Tamil miles ahead of Kannada in making the most of classical status

Fifteen years after Kannada was granted classical language status by the union government, the Centre of Excellence for Studies in Classical Kannada (CESCK) in Mysuru is set to be allotted a permanent space.

The centre is likely to be moved to Jayalakshmi Vilas mansion on the Manasagangothri campus of the University of Mysore (UoM).

The preparations for a memorandum of understanding between UoM and the department of Kannada and culture (DKC) is in its final stages, said M D Sudarshan, assistant director, DKC, Mysuru.

But noted writers and scholars say the centre requires a much bigger space, more funds, staff and autonomous status on the lines of the Central Institute of Classical Tamil, in order to function in a full-fledged manner.

In the absence of these facilities, CESCK has not been able to achieve desired progress.

Since the centre is part of the Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL), Mysuru, technical issues have led to the underutilisation of at least 25% to 30% of the Rs 1-crore funding received by CESCK annually.

N M Talwar, project director, CESCK said that the centre had come up with nine books which are yet to be printed.

Expressing dismay over the delays in building facilities and conducting research in classical Kannada, scholar Hampa Nagarajaiah said, “It is high time that state and union governments show their commitment to the promotion of research in classical Kannada by awarding autonomous status to CESCK.”

Writer Kamala Hampana emphasised the role of young people in taking classical Kannada research forward.

“Youth should lead the movement to get autonomous status. A delegation must meet the authorities concerned and present their case,” she said.

According to Shailendra Mohan, director, CIIL, the institute sent a proposal to the union government for classifying CESCK as an autonomous institute in 2020.

Tamil became the first language to be declared a classical language of India in 2004.

The Centre of Excellence for Studies in Classical Tamil was established at the Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL) in 2005.

It gained autonomous status in 2008 and was moved to a 17-acre campus in Chennai that same year.

It receives more than Rs 10 crore in funding each year. The Tamil centre has already come up with more than 40 publications.

Although Kannada was accorded ‘classical language’ status in 2008, it was only in 2011, in order to facilitate research in Kannada, that CESCK was established on the CIIL premises.

While Bangalore University and University of Mysore both offered land for CESCK, writers and researchers from Mysuru demanded that it be retained in the city. It was shifted to a small space with three rooms at the housing quarters of UoM in 2018.

On November 1, 2020, it was shifted to its current location — 10 rooms in the first floor of ‘National Council for Historical Research’ (NCHR) at Manasagangothri.

Though the UoM syndicate decided to give 4.12 acres of land to CESCK two years ago, it is yet to materialise.

On November 10, 2022, it was decided to shift CESCK to Jayalakshmi Vilas mansion.

Officials plan to request over Rs 27.25 crore from the government for the restoration of the building.

But heritage expert N S Rangaraju said, “Since it is an old building, it is not ideal to house the centre there. CESCK should be housed in a space of at least 14 acres.”

Scholar C Naganna added, “After a great struggle, we obtained classical language status for Kannada. It is sad that we have not made much progress in justifying our status.”

Naganna believes the way forward is to emulate the path that classical Tamil research took.

“Our leaders in the political domain should understand the urgency and act without wasting time,” he said.