Team Goemkarponn
Panaji: Professor Subhash Velingkar on Tuesday said that the Marathi language faces a persistent struggle for recognition as an official language in Goa.
He says “Despite its rich cultural heritage and historical significance, Marathi has been relegated to a secondary status, often treated as a “co-language” rather than being accorded the full rights of an official language. This situation has led to widespread dissatisfaction among Marathi speakers, who feel that their language is being marginalized.”
The plight of Marathi is evident in several key areas:
1. Education: The closure of over 400 Marathi primary schools in the past 12 years has significantly reduced the number of students learning Marathi. This decline threatens the sustainability of Marathi departments in higher education institutions.
2. Government Support: Marathi-promoting organizations receive meager government funding compared to other languages, further exacerbating the language’s marginalization.
3. Employment: The lack of emphasis on Marathi proficiency in government job recruitment processes has created a new challenge for the language.
4. Administrative Use: The absence of Marathi in official communication, often replaced by English, underscores the language’s secondary status.
Velingkar argues that the Marathi language meets all the criteria for official status but is denied due to political and bureaucratic hurdles.
He believes that a concerted effort is necessary to assert Marathi’s rights and secure its place as a recognized official language.
