Indian languages had always lived together and helped enrich one another, Minister for Kannada and Culture C.T. Ravi has said.

Inaugurating the silver jubilee celebrations of the Karnataka Konkani Sahitya Academy here today, he said India was a country known for its diversity of culture and languages. There were nearly 1,200 spoken languages in the country. These languages were coexisting with one another. “Language and culture are two faces of the same coin; and one cannot live without the other.”

With the advent of British rule in the country, English language was given importance. This had led to the decline of some languages in the country. “Kannada medium schools are getting closed in the State not because there are lesser number of children, but because the number of children going to these schools has gone down,” he said.

The Minister said that he was not against people learning English language for advancement in their career. But it was essential that they did not forget to give primacy to Kannada in the State. Karnataka was a shining example where Kannada, the major language of the State, and languages such as Tulu, Konkani, Kodava, Are Bhashe, and Beary were coexisting with one another peacefully.

Mr. Ravi said that Indian culture had laid importance on the essence of an event than on outward celebrations. While solar and lunar new years were being celebrated in a dignified manner in the country, the New Year’s eve celebrations saw men dancing and getting drunk. With the result, there were many road accidents due to drunk driving on that night.

The Minister said that casteism and untouchability were social evils which should be removed. But some forces were using caste for their political purposes under the label of secularism. Though the Union government wanted unity while protecting the diversities in the country, some forces were against it and hence were opposing the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, he added.

K. Jagadish Pai, President of the Academy, welcomed the gathering. Shobha Karandlaje, MP, Sunil Kumar, MLA, and others, were present.