PANJIM, Feb. 4 -- Team Herald

February 4, 1987, marked the day Konkani was declared the official language of Goa, but even 38 years later, the debate over script recognition for Konkani literature continues to simmer, with activists questioning Sahitya Akademi's decision to award only Konkani books written in Devanagari, but not in Romi.

Former Speaker and Konkani advocate Tomazinho Cardozo highlighted that while the Sahitya Akademi only recognises Konkani books in Devanagari script for its awards, this wasn't always the case.

"In the past, books in various scripts were considered," Cardozo

explained.

"However, in 1983, the advisory committee, dominated by Devanagari writers, decided to exclusively accept books in Devanagari for the ...