Mangaluru: Karnataka govt’s decision to accord Tulu additional official-language status for administrative purposes in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi has renewed calls for similar recognition in Kasaragod, Keralam.
Speaking to TOI , Manjeshwar MLA AKM Ashraf said he would raise the issue in the Keralam legislative assembly during the next session. The district is part of ‘Tulunadu’ and has a large Tulu-speaking population after Malayalam,” he said. “Tulu should also be made an official second language in Kasaragod like in Karnataka.
He said he would take up the matter with the govt and seek adequate funding for the academy. “If a new committee is appointed and funds are provided, the academy can function effectively,” he said. S Vighnaraj, former director of the Sri Dharmasthala Culture Research Foundation, said Kasaragod had a rich body of historical evidence relating to Tulu. He said Tulu manuscripts had been found in several parts of the district, including Jodukallu, Kayyar and Perla, and referred to Tulu inscriptions at Kumbla, Bekal, Ananthapuram and Madhur. Tulu writer Kushalakshi Kanwatheertha of Manjeshwar said several cultural practices of the Tulu community had survived in the region. Recognition as a regional language could help strengthen Tulu and benefit Tulu-speaking children in education, as well as in employment and interactions with govt offices, she said. National award-winning actor Roopashree Vorkady, a Kasaragod native, said the district’s close association with Tulunadu and the Tulu language should be reflected in greater official recognition.
Ashraf also drew attention to the Kerala Tulu Academy, saying a new committee had not been appointed and the academy had received inadequate attention during the previous CPM-led govt. Such recognition in Keralam could also strengthen Tulu’s long-standing demand for inclusion in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution, she added.