Kannada Language Chair at JNU in Delhi has been languishing without a head for the past one year

At present, Vishwanath Munna Nayak, a native of Kalaburagi, who was appointed as junior project assistant in 2015, is working in the Chair. However, no academic activities are taking place due to the absence of a head.

Without a head for the Kannada Language Chair in Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in New Delhi, academic activities have been halted for the past one year.

Purushottama Bilimale, Chairman of Kannada Development Authority (KDA) and former head of the Chair, has written to the Chancellor of JNU requesting immediate appointment to the head for the Kannada Language Chair.

In his letter, Mr. Bilimale wrote, “Within a short span of a few years, the Kannada Chair has worked exceptionally to promote excellence in basic language teaching, researching and publishing on language, literature and culture of Karnataka in all its multi-lingual and plural manifestations. The chair encouraged comparative studies across a wide range of domains and also aimed at disseminating knowledge of Kannada language, literature and culture both at national and international levels. The Chair has developed a research library, which has more than 5,000 books. The Kannada Development Authority, Government of Karnataka is very keen to support the activities of the Kannada Language Chair. We also were working on your request for more grants to the Chair.

“Meanwhile, we understand that currently nobody is there to continue the activities of the Chair. Hence, I am writing to request you to make an appropriate arrangement for appointing a suitable person, so that the activities of Kannada Chair will continue uninterrupted.”

In July 2015, the Kannada Culture Department of the State Government entered into an agreement with the JNU to establish a Kannada Language Chair with the help of an annual grant of ₹42 lakh.

As the first head of the Chair, Prof. Bilimale served till 2020 before retiring from service. Later, JNU appointed Prof. Vishwanath of Mysore University to the post. Prof. Vishwanath, who served for three years, returned to Mysore University in August 2023 due to personal reasons. Since then, the Chair has been vacant.

At present, Vishwanath Munna Nayak, a native of Kalaburagi, who was appointed as junior project assistant in 2015, is working in the Chair. However, no academic activities are taking place due to the absence of a head.