Kannada writer Deshamsha Hudgi flagged off Urdugagi Nade (Walk for Urdu), a campaign to save Urdu, in Bidar on Monday. The octogenarian writer, who has compiled a separate dictionary of the Kannada spoken in Bidar district, also joined the walk from Madrassa of Mahamud Gawan to Urdu Hall in the old city. Scores of Kannada, Marathi and Hindi writers joined the walk.
Mr. Hudgi later asked speakers of all Indian languages to join the fight for survival. “The mad rush for sending children to English medium schools is the common enemy of all Indian languages. First, we have to strive to improve the quality of teaching in Kannada schools, and we have to create awareness among parents about the need for educating children in their mother tongue,” he said. M.G. Deshpande, writer, said that the popularity of Urdu was among the reasons for linguistic harmony in the Hyderabad-Karnataka region. We may speak different mother tongues at home, but when we meet in the market we all speak Urdu, he said.
