Fight against forces damaging language, culture: Nisar Ahmed

In an open and strong call to the Kannadigas to cast away their ‘unnecessary’ intolerance and lethargic attitude towards the injustices met to Kannada and Karnataka by the immigrants, littearteur Prof K S Nisar Ahmed on Friday said, it is the high time for the formation of a movement to fight against the outside forces that are damaging Kannada language and culture.

In his presidentail address at the 9th edition of Alva’s Nudisiri at Alva’s campus in Moodbidri, the litterateur pointed at the ways in which the migrants from outside are interfering in the lives of Kannadigas by sidelining Kannada in our own land.

“The instances of Kannadigas suppressed in their own land is not new, but it has been happening since the era of Vijayanagara rulers. With the outsiders and immigrants placed in high profile positions and ruling the roost, Kannadigas have attained the status of ‘migrants’ in their own land.

I am not against migrants as they have contributed a lot for the development of our State, but at the same time the migrants should also understand their duty to respect our culture and language when they are in Karnataka,” he said.

Stating that Karnataka has always prone to suppression and injustice from the neighbouring states, he asked Kannadigas to unite and form a movement to fight against all the atrocities met by the neighbouring states in terms of water and awarding classical language status to Kannada.

He criticised those with ‘white collars’ who claim pro-Kannada movements as a fight of the people with narrow-mindedness. “Pro-Kannada movements are necessary to protect Kannada at a time of globalisation, when the love for language and culture has been diminishing.

However, these movements should not be temporary, but they should be a continous process with genuine interest. The responsibility lies on each of our shoulders to contribute for the protection of Kannada as the language and land has provided us the source of livelihood,” said Prof Ahmed.

Pro-Kannada Organisations

Analysing the current trend of pro-Kannada movements and organisations, the litterateur regretted that most of the pro-Kannada organisations have deviated their fight from the real objective.

There are at least 500 big and small organisations in Bangalore which have the capacity to act in case of necessity.

But unfortunately, these organisations have forgotten their responsibility and are busy collecting funds and organising Rajyotsava and Ganeshotsava programmes, he criticised.

“Karnataka needs a leadership, a magical leadership that can unite all these organisations and lead them in the right path. The organisations which were once actively fighting for Kannada, seems to have turned into deep slumber.

They should be awakened and the people too should join their hands in this fight by freeing ourselves from the thought that protection of Kannada is the duty of certain organisations.

It is the time, we learn lessons from the movements that have failed in the past and get set for a movement that is desciplined, straight forward and honest,” said the Professor.