The All India Konkani Parishad is a national conference held in India. It is meant to support the Konkani people and Konkani language, and conducts various activities to achieve that goal, aided by local authorities[1]
The Konkani Parishad was launched when India's struggle for freedom was at its peak. The organisation was founded by the late Madhav Manjunath Shanbhague of Kumta, Karnataka, on 8 July 1939. It shifted to Goa, the homeland of Konkani, in 1961 when the territory was liberated from Portuguese rulers. At present, it functions from Goa as the national apex body to which 16 regional/local associations are affiliated and works for the development of Konkani language, literature, culture, education, etc. across the country. The Konkani Parishad had set the following objectives before it in 1939
During the past 75 years, the Parishad relentlessly worked, mostly through its national conferences for achieving its objectives. It has so far organized 29 biennial sessions and 22 biennial Konkani literary Conferences apart from innumerable other programmes at the national level.
These conferences were always graced by linguists like Dr. Suniti Kumar Chatterjee and Dr. S.M. Katre, and intellectuals like Kakasaheb Kalelkar and prominent litterateurs of various languages of the country.
The Parishad has always been in the forefront in fighting for the issues daunting the Konkani language. It identified and deliberated on the various problems related to the development of the language and prepared strategies for solving them. The following resolutions passed during the conferences throw light on the various issues agitating the minds of the Konkanies from time to time.
These resolutions were persistently followed up and, by and large, their purposes were achieved. The major issues which exercised the minds of the people at the Parishad's meets were satisfactorily settled when Konkani was recognised as an independent language by Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi in 1976 and the language attained the status of official language in Goa in 1987. The crowning glory came when Konkani was included in the 8th Schedule of the country's constitution in 1992.
These landmarks in the history of Konkani language were followed by establishment of Konkani Academies in Goa, Karnataka and recently in Kerala. The progress achieved in teaching Konkani from primary school level to post-graduate level in the colleges and its increased use in administration and mass media is also due to the direct and indirect efforts of the Parishad.
Brief details of the sessions of the Parishad are as below:[2]
| Adhiveshan | dates | Reception Committee Chairman | President | Inaugurated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Adhiveshan | The first session of the Parishad was held on 8 and 9 July 1939, Karwar. The conference was organised under the leadership of late Madhav Manjath Shanbhag, a leading advocate of Karwar. It was presided over by Vishwanath Pandurang Prabhu [3] | |||
| Second Adhiveshan | 31, December, 1940, Udupi | T. M. A. Pai | Mr. Jerome Saldanha | |
| Third Adhiveshan | 4,5, April, 1942, Mumbai [4] | Mr. Vaman Raghunath Varde Valavalikar aka Shenoi Goembab | Prof. Armando Menezes, Academician & English poet | |
| Fourth Adhiveshan | 1949, Mumbai | Dr. Mafaldo Ubaldo Mascarenhas | Anandashram Swami | |
| Fifth Adhiveshan | 23,24 February 1952 Mumbai | Dr. Mariano Saldanha, a scholar of international repute (He was teaching Sanskrit in Portugal) | Rt. Rev. Valerian Cardinal Gracias, India's first Cardinal | |
