Bengaluru: Karnataka’s Rural Development Minister Priyank Kharge expressed his pride in the rich history and cultural significance of the Tulu language and assured that the government is positively considering recognizing it as an additional official language.
Kharge’s comments came in response to a question posed by Congress MLA Ashok Kumar Rai regarding the status of Tulu as a second additional official language.
During a legislative session, Kharge announced that a blueprint would be developed after conducting a meeting with ministers, legislators, and officials from the Tulu Academy, chaired by Speaker U T Khader. This meeting will follow the conclusion of the current legislative session. Kharge’s remarks were made on behalf of the Kannada and Culture Minister.
Kharge noted that the Mohan Alva committee report, which addresses the official status of Tulu, is currently under review by the Department of Law. He highlighted examples from other states where multiple languages have been recognized as official, such as Urdu alongside Telugu in Andhra Pradesh, and Bihari with Hindi in Bihar. In West Bengal, languages like Bengali, Bihari, and Urdu are used regionally.
Kharge further acknowledged that members of the Tulu community have independently traveled to various states to study the implementation of additional official languages. These findings have been compiled into a report submitted to the government. Kharge assured the assembly that the government would conduct its official study to determine the feasibility of adopting Tulu as an additional official language.
The proposal received support from several members of the house, including Vedavyas Kamath, Harish Poonja, and others, who echoed Ashok Kumar Rai’s sentiments.
