Explained | What is the Kannada Language Comprehensive Development Bill, 2022?

What does the Bill propose? How will it affect the education system, employment opportunities and businesses in Karnataka?

The Kannada Language Comprehensive Development Bill, 2022, was adopted by the Karnataka Legislative Assembly on February 23, 2023 with support from members cutting across political affiliations. The Karnataka government tabled the Bill in the monsoon session of the Legislative Assembly on September 22, 2022 in a bid to ensure extensive use and propagation of the Kannada language.

Among a host of measures aimed at giving primacy to Kannada, the Bill proposes providing reservation to Kannadigas in higher education and linking incentives to private industries with jobs for locals. The bill was piloted by Kannada and Culture Minister V. Sunil Kumar. Submitted by a committee headed by S.R. Bannurmath, it prescribes fines for various violations and offences.

Although successive governments in Karnataka have issued various orders to give primacy to Kannada in administration and in other fields, none has succeeded in fully implementing them because they were not backed by legislation. In this context, the Bill follows demands by various pro-Kannada groups to enact legislation for the promotion of Kannada language amidst accusations of the BJP-led Union government imposing Hindi on non-Hindi speaking States.

On September 13, 2022, JD(S) leader H.D. Kumaraswamy wrote to Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai demanding the State government not celebrate Hindi Diwas (September 14) with the money of taxpayers in Karnataka. He called Hindi Diwas an ‘injustice’ to people of Karnataka, and Hindi imposition tantamount to fostering regional imbalance. The former Chief Minister led a protest against the ruling BJP in Karnataka.

In response, Mr. Bommai assured the opposition of protecting the interests of Kannadigas and bringing in a policy to promote Kannada as the official language of the State. The recently passed Bill not only makes Kannada the official language in the State, but also creates an enforcement mechanism to implement its use. The new Bill will replace the Karnataka Official Language Act, 1963 and Karnataka Local Authorities (Official Language) Act, 1981.

The Bill defines a ‘Kannadiga’ as a person whose parents or guardians have resided in Karnataka for not less than 15 years, and with knowledge of reading and writing Kannada.

In education: A percentage of seats in higher, technical and professional education will be reserved for students who have studied in Kannada-medium from classes 1-10. Students will be taught practical and functional knowledge of Kannada relevant to their course of study in higher, technical and professional education. University students, who have not studied Kannada as a language at the SSLC (class 10) level, will also be taught basic Kannada.