| Sixth Adhiveshan | 27,28 April 1957 Mumbai | Dr.Sumitra Mangesh Katre, Renowned linguist | Acharya Kaka Kalelkar Gandhian Intellectual & Eminent Gujarati writer | |
| Seventh Adhiveshan | 16, May, 1960, Karwar [5] | Dr. B.A.Saletore, Noted Historian | Shrimat Dwarakanatha Teertha (Gokarna Partagali Math) | |
| Eighth Adhiveshan | 26,27 May 1962, Madgaon (First Adhiveshan in Liberated Goa) | Dr.Manohar Rai Sardesai, Eminent Konkani Poet | Violet Alva, Vice President, Rajyasabha, Indian Parliament | |
| Ninth Adhiveshan | 29,30 September 1967, Mumbai | Bakibab Borkar, Eminent Konkani Poet | Vasantrao Naik Chief Minister of Maharashtra | |
| 10th Adhiveshan | 9,10 February 1974 Panaji [6] | K.K.Pai, Chairman & MD, Syndicate Bank | Dr. Suniti Kumar Chatterji, President Sahitya Akademi | |
| 11th Adhiveshan | 21,22 February 1976, Mangalore [7] | K.K.Pai | Chandrakant Keni, Eminent Konkani Writer | |
| 12th Adhiveshan | 12. 12th Adhiveshan - 11,12, February, Kochi | Ravindra Kelekar, Eminent Konkani Writer & Jnanpeeth Award winner | A. K. Antony Chief Minister of Kerala | |
| 13th Adhiveshan | 12,13 April 1980, Mumbai | F.A.Martiris | N. Purushotham Mallya, Scholar & Noted Writer | Pratapsingh Raoji Rane Chief Minister of Goa |
| 14th Adhiveshan | 27,28 February 1982, Panaji | V.J.P. Saldanha Eminent Konkani Novelist | Dr.Umashankar Joshi, President, Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi | |
| 15th Adhiveshan | 11,12,13, May, 1984, Bangalore | Nagesh Sonde, Noted Konkani writer | A.N.Bannerji, Governor of Karnataka | |
| 16th Adhiveshan | 24,25 May 1986, Kochi | Adv. Uday Bhembre Scholar & Eminent Konkani writer | M. Kamalam, Minister, Govt. of Kerala | |
| 17th Adhiveshan | 6,7,8 January 1989, Manipal[8] | M. V. Kamath, Renowned Author & Veteran journalist | Eduardo Faleiro Union Minister | |
| 18th Adhiveshan | 14,15,16 December 1990, Ramnathi, Goa[9] | Prof. R.K.Rao, Eminent Konkani author & Translator | Dr. José Pereira | |
| 19th Adhiveshan | 16,17 January 1993, Madgaon, Goa[10] | Dattaraj Salgaonkar | J. B. Moraes Eminent Konkani Poet | Ravi Naik, Chief Minister of Goa |
| 20th Adhiveshan | 11,12 February 1995, Shirsi, Karnataka[11] | Dr. Kashinath Mahale, Academician & Scholar | R.V. Deshapande, Minister, Govt. Of Karnataka | |
| 21st Adhiveshan | 18,19 January 1997, Mumbai[12] | Dr. William Madtha, Linguist & Academician | ||
| 22nd Adhiveshan | 15,16,17, January 1999, Belgaum [13] | Pundalik Naik, Eminent writer | Umesh Katti, Minister, Govt. Of Karnataka | |
| 23rd Adhiveshan | 20, 21, April, 2002, Mangalore[14] | Dr. Tanaji Halarnkar, scholar, columnist and editor of Konkani Encyclopaedia | Ramanath Rai, Minister, Govt. of Karnataka | |
| 24th Adhiveshan | 13,14,15 February 2004, Kozhikode[15] | Basti Vaman Shenoy | Mr. Rajagopal, Union Minister for Railways | |
| 25th Adhiveshan | 10,11,12 February 2006, Panaji, Goa[16] | Mr. Paul Moras, Konkani writer | Inaugurated by Mr. S.C. Jamir, Governor of Goa | |
| 26th Adhiveshan | 5,6.7 February 2008, Kochi, Kerala [17] | Adv. Shantaram Naik (Member, Rajyasabha) | Inaugurated by Mr. K.K. Pai, President, Dr. T.M.A. Pai Foundation | |
| 27th Adhiveshan | 5,6,7 February 2010, Sanquelim, Goa[18] | Dr. H. Shantaram, Academician | Inaugurated by Mr. Ravindra Kelekar, Jnanpeeth Award-winning Konkani writer | |
| 28th Adhiveshan | 17,18 February 2012, Mumbai [19] | Mr.Arvind Bhatikar, IAS (Retd) Administrator & Author | Inaugurated: Mr. Ramdas Bhatkal | |
| 29th Adhiveshan | 28 & 29 February, 1 March 2014, Belgaum, Karnataka[20] | Mr. Gokuldas Prabhu Eminent Konkani Writer | Inaugurated by : Mr. R.V. Deshpande, Hon'ble Minister for Higher Education, Government of Karnataka | |