Pics: Spoorthi Ullal

Daijiworld Media Network- Mangaluru (VP)

Mangaluru, Feb 16: "We are in a fight to make the Tulu language official. Regarding this, we had written letters to our Prime Minister, chief minister of Karnataka and Kerala. Chief minister Siddaramaiah had called everyone to Bengaluru, and we got information that on February 17, he is coming to Mangaluru for the Congress convention event. At that time, actors and activists of the Tulu language will gather, and we will go to the Airport to request him to make Tulu language an official language," said Mohiuddin Bava, former MLA, in a press meet held on Friday, February 16.

He also said, "At first, there were 29 official languages, now there are approximately 99 languages which are ready to be adopted as official languages, but Tulu language is nowhere to be seen in that list. There are approximately 30 lac people who speak Tulu, and nearly 1 crore people speak Tulu on a daily basis. The Tulu language also has a strong base in Maharashtra. We request that Tulu language should be added to the 8th Schedule. We belong to the most educated district, and it is our people who have helped Mumbai in developing.

"There was high potential to develop our cities in terms of tourism; we had all the resources such as trains, airports, ports, but no work was done. We see a lot of people going to the Gulf for better employment, and a lot of them in the Gulf are Tulu speakers. If the people in power wished, all these things would have been done long back. Now it's our responsibility to make sure that our cry is heard for those who are in charge.

"We love the Kannada language, and if needed, we will fight for it. But we cannot forget our own Tulu language. When other districts threaten the government that they need a separate state, they are given a lot of things as compensation, but nothing comes for our own Tulu Nadu. If we adopt Tulu as a language, it will bring us all together. Tomorrow we will give a letter to the Chief Minister, Siddaramaiah, and we will request him to approve it. We also believe that election times are the best time to talk about this matter, and we will also assure them that if this work is completed before elections, we will fully support them. We are all one, and we will also promote our Tulu culture such as Kambala and other practices will also be supported if we get some help," he said.

Tulu scholar Sudhakar Shetty said, "Today the Tulu language is under threat, and we are fighting for its survival. There have been lots of people who have stood for our Tulu language and our culture. Geographically, Tulu Nadu comes between Kerala and Karnataka, because of which this place was never cared for. When the people of Hyderabad Karnataka and Uttar Kannada protest and ask for something, it's given without any questions. We had all the resources, but now when we are looking at places like Ballari and Shivamogga, we see more development there compared to Mangaluru.

"The leaders of Maharashtra, Kerala and Tamil Nadu all came together when their language was in threat, and we should also do that. We support Mohiuddin Bava, and it should be remembered that our fight will go on until we get results. A Tulu language report was created by Mohan Alva, and at that time even the U T Khader, speaker of the Karnataka assembly had promised us that he would support us as soon as he came in power, but nothing happened after that,” he said.

When the media questioned who will be participating and what are the plans for February 17, Mohiuddin Bava said, "We get calls from schools and colleges, and when they ask us if they should come, we say no. But we are inviting all prominent people, and we will ensure that everything happens in a proper manner. Right now."

When questions were raised regarding why Tulu activists get active during election times, for which Sudhakar Shetty replied, "Yes, the situation has become like that, but we should understand that this problem cannot be solved without the support of political leaders. When Jalikattu and Kambala faced problems, the problems regarding Jallikattu were solved within 40 hours by the Tamil Nadu government, but it took several months for us to tackle that problem."

Tulu Rakshana Vedike president Yogesh Shetty was present.