Whoever lives in K’taka should learn Kannada: CM Siddaramaiah

Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said that everyone who resides in the state should learn to speak Kannada and declared that not learning the language is “a disrespect to this land.”

The CM was speaking after launching the 'Karnataka Sambhrama-50' emblem to mark the golden jubilee of renaming Mysore State as Karnataka at the Vidhana Soudha's banquet hall.

"We are all Kannadigas, people speaking different languages have settled in Kannada land, since the unification of Karnataka,” he said.

“In the states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Telangana, and Uttar Pradesh, it is impossible to exist without learning the local language. But you can live in Karnataka even if you don't speak Kannada. That is the difference between our state and other neighbouring states," he added.

"Even after 68 years of Karnataka's unification, it is not appropriate that the Kannada atmosphere could not be created in the state. Instead of Kannadigas teaching our language to others, we are learning their language first," said the Chief Minister, adding that this attitude of Kannadigas is "not good from the point of view of language development and the development of the state, language, and culture".

“In some parts of the state, the diaspora does not speak Kannada at all. Kannadigas are not without self-respect. But this is happening because of their generosity," he noted.

He further said, "The craze for English has also increased amongst us. Many of my Ministers and especially officers write notes in English only. English can be used while writing to the Union government and other states, but otherwise, it should be done in Kannada. Although Kannada has been the official language for many years, negligence may have been the main reason behind the non-implementation of Kannada in administration".

Beginning on November 1, 2023, 'Karnataka Sambrama' will be celebrated for one year and this will help create awareness of the Kannada language among the people, he said.

"Renaming Karnataka completes its 50th year on November 1, 2023. Actually, it should have been celebrated last year itself. But the previous government did not celebrate. As it was an important event in the history of Karnataka, we decided to include and celebrate the event," Siddaramaiah added.

Appreciating the design of the emblem, the Chief Minister also congratulated Raviraj G. Hulaguru who designed it.

With inputs from IANS