"All of us speak of making Kannada the medium of instruction. We've made numerous attempts on this. But the court is not cooperating with our efforts," Siddaramaiah said.
Siddaramaiah pointed to the landmark 2014 Supreme Court judgement striking down Karnataka's plea to have Kannada as the medium of instruction in elementary education. "The SC decided that parents have the right to choose the medium of instruction for their children," the CM said. "Our efforts to change this are continuing. As Kannadigas, we must decide to learn only in Kannada," he added.
Siddaramaiah lamented the decline in government school admissions. "Of late - I don't know why - it's a dangerous trend that children are being made to join private schools instead of government schools due to the lure of English," he said.
"The notion that learning in English would lead to intelligence and brilliance, and that learning in Kannada won't provide employment is wrong. Numerous scientists who studied in Kannada are renowned all over the world," Siddaramaiah said.
Siddaramaiah also called for creating an atmosphere in which non-Kannadigas speak Kannada.
"It's now inevitable to resolve that we will transact only in Kannada. I won't say we're devoid of pride. But we must not have too much generosity. Every person residing here must learn to speak Kannada," Siddaramaiah said. "I can't go to Tamil Nadu and survive without speaking Tamil. But in Karnataka, without speaking Kannada, we can see people leading their lives," he said, adding that people are free to learn other languages. "But Kannada is our sovereign language."
Competitive exams
Siddaramaiah said he would write to Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking the Union Government to conduct competitive exams in the local language.
"In Karnataka, competitive exams are held by the union government in English and Hindi. This won't do. We must oppose this. Exams must be held in the language that our students know," Siddaramaiah said.
Published 01 November 2023, 15:51 IST