PANJIM, April 2 -- Team Herald

The recent demand to make Marathi as the official language of the State along with Konkani appears to be politically motivated as the issue was settled nearly 38 years ago. However, the protagonists of both the languages feared that any attempt to amend the Official Language Act would lead to a controversy and create rift among the communities.

O Heraldo spoke to some of the protagonists of both the languages to gauge their perspectives.

Former Assembly Speaker Tomazinho Cardozo said, "If you read the Official Language Act, it is clear that the Konkani in Devanagari and the Marathi have got the same benefits. The Act states that Konkani will be the official language and Marathi will be used for all offici...