Karnataka - Raichur   

‘Declare border villages as Kannada-speaking areas’

Raichur: The Gadinadu Kannada Sangha has decided to stage a dharna here on Saturday demanding that the Government declare border villages along the Krishna-Magnur region in Andhra Pradesh as Kannada-speaking villages and issue a Gazette notification in this regard so that Kannadigas in the border areas are able get reservation in higher education and employment in Karnataka.

In a statement released here on Wednesday, Amar Dixit, sangha convener, said that 13 villages in border areas in Maganur mandal of Andhra Pradesh were once part of Karnataka. But after the reorganisation of States in 1956, these villages were included in Andhra Pradesh.

People living in these villages are Kannadigas and they had studied in the Kannada medium. But the Karnataka Government had failed to protect their interest, he said.

Mr. Dixit said that 14 Kannada-medium schools were functioning in 13 border villages in Magnur mandal providing primary and higher primary education to about 3,000 Kannadigas.

But such students had no chance to continue their higher education or get any employment opportunity in Andhra Pradesh. After they completed their high school education, their certificates were not recognised in Karnataka either for admissions to higher studies or for employment in government departments. The reservation given to Kannadiga students in professional courses and employment would not be applicable to the Kannadigas who studied in such border villages, Mr. Dixit said.

He said the sangha had been agitating for ten years demanding that the Karnataka Government recognise these border villages as Kannada-speaking areas.

But except sanctioning the supply of Kannada textbooks last year, the Government had not taken any action in this regard. He said that the sangha members from all the border villages will reach Raichur city on November 1 and stage a dharna on the premises of the Deputy Commissioner’s office.

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