The president-designate of the 81 Kannada Sahitya Sammelan, Siddalingaiah, is a poet of repute and an important voice of the early Dalit movement in Karnataka. His fiery poetry of the 70s and 80s shaped the sensibilities of two generations. He, later, went on to be a member of Karnataka Legislative Council twice and headed the Kannada Development Authority and the Kannada Book Authority.
Excerpts from an interview with the writer:
Can you explain the reason behind accepting the honour of presiding over the sammelan after Devanur Mahadeva refused it?
Our strategies differ. Dr. Mahadeva always fought the system from outside. But, I opted to fight from within. I have no differences on the issues of medium of instruction raised by Dr. Mahadeva and will use the platform to create public opinion on that. Till the next sammelan, I will work in tandem with the parishat to make Kannada the medium of instruction.
Once a revolutionary writer, you have mellowed over the years and become part of system…
There might be a change in my tone, but my stand on issues concerning caste remains unaltered. I still profess the ideals of Ambedkar, Lohia, and Karl Marx.
Considering the apathy of the government in implementing the resolutions of sammelan, how confident are you about achieving success?
It is the responsibility of sahitya parishat to get the resolutions implemented by bringing pressure on the government as well as the elected representatives. I don’t think elected representatives will compromise on issues pertaining to land, language, and culture. An action taken report should be presented at the sammelan on the resolutions passed in the previous event.
Do you think the government has commitment to the issues of language?
Regardless of success and failure, governments are doing their best. I don’t have any doubt about their commitment, but bureaucrats should guide the elected representatives on ways to protect the language. Only a change in the of mindset of bureaucrats will help the government in achieving success.
