‘Very happy’: Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje on ‘Tulu’ granted official language status in K’taka
Bengaluru: Minister of State Shobha Karandlaje on Saturday expressed happiness on ‘Tulu’ being announced as Karnataka’s second additional administrative language alongside Kannada.
Speaking to reporters during the 20th Rozgar Mela event in Bengaluru, she said: “My language is Tulu. I am very happy that Tulu has been made the second official language of Karnataka. We are all very happy because it is an ancient language. Tulu is one of the oldest languages in the Dravidian family.”
“We speak in ‘Tulu’ only in two regions, still this language is different,” she added.
The Union Minister said that different words of the Tulu language are used in Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Telugu and several other languages.
“That is why I am very happy with this recognition,” she added.
Citing references from the Kannada language film ‘Kantara’, she mentioned that the ‘Tulu’ language has a special tradition.
“The community that inhabits the coastal region in Karnataka speaks ‘Tulu’ language. They also have different cultures, art forms and traditions, and even have a different way of worshipping their deity,” she added.
Shobha Karandlaje referred to ‘Yakshagana’, a traditional theatre and dance-drama art form originating from the coastal regions of Karnataka and parts of Kerala, saying: “It is also very famous.”
‘Yakshagana’ was showcased in the film ‘Kantara’.
On Friday, Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar said the Karnataka Cabinet had unanimously decided to recognise ‘Tulu’ as an additional administrative language in Dakshina Kannada (Mangaluru) and Udupi districts.
He noted that the decision followed a long-standing demand from Tulu-speaking people, organisations, and public representatives for official recognition of the language.
“Tulu is spoken prominently in the coastal districts. We will not discuss why the previous government did not take this decision. We will not do politics based on emotions,” Shivakumar said, adding that the state government was committed to strengthening people’s social and economic power rather than indulging in emotional politics.
Moreover, the Karnataka CM noted that society cannot be built on emotions alone, and the state government would focus on empowering people socially and economically.