Why Kannada short on funds? Lit fest prez asks ‘double-engine govt’

NT Correspondent

Haveri: The BJP State government faced yet another accusation of undermining regional pride as the president of the 86th Kannada Sahitya Sammelana and celebrated poet Doddarange Gowda questioned them as to what the “doubleengine government” had done for the Kannada language and Karnataka’s interests.

Gowda opened the programme in Haveri on Friday by pointing out that despite getting the classical language status Kannada had received a miserly Rs 3 crore for research between 2017 and 2020 while Sanskrit studies had netted Rs 643 crore in the same period.

He penned a far more exhaustive account of his grouses in a 48-page letter circulated among media persons. However, he chose to raise a select few issues in his speech. The former BJP MLC aimed at his former party, claiming that the successive saffron party governments had ignored Kannada, claiming both Centre and State were responsible for the paucity of funds for studies in the language.

“This is not a complaint that is specific to only Kannada. Other classical languages too, including Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Odiya, face the same issue. The Central government released funds in excess of Rs 643 crore between 2017 and 2020 for Sanskrit studies. In the same timeframe, grants released for research in Kannada was a lowly Rs 3 crore and for Tamil it was ?23 crore. The amount released for Tamil was Rs 42 crore between 2017 and 2021.

If this is the situation, what is the point of getting classical language status? What has the Central government, which keeps talking about benefits of a double-engine government, done for Kannada?” he thundered. Gowda also lamented the dearth of technical education in Kannada and the absence of Over the Top (OTT) content in the language that delivers entertainment to consumers on the internet on demand.

“Moreover, a curriculum for Kannada technical  education should be framed. The government should encourage students to pursue technical education entirely in Kannada and bear their educational expenses,” he said, adding that Kannada should be made mandatory till class five.

“Elected representatives of Tamil Nadu fight with the Centre and get funds released for their language,” he said, asking Karnataka’s lawmakers to do the same. He also demanded that banking services be delivered in Kannada, a long-standing demand in many quarters.

The literature festival president continued his litany of complaints, claiming that Karnataka’s interests were being undermined, especially with regard to the Belagavi border conflict with Maharashtra and asked the State government not to compromise on the territorial integrity of the state.

“We will not cede an inch of Karnataka to any state, and the Mahajan Commission report has already settled the border issue. It is not prudent for the neighbouring state to engage in acts of violence, vandalism and create disturbance. The row should be settled through dialogue and the framework of law,” Gowda said.

He added that the cases being filed against pro-Kannada activists should be withdrawn. “They are proKannada activists who are fighting for Kannada’s existence and not terrorists to be jailed,” the poet said.