Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas M Veerappa Moily on Sunday promised to prevail upon the Centre to amend the Constitution to include Tulu in the eighth schedule.
Addressing a gathering at ‘Delhi Tulu Siri,’ a convention here, he said: “As Tulu is the oldest language, including it in the eigth schedule of the Indian Constitution is very much required to protect its identity.”
Moily said: “Tulu is a rich language and has a great history and one can find Tulu words being used in Greek dramas as this land had good bilateral relations with far-away nations.”
Minister for Minority Affairs K Rahman Khan and former Union minister Oscar Fernandes promised to discuss the issue with the Union government.
Several MPs from Karnataka, including Nalin Kumar Kateel and P C Gaddigowdar took part in the convention which was organised by the Karnataka Tulu Sahitya Academy to press for the long-standing demand.
Vasanth Shetty Bellare, convenor of the programme, said the National Language Committee has approved
18 languages of North India and only four languages of South India to be included in the eighth schedule of the Constitution.
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