Categorically opposing Hindi as the link language for communication between States and linguistic communities, H.S. Venkateshamurthy, president of the 85th Akhila Bharata Kannada Sahitya Sammelana, proposed developing Sanskrit or Prakrit for the purpose. It could be English for the time being until one of the two is developed into a link language, he argued.
Pointing to the disparities in language teaching across the country, Mr. Venkateshamurthy opposed the three-language formula for South India and two-language formula for North India.
“If we accept the three-language policy, it should be implemented uniformly throughout India. It should not be like three languages for South India and two languages for North India. The children in the north should learn an extra language of their interest along with English and Hindi,” he said.
Like Yiddish
“It’s not acceptable to say Hindi is the first among equal languages. If a language is required to unite India and make communication between States easy, it should be a language that is not of a particular province or it should be Sanskrit, which was the language of literature and taught once in India, or Prakrit, which was a language of communication among common people. They could be developed as a link language just as Jews developed Yiddish. For the time being, English can be used as a link language between people of different provinces in India. Such communicative English could be taught in a few months through training courses,” he said, in his presidential address delivered from the main stage of the literary event, Sri Vijaya Vedike, on Wednesday.
Mr. Venkateshamurthy also argued strongly for Kannada as a medium of instruction at the primary level in Karnataka. He said that arguments of people who forward the parents’ rights of choosing their child’s medium of instruction is flawed. “The profit-oriented educational institutions argue that making Kannada a medium of instruction would adversely affect children whose mother tongue is not Kannada. They say that it would snatch the parents’ right of choosing the medium of instruction for their children. It is a well-known fact that a child can learn better in its native language. Kannada is Karnataka’s native language and we want it as the medium of instruction,” he said.
Strike a balance
In an attempt to strike a balance between Kannada and the other mother tongues in the State such as Tamil, the poet suggested speaking mother tongues at home and Kannada outside.
“This approach could solve a lot of problems and friction. Most of our language issues would be solved if we expand the meaning of mother tongue to mean native language,” he said.
‘Govt. to ensure Kannada taught in all pvt. schools’
The State government will take steps to ensure that Kannada as a language is taught in all private schools, Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa announced at the sammelana in Kalaburagi. This came in the wake of demands by some Kannada activists at making Kannada medium compulsory in all schools in the State. Sammelana president H.S. Venkateshamurthy also reiterated the CM’s demand.
“We are committed to putting in place a series of steps to see that Kannada is taught in all schools, aided and private, as a language. Kannada should be the first or second language in schools. We will also take steps to strengthen government schools,” Mr. Yediyurappa said.
Kambar for dubbing informative TV shows
Chandrashekar Kambar, Sahitya Akademi president, favoured dubbing of informative TV channels in Kannada.“Channels like Discovery and History produce good quality content that can be educative and informative. They are very useful for children. These channels are now available in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi and some other Indian languages. There is no merit in not allowing dubbing of such content. I appeal to the C.T. Ravi, Minister for Kannada and Culture, to allow dubbing in Kannada,” Dr. Kambar said.