‘Kannada in crisis owing to State indifference’

Actor and former chairman of Kannada Development Authority ‘Mukhyamantri’ Chandru on Friday said that Kannada was in a state of crisis because of the continued indifference of the successive governments. Liberalised education policies, resulting in commercialisation of education sector, are also to be blamed for the present state of Kannada and its development, he argued. The former MLC was speaking at a ‘meet-the-press’ here, a day after the State witnessed protests seeking priority for Kannadigas in jobs and the implementation of the Sarojini Mahishi Committee report.

Mr. Chandru said the governments must understand languages are the path to future. It’s better to make Kannada mandatory instead of calling for giving priority to the language. “But, the language is not getting its due and becoming mandatory because of the conspiracy of politicians and bureaucrats,” he alleged.

Recalling how legendary actor Rajkumar brought the entire State together for the sake of Kannada during the Gokak movement, he said the film stars and the film industry must come together for the cause of Kannada.

Mr. Chandru, well-known for his role as Chief Minister in the play

Mukhyamantri , said he has been in theatre for the last 45 years and has been playing the CM in the play for the last 40 years.

The play is a milestone in amateur theatre and efforts are being made to enter the record books.