Daijiworld Media Network – Bengaluru

Bengaluru, Jan 29: Kannada and culture minister Shivraj Tangadagi said that Tulu will be declared the state’s second additional official language at the earliest.

Replying to a question raised by Congress MLA Ashok Kumar Rai in the Legislative Assembly, the minister said that a meeting would be convened soon under the chairmanship of chief minister Siddaramaiah to discuss the proposal to accord Tulu the status of the state’s second additional official language.

Tangadagi said that a committee headed by Dr Mohan Alva had been constituted to study various aspects of the Tulu language, including its nature and history, Tulu literary tradition, Tulu script, ancient and modern Tulu literature, culture and Tulu inscriptions. The committee had submitted its report to the government in February 2023, he added.

He further stated that the Karnataka government has written to West Bengal, which has framed certain norms to declare languages as additional official state languages. A Karnataka delegation has also visited Andhra Pradesh, which has declared Urdu as its second state language. “We will convene a meeting and invite all MLAs from Tulu-speaking regions,” the minister said.

Tangadagi was responding to MLA Ashok Kumar Rai, who had earlier stated that Tulu has a history of 3,000 years and has been recognised by Google for translation purposes.

Rai also pointed out that there are opportunities to study Tulu in Germany and France, and that universities allow examinations to be written in the Tulu medium. “In some states, there are three to four official languages. In every legislative session, I raise the same question about making Tulu the state’s second official language. There are no financial implications, so when will it be implemented?” he questioned.