News:Recently,activists have demanded to include Tulu in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.
Facts:
About Tulu Language:
- Tulu is a Dravidian language whose speakers are concentrated in two coastal districts of Karnataka and Kasaragod district of Kerala.
- Kasaragod district is called as the ‘Sapta bhasha Samgama Bhumi (the confluence of seven languages)’ and Tulu is one among the seven.
Why Should Tulu be included in Eight Schedule?
- According to 2011 Census,there are around 18 lakh native speakers of Tulu in India.This is more in number than speakers of Manipuri and Sanskrit which have the Eighth Schedule status.
- Article 29 of the Constitution provides that a section of citizens having a distinct language, script or culture have the right to conserve the same
- Robert Caldwell (1814-1891), in his book, A Comparative Grammar of the Dravidian or South-Indian Family of Languages has called Tulu as one of the most highly developed languages of the Dravidian family.
- Yuelu Proclamation which was adopted by UNESCO at Changsha,The People’s Republic of China in 2018 provides for the protection and promotion of linguistic diversity.
Advantages of including Tulu in the Eighth Schedule:
- If included in the Eighth Schedule, Tulu would get recognition from the Sahitya Akademi.
- Tulu books would be translated into other recognised Indian languages.
- Members of Parliament and MLAs could speak Tulu in Parliament and State Assemblies, respectively.
- Candidates could write all-India competitive examinations like the Civil Services exam in Tulu.
Additional information:
About Eighth Schedule:
- The Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India lists the official languages of the Republic of India.
- It consists of the following 22 languages:-(1) Assamese, (2) Bengali, (3) Gujarati, (4) Hindi, (5) Kannada, (6) Kashmiri, (7) Konkani, (8) Malayalam, (9) Manipuri, (10) Marathi, (11) Nepali, (12) Oriya, (13) Punjabi, (14) Sanskrit, (15) Sindhi, (16) Tamil, (17) Telugu, (18) Urdu (19) Bodo, (20) Santhali, (21) Maithili and (22) Dogri.
