The State government is in favour of amending the Constitution to empower it to make the mother tongue compulsory in schools.
“The State government is making all efforts to convince the Union government and other States about the necessity of such a move. We are committed to the stand of primary education in Kannada or the mother tongue. There is no stepping back from it,’’ Chief Minsiter Siddharmaiah said after inaugurating the 82nd all India Kannada Sahitya Sammelana in Raichur. He said that a recent Supreme Court judgment had taken away the power of State government to make mother tongue of the child as the compulsory medium of instruction, saying the parents had a right to choose the language in schools. I have also requested the union government to set up a commission of inquiry to study the issue by visiting various States and suggest measures to ensure education in the mother tongue, he said.
Education in the mother tongue helps students absorb subjects quickly. We have to create awareness among the public that Kannada medium schools are not inferior to English medium schools, he said. His statement that he studied in a Kannada medium school was received with a loud applause.
“We have to now request the Central government to go for it and build consensus among States. We have already begun the process. I had requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to introduce such an amendment, when I met him recently. I have also written letters to the Chief Ministers of all states asking them to join this cause. Karnataka has also filed a review petition in the Supreme Court that struck down a government order mandating Kannada medium in schools,” he said.
The State government is also in favour of introducing reservation for locals in private companies and central government institutions. We have already accepted 45 of the 58 recommendations of Sarojini Mahishi report that favours such quotas, he said.
A cabinet sub-committee is looking into the report on a draft culture policy submitted by Baraguru Ramachandrappa. Committee members have told me that most of the recommendations would be accepted, he said. The State government would release funds to district officers to celebrate Kannada Rajyotsava at the district levels from next year, Mr. Siddharamaiah informed.
He said the quality of literature produced by illiterate folk poets was unparalleled. But who has kept count of the number of such poets or their works? They have been transmitted from generation to generation by word of mouth. In order to document such literature, the State government would bring out 50 volumes of folk Tatva Padas of 500 pages each. Interestingly, most of the Tatva Pada writers are from Hyderabad-Karnataka region, the CM said.
Describing HK region as the `Kashi of Kannada,’ the CM said writers and thinkers from this region had been nurturing Kannada since medieval era. A lot of creative writers have produced great works in modern times. That is reflective of the spirit of Kannada literature that is comparable to the best in the world. From Pampa to Kuvempu, our writers have produced such ennobling and uplifting literature that they have not only highlighted our social and cultural problems, but also provided well thought out solutions, he said. Our literature has been great because our writers have lived noble lives. Their aim has been to enrich the lives of fellow human beings, he said.
Unlike other States, Karnataka has not had a single starvation death. I think that is due to the Anna Bhagya scheme introduced by the State government. The government has also mitigated the suffering of the rural poor by giving them work under MNREGA by issuing job cards at their door steps during drought. We are the only State to do so, he said.
