Mysore/Mysuru: Chairman of the Kannada Development Authority (KDA), Purushotham Bilimale, has said that mere correspondence will not resolve the issue of neglect of Kannada in postal services and stressed that a large-scale protest is essential to safeguard the language.

Responding to Star of Mysore on the continued sidelining of Kannada in post office transactions, Bilimale said that under the Central Government, banks, post offices and public sector institutions such as BHEL have appointed a disproportionately large number of non-Kannada employees.

He alleged that within the federal framework, there is a systematic attempt to suppress regional languages and impose Hindi, while effective resistance has so far been lacking.

Bilimale asserted that submitting repeated petitions has failed to address language-related problems. He said people’s representatives must raise the issue forcefully in Parliament and press for suitable legal amendments.

Citizens, he added, should also insist on using Kannada while interacting with officials from outside the State. If bank or post office staff refuse to communicate in Kannada, or if documents are unavailable in the language, account holders should protest by suspending their accounts.

He further alleged that the Central Government is deliberately preventing native-language speakers from entering its services. Since recruitment examinations are conducted only in Hindi and English, many Kannadigas fail to qualify, he said, adding that the Centre has ignored petitions from the State Government on this issue.