On Friday, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said that the State Government would write to the Bombay High Court requesting it to include the Konkani language, along with English, during court proceedings at the Goa bench.
He was speaking at the inaugural of the 8th International Hindi Conference, organized by Institute Menezes Braganza (IMB) and Bhasha Sahodari at the IMB Hall, in Panjim.
The Chief Minister highlighted the fact that Goa was a multilingual state, and utilised different languages for different tasks. “Goa has always been known for four languages. We speak in Konkani; we prefer to read Marathi newspapers along with English; we prefer to watch films in Hindi, and while writing, we prefer to use English. This is a state which is always known for four languages,” he said. He mentioned that the government was already conducting Goa Legislative Assembly sittings in Konkani.
“The Bombay High Court branch in Goa functions in English. When we go to the judiciary to seek justice, it should be given in our language, it should work in Konkani. It will be our endeavour to ensure that it should function in English as well as in Konkani,” Sawant said.
Sawant said that promoting the Hindi language would make India even more united in its diversity, as well as help the country emerge as Akhand Bharat.
Dr Sawant congratulated Institute Menezes Braganza and Bhasha Sahodari for organizing the two-day Hindi Conference, adding that Institute Menezes Braganza, which was the oldest institute of the state, had always worked to promote all the languages in the state.