Malayalam row: Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah writes to Pinarayi Vijayan, says bill places undue burden on kids

BENGALURU/MANGALURU: Karnataka will soon send a delegation to President Droupadi Murmu seeking her intervention to protect Kannada-speaking residents in Kerala's Kasaragod district against what it terms "imposition of Malayalam" through the proposed Malayalam Bhasha Bill, 2025.

On Friday, CM Siddaramaiah wrote to his Kerala counterpart, Pinarayi Vijayan, strongly objecting to the bill. He said that for linguistic minority communities, language is not merely an academic choice but an "identity and access to opportunity".


"Any policy that compels a single linguistic pathway risks placing an undue burden on children, weakening minority-run educational institutions and unsettling long-standing educational ecosystems that have served these communities with trust and continuity," he wrote.

Referring especially to Kasaragod district, Siddaramaiah said a clear majority in that district rely on and seeks education in Kannada. "Respecting this reality does not diminish Malayalam; rather, it strengthens India's plural fabric…"

Earlier, Kannada and culture minister Shivaraj Tangadagi Friday said a delegation from the state had already met Kerala governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar and had urged him to withhold assent to the bill passed by the Kerala assembly in Oct. Tangadagi demanded the bill's withdrawal, alleging that it violates children's rights and linguistic freedom. He said a delegation from the Karnataka Border Development Authority had also met Arlekar. "I will discuss the issue with the CM and take another delegation to meet Arlekar," he said.

The minister said the proposed law will create difficulties for Kannada-speaking populations in Kerala's border regions. He cited Article 350(B) of the Constitution, which provides for the protection of linguistic minorities and urged the Centre to intervene, calling for the appointment of a Kerala-Kasaragod linguistic minority officer to ensure views of locals are taken into consideration. "We will meet the President of India and apprise her of the development," Tangadagi said.

Citing demographic and institutional presence, he said some 7.5 lakh Kannadigas live in Kasaragod district and about 210 Kannada-medium schools function in the border region.

In Mangaluru, health minister Dinesh Gundu Rao, also minister in charge of Dakshina Kannada district, said: "The bill is against the interests of the Kannada-speaking linguistic minority in Kerala, especially those in the border district of Kasaragod."