Sahitya Parishat voting rules to be changed

Smaller districts denied chances to host conferences, says president

The Kannada Sahitya Parishat has been thinking of changing the current rule of getting majority vote to decide the venue for an all-India conference, said Pundalik Halambi, president of the Kannada Sahitya Parishat.

He was speaking after inaugurating district level programmes of the Parishat in the City on Saturday.

“Following the current rule would obviously mean that places in districts with greater number of representatives will be selected as venues. Smaller districts might strive for years for the big occasion, but the efforts will only go down the drain. The majority vote rule will therefore be changed,” he explained.

“I would, however, support the choice of a place in Kolar district, if members of the Parishat had to vote,” he promised.

Office-bearers

The Parishat has two honorary secretaries and one treasurer. There are plans to add one vice-president and joint secretary to the list of office-bearers. Also, one post will be reserved for women. The presidents of the taluk units of the Parishat should be compulsorily elected, said Halambi.

“The chief minister is collecting information from the Intelligence Department on the writers demanding elementary education in Kannada. An Intelligence official had come to my house too. I would have given an answer had the chief minister questioned me directly,” he said.

Halamabi urged the government to release a list of private schools which have been educating in English medium despite obtaining permission to run only Kannada medium school, and thus turning education into a business.

“Both my children studied in English medium, which was a mistake on our part, since Kannada is their mother tongue,” he rued and advised parents not to commit the same mistake. “The government should promote Kannada as the chief language of the State,” he said.

“Members of the upper class do not respect government schools and as a result, children from only poor families study in such schools. I too sent my children to English medium schools looking at the bad state of the government schools,” he explained.

Meeting on June 25

An executive meeting of the Parishat will be held on June 25. The education laws of the government will be discussed and decisions taken at the meeting, said Halambi.

“If the list on medium of education of writers’ children is released by then, we will protest against the government. We will fight acts of prestige and stand up for the ideology of the Parishat,” Halambi added.