Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], January 9 (HBTV): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has opposed Kerala’s Malayalam Language Bill, 2025, cautioning that ‘promotion cannot become imposition’.
In a post on X, Siddaramaiah said India’s unity rests on respecting every language and every citizen’s right to learn in their mother tongue. He objected to provisions in the bill that mandate Malayalam as the compulsory first language across Kerala, stating that it strikes at the heart of linguistic freedom.
Referring to the proposed legislation, Siddaramaiah said that making Malayalam compulsory as the first language even in Kannada-medium schools ignores the lived realities of Kerala’s border districts, particularly Kasaragod. He said that for children belonging to linguistic minorities, language is not merely a subject but a matter of identity, dignity, access and opportunity.
He added that compelling a single first-language choice places an undue burden on students who study in their mother tongue, disrupts academic progression and confidence, limits the freedom to choose a second language and weakens minority-run institutions and minority-medium education systems.
Siddaramaiah noted that in Kasaragod’s border belt, generations of students have studied in Kannada-medium schools and use Kannada in their daily lives. He cited representations indicating that nearly 70 per cent of people in parts of the district prefer Kannada learning and the Kannada script ecosystem.
He said this reality does not pose a threat to Malayalam, but instead reflects India’s plural culture where languages coexist without fear. The Chief Minister said the Constitution clearly protects the rights of linguistic minorities, pointing to Articles 29 and 30, which safeguard the right to conserve language and administer educational institutions of choice, Article 350A, which mandates facilities for instruction in the mother tongue at the primary stage, and Article 350B, which provides for oversight of linguistic minority safeguards.
Reiterating his stand, Siddaramaiah said Kerala has every right to promote Malayalam with pride, just as Karnataka promotes Kannada, which he described as its heartbeat and identity, but stressed that promotion must not turn into imposition.
Urging the Kerala government to withdraw the bill, he warned that Karnataka would oppose it through all constitutional means if it is passed. He said the state would stand with Kannadigas, the people of Kasaragod, linguistic minorities and all those who believe that India belongs equally to every language and every voice.
The remarks come after the Karnataka Border Areas Development Authority said on Wednesday that Kerala Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar had assured a thorough review of the Malayalam Bhasha Bill, 2025, following concerns over its impact on Kannada-speaking linguistic minorities in Kasaragod district. (ANI)