‘Attack on freedom of language’: Siddaramaiah slams Kerala Bill mandating Malayalam in schools, cites Kannada speakers of Kasaragod

“I regret to say that the Kerala government’s proposed Malayalam Language Bill-2025, which makes it mandatory to learn Malayalam as the first language in Kannada medium schools in Kerala, is an attack on the freedom of language guaranteed by the Constitution. If such a law is implemented, the Kannadigas living in the border districts of Kerala, mainly in Kasaragod, will be deprived of the opportunity to learn their mother tongue. We did not expect such a move from the communist government of Kerala to suppress the fundamental rights of linguistic minorities,” Siddaramaiah said in a post on X.

According to Siddaramaiah, Kasaragod emotionally belongs to Karnataka even though it is part of Kerala administratively. He said the lives of people there were intertwined with the Kannada language, culture, and literature. “They are no less Kannadigas than the Kannadigas of Karnataka. It is the duty of our government to protect their interests,” he said.

‘Attempt to undermine pluralistic atmosphere’

Siddaramaiah said that people in Kasaragod had studied in the Kannada medium for generations and been using Kannada in their daily lives. He further said the Kannada speakers of Kasaragod were unanimous that 70 per cent of the students in the district want to learn Kannada and study in the Kannada medium.

“No language is against another language… Any attempt to undermine this pluralistic atmosphere is dangerous,” he said.

Although Kerala has the freedom to preserve the Malayalam language, “there should be no attempt to impose one language on another”, the chief minister said. If the Kerala Government decides to implement the Bill, the Kannadigas will oppose it with one voice, he added.

On Wednesday, the KBADA contended that the Bill was wholly unconstitutional and against the interests of the large number of Kannada-speaking linguistic minorities residing in Kasaragod district. The organisation pointed out that a similar Bill was rejected by the President in 2017 and that the Union Ministry of Minority Affairs had repeatedly advised Kerala to protect the interests of linguistic minorities.

This is the second time in recent days that the Karnataka and Kerala chief ministers have faced off. Last week Siddaramaiah and his counterpart, Pinarayi Vijayan, sparred over an anti-encroachment drive at Kogilu in Bengaluru.