Scripting dominance and contestations: Linguistic hegemony in post liberation Goa

Abstract

Linguistic hegemony is achieved when dominant groups create a consensus by convincing others to accept their language norms and usages as standard or paradigmatic. In post independent India, given the struggle for and subsequent formation of linguistic states, language became one of the dominant instruments of hegemony. The politicisation of language ensured that dominance and contestations were perennial components of language use. As in the rest of India, in Goa too, language became a crucial determinant of the status of the state. Ever since Liberation, the politics of language use has dominated the political landscape of Goa. The passing of the Goa Official Language Act in 1987 (OLA) did not diminish the importance of language in determining the political future of Goa. While earlier language was used as a means of uniting the Konkani community, after the passing of the OLA, it became an instrument polarising the Konkani speakers on communal lines. In this paper, the focus is on how linguistic hegemony of the State and Civil society has led to the script controversy in Goa. The sociological fact that the language movement which had hitherto united the community of Konkani speakers now divided the community along the lines of religion and caste has also been highlighted.