‘Wrestle English, nothing else’

“Why should one use Kannada as a language in Karnataka? Why should Kannada be used only for state administration and in the public space?” Such questions were raised at a discussion held as part of the World Kannada Meet in Belgaum on Saturday.

Former chief secretary Chiranjeevi Singh, the architect of the first Kannada meet in Mysore, said the state government should educate the public about advantages of using Kannada. “The question before all of us now is who will tell public about the strength and advantage of their own language. It’s high time we think about it. Otherwise, many of us will be namesake Kannadigas and our souls will be attached to America,” he said.

There are many lessons to be learnt from countries such as France, which has successfully implemented the local language in administration and other sectors. “Private companies in France pay hefty penalties if they don’t advertise in French. A multi-national company that has its branches in Bangalore was fined Rs30 lakh for messing up with the language policy and also paid Rs20,000 per day for weeks as it missed the deadline to pay the amount,” he said.