Sculptor L. Shivalingappa at Kannada Sahitya Sammelana of KR Assembly Constituency

Mysore/Mysuru: The first Kannada Sahitya Sammelana of the Krishnaraja (KR) Assembly Constituency, organised by Kannada Sahitya Parishat, Mysuru City, was held at the Maharaja’s College Centenary Hall here yesterday.

In his address, Sammelana Chairman L. Shivalingappa, who is a noted artist, sculptor, writer and President of Mysore Art Gallery, regretted that Kannada language got the status of Classical Language 15 years ago but the Centre of Excellence for Studies in Classical Kannada (CESCK) is yet to get its own building, mainly due to lack of political will.

“Despite many efforts, the CESCK does not have its own building and it has to depend on other institutions for its own survival. This is an unfortunate development. It is not like we do not have land in a place like Mysuru to establish CESCK. We have abundant land but what is lacking is political will power,” he said.

The Centre had released Rs. 10 crore in 2008 for CESCK activities but not a single rupee of the grants was used and it went back to the Centre. “Thousands of acres of land are becoming layouts and townships on a daily basis and there are many Government buildings that are lying vacant and no one is interested in maintaining them. Still, CESCK does not have its own building,” he regretted.

“The State Government must be fully committed to implementing Kannada in administration and education in Karnataka. Education must be imparted in the mother tongue of the child and the local administration too should be handled completely in the local language — Kannada in this case,” he noted.

Kannada literature has a history of more than 2000 years. The Halmidi inscription from 450 BC is a clear indicator of this rich history, he said.

“There must be a provision for punitive measures to private companies if they do not adhere to the rule of providing reservations for Kannadigas in employment. Kannada must be the official language and be used in all legislation, orders, and rules. All nameplates across the State should be in Kannada as well as programme brochures and banners of Government and its funded organisations should be printed in Kannada,” he opined.

Heaps praises on NEP

In his address, Prof. Pradhan Gurudatta, former Chairman, Kuvempu Bhasha Bharathi (Karnataka Anuvada Sahitya Academy), Bengaluru, called upon the people to get united and work for protecting, developing and expanding the language beyond the boundaries of Karnataka.

As a language, Kannada is facing a lot of survival challenges. We have to get united and collectively work for protecting and developing Kannada. If we want to expand the Kannada language beyond the boundaries of Karnataka, the youth must come forward with commitment. Unitedly we must fight for the honour of the Kannada language and land,” he said.

Mentioning the possibilities of Kannada learning in professional courses under the National Education Policy (NEP), he said that while ancient Universities of India are still remembered for their quality of education, today, we have over 800 Universities and they have failed to be recognised at the international level.

“There are many provisions to use Kannada in education but they could not succeed because of the improper implementation. Now, the newly introduced NEP has many aspects that are more trustworthy and implementable,” Prof. Gurudatta said.

Books released

On the occasion, ‘Maha Manavatavadi’ and ‘Patrikodyamada Teraneledavaru’ authored by Ammasandra Suresh and ‘Chutuku Mungaru Hanigalu’ authored by A.E. Veerabhadregowda Andale were released.

MLC Dr. D. Thimmaiah, District Kannada Sahitya Parishat President Maddikere Gopal, City President K.S. Shivaramu, Sammelana Chief Convenor M. Chandrashekar, journalist Amshi Prasannakumar, Corporators M.V. Ramprasad and Shobha Sunil, social worker K. Raghuram Vajpayee, Chucuku writer MGR Urs, and others were present on the occasion.