People must strengthen Kannada: Siddaramaiah

Mysuru, Sep 20 (IANS) Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said on Friday that the people of the state must strengthen the Kannada environment and language.

“In Tamil Nadu, business is conducted in Tamil; in Kerala, in Malayalam; in Andhra Pradesh, in Telugu; in Maharashtra, in Marathi. But in Karnataka, people are eager to conduct business in their own languages rather than in Kannada. This is not right. We must strengthen the Kannada environment and language,” said the Chief Minister after inaugurating the ‘Karnataka Cultural Outlook: A Thought Symposium’ jointly organised by the Department of Kannada and Culture and the National Saint Poet Kanakadasa Study and Research Centre at the Kaveri Auditorium of Karnataka State Open University in Mysuru.

The Chief Minister said that Karnataka and Kannada should be the breath of seven crore people, adding that it would be good if the non-Kannada speakers who have made their lives in the state also speak Kannada.

“We are not against any language. Learning as many languages as possible is beneficial. However, in Karnataka, the environment of Kannada should be created, and it should be used fully. This is the responsibility of every Kannadiga,” the Chief Minister said.

He said that people should work harder to expand and strengthen the environment of Kannada.

Siddaramaiah said that Karnataka is a cradle of pluralism, adding that there will be no compromise when it comes to building a pluralistic state.

He said that Karnataka is a land of peace for all people, adding that Kannada Nadu is a cradle of pluralism. “Here, pluralism based on love for humanity is practised. However, it is unfortunate that educated people have abandoned pluralism and secularism and are now practising discrimination and backward rituals,” the Chief Minister said.

“In 1973, former Chief Minister late Devaraja Urs renamed the state as Karnataka. The BJP government should have celebrated the 50th anniversary of this renaming as a golden jubilee but they did not. Therefore, I announced this celebration in the budget and it is being observed as Kannada Janotsava (Festival of Kannada),” he said.

“We have declared Basavanna (12th-century social reformer) as a cultural leader with the intention of adhering to his philosophical stances. This was not done to gain any crown for the government. Basavanna's aspirations, ideas, and philosophy should reach more young people,” he said.

“The essence of Kannada, Karnataka, pluralism, and philosophical thinking has come together to form the concept of ‘Kannadatana’ (Kannadiga identity). This cultural symposium has been organised with the intention of effectively passing this history and essence to the next generation. I am confident that intellectuals like you will come together to provide a proper cultural outlook,” he said.

“The Governor will also issue notice against me for making this speech,” Siddaramaiah maintained.

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