Karnataka has officially designated Tulu as an additional official language in the Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts. This announcement was made by Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Friday.
The decision was taken at the first Cabinet meeting held in the coastal city, at the Praja Soudha building. It fulfils a long-standing demand for formal recognition of Tulu in the region, where it is widely spoken.
Our government considers the baduku (life) and not the bhavane (sentiments) of the people. The Cabinet also discussed a proposal to rename Dakshina Kannada district as Mangaluru. “We discussed this during the Cabinet meeting, and public opinion will be collected alongside a formal debate. The language decision came as the government held its first Cabinet meeting in Mangaluru, with coastal districts having sought action on a range of long-pending demands.
Therefore, a region grows when a language is given recognition,” he said.
Shivakumar said the government had chosen to focus on the lives and needs of people rather than revisit why previous governments had not acted on the demand. A decision on this will be taken within a month,” Shivakumar said.
“I am not going to question why earlier governments failed to consider Tulu as the second language.
