The ambiguous stand of the coalition government on introducing English medium in 1,000 government schools from the academic year 2019-20 took centre stage at the inauguration of the 84th Akhila Bharata Kannada Sahitya Sammelana on Friday, with the previous president of the sammelana, Chandrashekar Patil, demanding that Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy spell out the government’s stand in “unambiguous” terms.

After handing over the Kannada Sahitya Parishat flag as a mark of transfer of power to new president Chandrashekar Kambar, he cited the previous government’s commitment to implementing 21 recommendations made by a seven-member committee to strengthen government schools, Dr. Patil appealed to Mr. Kumaraswamy to respect the coalition “dharma” and implement the recommendations forthwith, in the interest of Kannada and its culture.

The acerbic writer, known for his scathing irony, also appealed to Mr. Kumaraswamy to support “growth of the Kannada tree” and carve a niche for himself in the history of Karnataka. At the same time, he also asked the CM to desist from becoming “Kuttharaswamy” (detrimental) for Kannada.

He said the issue of the medium of instruction is a question of survival of Kannada and its pride. The coalition government has to make its stand clear as chairman of the coalition coordination committee Siddaramaiah had stated his reservation of the government’s move to introduce English-medium in 1,000 schools in Badami recently.

He pointed out how the coalition government was sending confusing signals on the issue. “There was reference about this in the budget session. Mr. Kumaraswamy reiterated his stand again in the recent winter session. Now we hear orders had already been issued in October. It is in this context I demand that the government make its stand clear to put an end to speculation and anxiety of Kannadigas,” he said. Dr. Patil said past presidents of the sammelanas Jnanapith recipient writer Dr Chandrashekara Kambara, S. L Bhyrappa, Siddalingaiah, Baraguru Ramachandrappa, K S Nissar Ahmed, Channaveera Kanavi and others have expressed their anxiety over the move. The sammelana platform was the right place for Mr. Kumaraswamy to make his stand clear, and alley fears in their minds as Kannadigas have a tradition of launching struggle, whenever crisis looms over land language and culture.