[lg policy] Karnataka: Government staff to be trained to use Kannada in administration

[Harold Schiffman]

Date:02/09/2009 URL:
http://www.thehindu.com/2009/09/02/stories/2009090257310300.htm
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Karnataka: Government staff to be trained to use Kannada in administration

Staff Correspondent

Workshop for government department directors, trainees commences
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Chandru releases course material to be used in training

1.2 lakh government employees to be trained by March 2010
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Brand New: Chairman of the Kannada Development Authority
‘Mukhyamantri’ Chandru releasing ‘Aadalita Kannada’ in Hampi on
Monday. HAMPI: Chairman of the Kannada Development Authority
‘Mukhyamantri’ Chandru has said that making Kannada the administrative
language in the State is the only way of protecting the language from
extinction, adding that the language is not getting its due even from
Kannadigas.  Mr. Chandru inaugurated a three-day camp on Kannada in
administration organised by the authority, Kannada University and the
Department of Kannada and Culture here on Tuesday.  The workshop was
organised for directors of various government departments and two
trainers from each district.

Speaking to the gathering, Mr. Chandru stated that UNESCO had declared
that many ancient languages in the world were dying, and he underlined
that Kannada should not suffer the same fate. “To ensure that Kannada
gets its due, it should be made the administrative language so that
people — Kannadigas and non-Kannadigas — learn and correspond in
Kannada,” he said adding that the authority would leave no stone
unturned to nurture, protect and propagate the language, which was
over 2,500 years old.
He said that after holding discussions with other scholars and the
Kannada University Vice-Chancellor, the authority had come to the
conclusion that Kannada should be the language of administration and
had chalked out a plan of action. Training would be first imparted to
government employees to use Kannada in administration. “If this is
done, then the public will immediately follow suit,” he said.

He said that the advantage would be that Kannadigas would
automatically secure employment. Problems faced by people in
Kannada-speaking areas in the border areas would also be resolved, he
said. Mr. Chandru appealed to the participants in the workshop to
inspire the government employees attending their workshops to develop
an interest in using Kannada at all levels of administration. Mr.
Chandru also released “Adalita Kannada,” learning material prepared
for the purpose of imparting training to government employees to use
Kannada in administration.  Vice-Chacellor of Kannada University A.
Murigeppa said that efforts had been made to make Kannada learning
easy for government employees. The aim was to train 1.2 lakh
government employees by March 2010, he said.

Kya. Ta. Chikkanna from the Department of Kannada and Culture, K.M.
Metry, Director of the University’s Distance Education Centre and S.S.
Pujar, Registrar, were present.


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 Harold F. Schiffman

Professor Emeritus of
 Dravidian Linguistics and Culture
Dept. of South Asia Studies
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305

Phone:  (215) 898-7475
Fax:  (215) 573-2138

Email:  haroldfs at gmail.com
http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/

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