In a bid to aggressively promote Kannada as the official language of Karnataka, the much-publicised “Kannada Language Comprehensive Development BiIl, 2022” is expected to be passed by next week, News18 has learnt.
The state’s Kannada and culture minister V Sunil Kumar told News18 that the bill that was tabled in September last year will help “promote and safeguard this rich south Indian language”. The bill is a big push by the BJP towards promoting and safeguarding Kannada as well as spelling out how the language can be effectively implemented as the state’s official language with English being the second communication language.
In the background of Kannada groups raising their pitch against “Hindi imposition” on non-Hindi speaking states, this bill gains a lot more ground and importance.
Minister Kumar told News18 that despite several warnings and over 300 circulars issued to companies to implement Kannada as a language of communication, no heed was paid. This bill will bring in a law for its effective and 100 per cent implementation.
So what is this bill all about?
This new “comprehensive bill” when passed will replace the Karnataka Official Language Act, 1963, and Karnataka Local Authorities (Official Language) Act, 1981.
The bill defines who can be called a “Kannadiga”, the reservation of jobs for Kannadigas both in the government and private organisations, making Kannada compulsory in education.
Who qualifies to be called a Kannadiga?
A person whose parents or the person hired/himself has been residing in Karnataka for over 15 years and can read, write, and speak the language — having learnt the language up to class 10 — is defined as a “Kannadiga”. This definition is in line with the Sarojini Mahishi report submitted in 1984, which made 58 recommendations on how to safeguard Kannada and opportunities for Kannadigas.
The highlight of the bill is the provision for punitive measures to private companies if they do not adhere to the rule of providing reservations for Kannadigas in employment. Kannada will be the official language and be used in all legislation, orders, and rules. All nameplates across the state should be in Kannada as well as programme brochures and banners of the government and its funded organisations should be printed in Kannada. However, communications with the union government and other states can be in English.
The bill also mandates that all lower courts, state tribunals, and quasi-judicial bodies should transact proceedings and issue orders in Kannada.
“Any failure on the part of the government officials in using the Kannada language in official and administrative transactions shall be deemed to be a dereliction of duty,” the bill states. “Private industries must reserve seats for Kannadigas to avail tax benefits.”
The bill spells out that companies seen not complying with the provisions of this bill will not be eligible for any concessions offered by the state government. These companies will be denied tax holidays and tax rebates and not be eligible to avail of exemption or discounts in the procurement of land for business.
According to the Karnataka Industrial Policy 2020-25, companies are mandated to provide 70 per cent reservations for Kannadigas and 100 per cent for Group D employees. Those applying for jobs, who have not studied up to class 10 in the state, will also need to clear a Kannada language examination that is equivalent to the first language or second language at the SSLC Board level (secondary school-leaving certificate). Those who have taken the examination in their SSLC are exempt from this test.
The bill emphasises that importance should be given to teaching “functional Kannada” to all technical and professional education students, who have not taken Kannada as a subject till Class 10 (SSLC). “Additional classes should be given to such students to understand the Kannada culture and ethos,” it states.
The bill also highlights that apart from giving Kannada importance in education and communication, it also encourages non-Kannada speakers to learn to speak and write the language.
Consumer products manufactured and sold in Karnataka must specify the name of the product and directions for use in Kannada, the bill further says.
Addressing the use of Kannada in the banking sector, it states, “Every person employed in banks and other financial institutions situated within the state of Karnataka shall use Kannada in all its communications and correspondence with the public.”
It also has made provisions for the use of Kannada in information technology services, higher education, and billboards.
Those who are found to violate the bill, be it industries or commercial establishments, will attract fines. Rs 5,000 for the first violation, followed by Rs 10,000 and Rs 20,000 for the second and third-time offences. After this, the government may consider revoking the licence of the company, Kannada culture minister Kumar said.
The debate
While the issue of punitive measures spelt out in the bill has been debated in the IT sector, News18 earlier reported how the industry felt the move to be quite drastic. The state government, however, says it is in line with all the other states that have introduced similar language bills.
The BJP is hoping to pass this bill without any hurdle in the assembly as it seeks to promote the state’s “maatru bhaashe” (mother tongue). The BJP also hopes to remove the tag that the national party has been “promoting Hindi”.
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