Govt committed to two-language policy in Karnataka Siddaramaiah

Mysuru, Jun 30 (PTI) Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday said that his government is committed to a two- language policy in the state's education system.
    There is a demand to adopt a two-language policy--Kannada and English--in Karnataka.
    The chief minister's statement came in response to a question citing the government in neighbouring Maharashtra withdrawing its orders on the implementation of the three-language policy in that state.
    "We are for a two-language policy. Our government is committed to a two language policy," Siddaramaiah told reporters here.
    The Maharashtra government, in the face of mounting opposition to the introduction of Hindi for Classes 1 to 5 in schools, has withdrawn two government orders on the implementation of the three-language policy.
    Aam Aadmi Party Karnataka state president Mukhya Mantri Chandru has written a letter to the Chief Minister demanding that the two-language policy be implemented in Karnataka at the earliest.
    The ruling Congress party too said that mandating Hindi as a third language in schools, especially in non-Hindi-speaking states like Karnataka, creates discord.
    "For speakers of Kannada, Tulu, or Kodava who are fluent in Kannada and English, struggling with written Hindi is a significant challenge--a sentiment shared by many students in linguistically rich regions. This issue transcends a single language; it's about fairness and embracing our diversity," the Karnataka Congress said in a post on 'X'.
    "We need dynamic, inclusive language policies that honour local identities, empowering students to master regional languages like Kannada or Tamil while offering Hindi as an option, not a mandate. Let's build an education system that amplifies every voice, celebrating India's diversity as its greatest asset," it added.
    Earlier, the Kannada Development Authority (KDA) had also written to the chief minister to consider a proposal for Karnataka to adopt a two-language policy.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)