BANGALORE: “Getting classical status for Kannada is the victory of every Kannadiga. The struggle of four years has not gone waste. We also appreciate the Central government for giving classical status for Telugu language. I will thank the Central Government for granting the status on the occasion of 52nd Kannada Rajyotsava. We need to appreciate and remember the efforts put in by Prof L S Sheshagiri Rao and Prof Chidananda Murthy, who submitted the report to the government that played an important role. State government now should constitute a committee to utilise the funds granted by the Central government as part of the classical status”.
Prof G S Shivarudrappa Rashtrakavi “It is a matter of pride for every Kannadiga.
But at the same time, I feel that we had to struggle hard for four years to get our own rights.
Central government should at least now stop language and state discrimination.
It’s unfortunate that when the chief minister called opposition leaders to join the struggle for demanding classical status, none came forward. I request opposition party leaders, MLAs and MPs to join hands for any struggle that will uphold the interests of Kannada and Karnataka. We should unite on issues like Cauvery river, Hogenakkal or Krishna river.
Mukhyamantri Chandru Chairperson, Kannada Development Authority “Four years ago, Central Gover nment had given the classical status to Tamil. At that time, there was no technical committee.
It was purely based on pressure exerted by the Tamil Nadu government. Later, the Central government set a few guidelines and criteria for a language to get the status, like it should have 1,500 years of recorded history and that the language should not be influenced by any other language.
Kannada has a recorded history of 2,300 years and literature like ‘Vachana Sahithya’ and ‘Daasa Sahithya’ are unmatchable.
Kannada language has the highest number of seven Jnanapeeta awards”.
Prof Chidanandamurthy Historian “It’s a cause for celebration for every Kannadiga. Struggle by writers, media, pro-Kannada organisations has played a vital role in getting the classical status for Kannada. This has proved that Kannadigas are becoming more aware.
Writers and poets like Kuvempu and Thi Num Shri dreamt of seeing Kannada language at a high level, which is now becoming a reality”.
Dr D Javare Gowda Former vice-Chancellor, University of Mysore