What does Tulu’s new official language status mean?, Pg8

Key Highlights:

• The Karnataka Cabinet, on September 18, decided to grant additional official language status to Tulu in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts.
• Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar announced that this status will apply to administrative matters within these two districts.
• The state government will allocate ₹82 lakh annually for translation, training, and promoting Tulu language usage.
• Tulu is recognized as an independent language by the Registrar General and Census Commissioner but is not included in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.

Detailed Insights:

• The decision enables elected representatives to speak in Tulu at gram sabhas, taluk panchayats, zilla panchayats, and urban local body meetings.
• Citizens will be able to submit applications to government departments in Tulu, and official circulars will also be issued in the language.
• The process for granting official status began under the previous BJP government, which formed a committee in January 2023.
• The current Congress government appointed a committee to study the procedures adopted by Andhra Pradesh for granting additional language status to Urdu.
• Legal experts suggest that implementing this decision will require an amendment to the Karnataka Official Language Act, 1963.
• Tulu is currently taught as a third optional language in schools from Class 6 to Class 10 in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts.
• A two-year Tulu postgraduation program at Mangalore University was discontinued from the 2024-25 academic year due to a lack of student enrollment.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Article 345: Constitutional provision allowing state legislatures to adopt one or more regional languages or Hindi as official languages for state official work.
• Karnataka Official Language Act, 1963: The state law that designates Kannada as the official language of Karnataka.
• Eighth Schedule: A list in the Indian Constitution enumerating the official languages of the Republic of India, currently comprising 22 languages.