The Mysore-based Central Institute for Indian Languages (CIIL), which was earlier in favour of the Centre of Excellence for Studies in Classical Kannada continuing in Mysore, has expressed its readiness to move the centre to Bangalore.
“The State government wants the centre to be established in Bangalore, on the Bangalore University campus. The issue was discussed with the Principal Secretary of Kannada and Culture Department Shalini Rajneesh. We have no reservation if the centre is shifted to Bangalore, and the matter is left to the State government,” said CIIL Director Awadesh Kumar Mishra.
Speaking to The Hindu , Mr. Mishra, however, clarified that the centre would be run jointly by the Centre and the State government.
He said the place for establishing the centre in Bangalore had been identified and funds were not a problem. The CIIL director said the delay in appointment of staff for the centre caused problems in carrying out activities. On the allocation of funds for classical Kannada, Mr. Mishra said Rs. 1 crore had been sanctioned for research on classical Kannada. A sum of Rs. 22 crore had been set aside for five years for the development of classical languages of Kannada and Telugu.
Mr. Mishra added, “The CIIL had favoured that the centre be located here as Mysore is known for its ‘cultural’ tag. The centres for studies in classical Telugu and Tamil were shifted to Hyderabad and Chennai respectively. Since Mysore is part of Karnataka, there was a suggestion to establish it in the city.” He said the centre was affected by paucity of staff and only three officers were running it, though actual requirement was around 40. A programme monitoring board was set up last year and the project director needed to be appointed before going ahead with appointments for contractual positions, Mr. Mishra said.
