Goa Konkani Akademi
Encyclopedia
The Goa Konkani Akademi is an organization set up by the Government of Goa
in 1986 to promote 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.
The current Akademi President is Pundalik Naik
(2002- present). Past presidents were Purushottam Kakodkar
(1984-1996) and Uday Bhembre
(1996-2002) respectively.
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.
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.
Fredrick Noronha has criticized the way the GKA distributes books. He blames the "low-price, no-distributor-margins policy" as being responsible for the lack of interest by distributors, and hence low readership of its books.
Government of Goa
The Government of Goa has a unicameral legislature consisting of a forty member Legislative Assembly, headed by a Chief Minister who wields the executive power. The present Chief Minister of Goa is Mr. Digamber Kamat and the Leader of Opposition is Mr. Manohar Parrikar...
in 1986 to promote Konkani
Konkani language
KonkaniKonkani is a name given to a group of several cognate dialects spoken along the narrow strip of land called Konkan, on the west coast of India. This is, however, somewhat an over-generalisation. Geographically, Konkan is defined roughly as the area between the river Damanganga to the north...
in Goa
Goa
Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...
. Its stated aim is to accelerate the pace of development of Konkani by encouraging writers, researchers, etc. and to bring Konkanis
Konkani people
Konkani people , form a group of people mainly found in the Konkan Coast of western India whose mother-tongue is the Konkani language....
from all areas together.
Nature
The Goa Konkani Akademi was founded on 4 March 1986. It is an autonomous body and has jurisdiction over the state of Goa. It undertakes activities for the development and promotion of Konkani. GKA receives grants from the Government of Goa.The current Akademi President is Pundalik Naik
Pundalik Naik
Pundalik Narayan Naik is a noted Konkani language poet, short-story writer, novelist, playwright, and screenwriter from Goa. He has40 books and two films to his credit. He served as the President of Goa Konkani Akademi of the Government of Goa since 2002...
(2002- present). Past presidents were Purushottam Kakodkar
Purushottam Kakodkar
Purushottam Kesava Kakodkar was a prominent politician and social worker from Goa. He served as a Member of Parliament in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.-Freedom Fighter:...
(1984-1996) and Uday Bhembre
Uday Bhembre
Uday Bhembhre is an Indian lawyer and a former member of the Goa Legislative Assembly. He is also noted for his role as the editor of the Konkani daily, Sunaparant and as an Konkani language activist.-References:...
(1996-2002) respectively.
Aims and Objectives
The Akademi was built with the purpose of promoting the growth of Konkani. Some of the major goals stated on its website are:- To initiate, assist or undertake implementation of projects or schemes of research in the field of Konkani language, literature and culture.
- To initiate, assist or undertake publication in Konkani language, the results of such research.
- To initiate, assist or undertake publication in Konkani language of original and erudite papers, monographs, books, journal, as also of any other works in any other branch of knowledge.
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.
Activities
The GKA conducts various activities- Providing financial assistance(75% of cost) to the first book by a new author.
- Provides 50% financial assistance to publishers and purchases 100 copies of each book.
- Section on folklore
- Has undertaken a project to publish a dictionary-cum-encyclopedia in Konkani.
- Conducts a "Knowledge of Konkani" certificate test which is necessary for Government Jobs in Goa. Also has other certificate exams.
- Has organized a five-day annual cultural event since 1993.
Organization Structure
The Organization has various sections- Education Section: Post-graduate and certificate courses; teacher training
- Lexicon Section: Creation of Konkani encyclopedia and dictionaries
- Folklore Section: collection of various media related to folklore
- Literature Section: Oversees various publication schemes
- Cultural Section: Drama , tiatr(theatre) and documentaries.
Criticism
The GKA has been accused of being biased against Konkani publications in the Roman scriptKonkani in the Roman script
Konkani is a language that is spoken by 3.6 million speakers mostly on the western coast of the Indian states of Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka and Kerala. Konkani is written in five scripts – Devanagari, Roman, Kannada, Malayalam and Perso-Arabic. Of these, the Roman script has the oldest preserved ...
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.
Fredrick Noronha has criticized the way the GKA distributes books. He blames the "low-price, no-distributor-margins policy" as being responsible for the lack of interest by distributors, and hence low readership of its books.