Bengaluru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah assured on Wednesday that his government would take a decision on the demand for a Kannada flag based on the report of the expert committee it had formed to look into the issue and also came out strongly in support of the use of Kannada versus Hindi or English.The Chief Minister, who was addressing the state on the occasion of Kannada Rajyotsava, explained that while his government was not against either Hindi or English, it did not like imposition of these languages on Karnataka.
"When people opposed the use of English and Hindi at the Namma Metro stations, our government responded, negotiated with the Centre and made sure that the Metro opted for Kannada instead," he recalled, observing that all the regional languages were facing similar problems of survival, especially after the Supreme Court ruled that parents could decide on their children's medium of instruction." This will adversely affect society," he warned. Urging techies and advocates to give up the idea that technical terms could not be explained in Kannada, he said it was important to develop a scientific and pro-people language policy.
"Such a policy will have to consider the changes that have taken place over time, the challenges faced by Kannada so far and the possible challenges it could encounter in future. While doctors have decided to use Kannada in their day to day work, advocates and engineers have shown no such interest as they believe that their technical terms cannot be explained in regional languages. But this is an unscientific argument. If Kannada has to grow, scholars with proficiency in other subjects should start thinking in the language," he stressed. The CM was also dismissive of the belief that there was no future for those who studied in the Kannada medium. "I studied in Kannada medium and became CM,'' he pointed out.
Rajyotsava performers with the Kannada flag
Kannada alphabets come alive in KSRTC bus
The Kannada alphabet came alive in a KSRTC bus from Gundlupet to Mysuru, on the occasion of Kannada Rajyotsava on Wednesday. The love of a KSRTC bus conductor of Gundlupet depot, Nataraj Kundur, for Kannada, made him decorate his bus with yellow and red coloured paper and also provide masks, each with a crown shaped like a Kannada alphabet, to commuters in the bus on Wednesday.
He even came up with an expo of photos of poets who presided over Akhila Bharatha Kannada Sahithya Sammelana since 1915, photos of 480 Kannada poets who have received various awards including Jnanapeeth award, Pampa award and others, and the specialities of all 30 districts of the state.
The front panel of the bus had the board, "Karnataka saarigeyalla Kannada akshagala sanchaara" along with the photo of Goddess Bhuvaneswari, on the window. He put up a board, ‘Sarva dharmagala Kannada Saarige Ratha’-(Kannada Transport Chariot of all communities).
