KDA launches a campaign at Vikasa Soudha to teach Kannada to non-Kannadigas BENGALURU: Amid the mounting opposition to the govt's move to divide Bengaluru into five administrative zones, Kannada Development Authority (KDA) expressed concerns Tuesday, saying the move could possibly make "Kannadigas refugees in their own land". Launching a campaign to teach Kannada to non-Kannadigas at Vikasa Soudha, Purushothama Bilimale, chairperson of KDA, revealed the authority has already conveyed this sentiment to deputy chief minister and Bengaluru development minister DK Shivakumar. Asserting that KDA isn't worried about the city's decentralisation from an administrative perspective, he said, "Bengaluru today has more non-Kannadigas than Kannadigas.
In several parts of the city, Kannadigas have become refugees." He added, "Further, if the govt decentralises administration , KDA is worried Kannada and Kannadigas may get caught in the vortex of problems if many non-Kannadigas become members of corporation and are elected as mayors!" Reflecting on the contemporary urban scenario, Bilimale lamented, "The Kannada language is in crisis. Evidently, Kannada is no longer required at home and schools but is needed only by litterateurs.
Sadly, there is no demand for the works of such scholars as the market also doesn't want Kannada! Hence, we all are becoming mute spectators of Kannada language's decline." Pointing to the rising number of multinational companies (MNCs), he said, "As the IT capital of the country, Bengaluru is becoming the hub of MNCs, and these companies have enough job opportunities for non-Kannadigas. If the state govt brings in reservation for Group C and D category posts in the private sector, the Supreme Court will disapprove it.
Because of this, Kannadigas are facing setbacks in employment, and this in turn has affected the Kannada identity." 'Learning Kannada will help understand culture' Saying the beauty of India's federal structure is in the unique identity of its individual states, Bilimale asked, "Will our federal structure be secure enough if the very identity of the states is on the verge of collapse?" Litterateur Hampa Nagarajaiah, meanwhile, lamented that these days, more Kannadigas need to be taught Kannada than non-Kannadigas. "While learning any language, it is important to speak in that language.
Learning spoken Kannada would essentially mean a non-Kannadiga getting acquainted with the culture of Kannada and Karnataka. This must be promoted by all of us.".
