Paper short abstract:

This paper attempts to uncover the historical play of foregrounding and suppression of meanings around ‘Konknno’ “native of Konkan” in Konkani literature of the colonial period. ‘Konknno’ was marginalized when it came to be used in the sense of ‘gentile’ and eventually came to signify “Hindu”.

Paper long abstract:

This paper is a journey with 'Konknno' along the recesses of Konkani literature of the colonial period. Konknno , a derivative of Konkann , " Konkan coast " and basically denoting "native of Konkan" was used by the seventeenth century writers in the sense of gentile or pagan. If 'Cristau' was the Self, 'Konknno' became the Other. It eventually came to signify "Hindu" in common Christian parlance and lost its original denotation. Christian by definition was one who was 'not a Konknno', and a Konknno did not want to remain one, was eager to become Hindu. Konknno was lost as the self and remained only as the other. Konknno restored to its original sense was central to Shennoi Goembab's subversion of the established Linguistic ethos of his time and his project of Konkani identity.