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Centre should not be the one to accord classical status to languages, says U.R. Ananthamurthy

Staff Correspondent

PROMOTING CULTURE: Jnanapeeth awardee U.R. Ananthamurthy inaugurating the seminar in Mysore on Saturday. Chidambararao Jambe (left), Director, Rangayana, and J. Shashidhar Prasad, Vice-Chancellor of University of Mysore, are seen.

MYSORE: Jnanapeeth awardee U.R. Ananthamurthy on Saturday said that the decision of the Union Government to accord classical language status to Tamil is not appropriate.

Speaking to presspersons during the national symposium on "Post-modern context- indigenous culture", organised by Rangayana as a part of Bahuroopi, the national theatre festival here, Dr. Ananthmurthy said that according classical status to any language is the work of intellectuals and scholars, not the Government.

On promoting Kannada, he urged the Government to start one engineering and medical college each where the medium of instruction is in Kannada.

These colleges should be opened from the next academic year, he suggested

When his reaction was sought on the recent outburst of D. Jaware Gowda on Jnanapeeth awardees in Kannada, Dr. Ananthamurthy said that a senior writer like Prof. Gowda should not be commenting on the awardees. Speaking at the symposium, Dr. Ananthamurthy said Karnataka has been considered as a land of diversity and the poet laureate Kuvempu had highlighted this in his writings. The indigenous culture is based on castes and sub-castes, and diversity is found in food habits, customs, interests and rituals.

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