Kannada Sahitya Sammelana president Doddarange Gowda questions what the double-engine government has accomplished for Kannada.
Doddarange Gowda, president of the 86th Akhila Bharata Kannada Sahitya Sammelana and acclaimed poet, wanted to know what the State and Union governments had actually done for Kannada, particularly regarding its status as a classical language, in discomfort to BJP leaders who keep insisting on the benefits of a “double engine government.”
To highlight the discrimination, Mr. Gowda compared the funding allocation to classical languages for studies and research in his address, copies of which were distributed among media professionals.
“Other classical languages included in this complaint, in addition to Kannada, are Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Odiya. The Union Government provided grants totaling 643 crores for Sanskrit studies between 2017 and 2020. Grants were made available for Tamil (Rs. 23 crores) and Kannada (Rs.3 crore) research and study during the same time period. Between 2017 and 2021, a total of 42 crores was made available for Tamil. What is the point of having a classical language if this is the case? What has the Union government accomplished for Kannada, which frequently touts the benefits of a two-engine system of government?
According to Mr. Gowda, the current Karnataka government is in charge of bringing the necessary funds for classical language studies. He proposed forming a high-level committee to investigate the matter, chaired by the Minister for Kannada and Culture. In addition, he proposed forming a committee led by a second chief secretary to study and replicate Tamil Nadu’s model for classical language instruction.
Mr. Gowda extensively discussed Kannada and Kannadiga issues in his 48-page speech, but he chose to focus on only a few of them.
One of them is the need for Kannada technical education support. He proposed forming the “Kannada Jnana Vijnana Tantrajna Karypade” (Kannada Knowledge Science Technology Task Force) and releasing the “Word Corpus” in order to suggest Kannada equivalents for various technical terms.
“Aside from that, Kannada technical education curricula must be developed. The government should encourage students to pursue technical education entirely in Kannada by covering their tuition costs, according to the official.
He emphasized the importance of promoting Kannada as a business and employment language, as well as its use in banking institutions. Kannada, he claims, has now evolved into “vishwamukhi” (oriented to the world).
Mr. Gowda noted the demand for dubbed Kannada movies, particularly on OTT platforms, and encouraged Kannadigas to put pressure on the government to develop policies that will allow them to access more original Kannada content. As an example, he cited the million-dollar Nordic thriller industry.
Kalyan Chandra
Kalyan chandra is a political strategist, media and communication consultant with the expertise in public relations, marketing, political research, election campaign management, psephology and digital analytics. He focuses on strategic political consulting, offering services that include competitive research, public opinion collection, and digital media management. Kalyan has significantly contributed to successful campaigns across India with his meticulous approach and deep understanding of the political landscape.
