Litterateur CP Krishnakumar lambasts move to close Kannada-medium schools.
The 78th All-India Kannada Sahitya Sammelana was inaugurated amid acrimony and violence in the rice bowl of Karnataka, Gangavati.
The police were forced to lathi-charge hundreds of Students Federation of India (SFI) activists and members of pro-Kannada outfits as they staged a protest against the state government’s proposal to close Kannada schools with poor enrolment of students.
The protesters demanded the state government to withdraw the proposal before chief minister DV Sadananda Gowda could inaugurate the literary fest.
Efforts to convince the agitators to withdraw the protest proved futile and the police resorted to lathi-charge to disperse the protests. Scores of protesters were injured and over 15 of them were detained.
Litterateur CP Krishnakumar, who is chairing the Sammelana, lambasted the state government’s proposal as a move to kill Kannada.
He threatened a state-wide agitation if the state government fails to withdraw the proposal.
“The government’s move to close about 3,000 Kannada-medium schools by citing poor enrolment is the biggest threat looming large over the survival of Kannada language. The schools should be retained even if they have just one student enrolled,” he said.
The right to education had no meaning if the state government goes ahead with its proposal.
It would deal a mortal blow for aspirations of children from poor families, Dalit and backward communities.
“If you want to close any schools, close English-medium schools, not Kannada-medium schools,” he said.
He ridiculed the view that command over English was a sure passport for prosperity. “There are beggars and poverty even in countries like the US and UK,” he said.
Earlier in the day, the national flag and Kannada Sahitya Parishat (KSP) flags were hoisted at the Channabasavaswamy Stadium, the main venue of the Sammelana by district in-charge minister, Lakshmana Savadi, and Kannada Sahitya Parishat president, Nallur Prasad, respectively.
A colourful procession carrying the Sammelana president CP Krishnakumar and Prasad in a decorated, silver-coated horse-drawn chariot with a portrait of Bhuvaneshwari added colour and festive mood to the event. The route was decorated with portraits of litterateurs and Jnanpith awardees.
An array of 25 tableaux depicting the heritage of northern Karnataka and 20 folk troupes performing Kamsale, Dollu Kunita, and Veeragase were cheered by thousands who had lined up on either side of the roads.
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