KOZHIKODE: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said that the government was taking strong steps to end the neglect of Malayalam. Addressing the Kerala Literature Festival here on Saturday, he regretted that though one could write the civil services exams in Malayalam, this was not possible in the secretariat assistant exam conducted by the PSC.
“The Malayali does not love his language and feels proud of talking in any other language. Exams like NEET can be written in many local languages but not in Malayalam. The national exam authorities and PSC should change the trend. The writers and platforms like literature festival should discuss such issues and create awareness,” he said.
“The government will implement many steps in this regard by giving prominence to Malayalam in e-governance, courts, and also impart training for other state labourers to help them become equal citizens,” he added. Referring to the attacks against M.T Vasudevan Nair and film director Kamal and and academician Prof M.M Basheer, he said that some with no connection to literature were trying to become the last word in literature.
“Intolerance is more visible in literature. Some people issue decrees on what the writers should and should not write. Such tendencies are growing and their supporters are trying to spread communalism,” he said. “They want to prevent new and genuine ideas from emerging in society and are trying to spread hatred. Such a society, where one can be killed for expressing one’s opinion, is not democratic,” he added.
