, children's writer, folklorist, translator and was the first person to earn a doctorate from the Goa University's Department of Konkani. She is also a Sahitya Akademi award winner. In her career of some three decades, she has produced on average, a book a year.
Ramesh Veluskar was a Konkani poet and litterateur from Goa. He died on October 21, 2018.
Fr. Vasco do Rego SJ was a Jesuit priest from the region of Goa, who played a significant role in the promotion of Konkani language, literature and music, particularly after the Annexation of Goa. He was the editor of the religious monthly Dor Mhoineachi Rotti for many years.
Hema Naik is a Konkani language writer from the coastal Indian state of Goa. She is a Sahitya Akademi Award winner and is the wife of the Konkani writer Pundalik Naik. She publishes books under the banner of Volvoi-based Apurbai Prakashan.
Tanaji Halarnkar was a Konkani scholar, columnist and former editor of the Konkani Encyclopedia. Halarnkar played a prominent role in the pro-Konkani language agitation in the Goa of the 1980s, and also in the wider movement for the promotion of the Konkani language in Goa and other parts of western coastal India. His other contributions include helping develop scientific and technical terminology for Konkani. He was involved with organising Konkani literary events, authored books, and did his Ph.D. on the gram panchayats of Goa.