Kannada Language As A Compulsory Subject In Degree Courses: Karnataka HC To Consider Interim Relief Against Govt. Orders On Friday

A division bench of Acting Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Sachin Shankar Magadum said "Advocate Sreenidhi appearing for the state government prays for listing the matter tomorrow, the prayer is allowed. List the matter tomorrow for consideration of interim relief."

The Petitioner Samskrita Bharati Karnataka Trust have by way of interim relief sought to stay the operation of two order dated 7/08/2021 and 15/09/2021, to the extent that Kannada had been made compulsory subject in graduation, along with the guidelines for implementation.

Senior Advocate S S Naganand appearing for the petitioner submitted "This is affecting about 1,32,000 students." He added "If a student comes from Delhi, he has not studied Kannad at all, if he comes here to study a BA course, he has to study Kannada compulsory. It is difficult to work it out."

On a query made by the court as to when the policy is going to be implemented,  he said: "This policy comes into force from the current academic year, beginning from next month." He also pointed out that "Teachers are also going to be affected by this policy. Many of the colleges employ teachers in Urdu, Hindi, Sanskrit and Telugu. If this is made compulsory no student will be able to take those courses and naturally, the teachers will be affected. They may lose their livelihoods also."

The court also queried whether there were provisions for making regional languages compulsory under the National Education Policy 2020. Naganand replied by saying "NEP provides exactly the opposite. Earlier in a BA course, the subjects that were to be chosen were history, economics and politics, there was no flexibility, I had to take those. Under the NEP it gives flexibility, a student can now take Maths, Hindi and History if he wants. No provisions in NEP to make the local language compulsory as one of the subjects."

Further, he said "Assume the student does Plus 2 (junior college) in some other state. Suppose he comes from Tamil Nadu and he has to take this exam and get proficiency in the language it is impossible. It will lead to some islands being created in our state." He clarified that in schools also the Kannada language is not compulsory. They have the three language formulas, English, second and third language. Third language is at a very basic level.

The court while posting the matter for considering interim relief on Friday HC observed "Tomorrow if Tamil Nadu will say the Tamil language is compulsory, Uttar Pradesh Government will say Hindi would be compulsory. If every state will impose its language, for students it will be very difficult."

The petition states:  "Karnataka state is globally acclaimed for its achievements in the high technology arena and as an innovation and manufacturing hub. Students from different states come to Karnataka to study. Karnataka is therefore a melting pot for students of different states, cultures and languages and this environment has made it a diverse environment for people from different parts of the country. Karnataka's inclusive environment with its diversity makes it an ideal destination for education.

While Kannada is an intrinsic part of the culture and history of the State of Karnataka, it is not the only language which is spoken in the State. Languages such as Tulu, Konkani, Kodava, Beary, Sankheti, Nawayathi, Lambani and Sanskrit are also prevalent in certain parts of Karnataka."

Further, it is said the state government has enacted the Kannada Language Learning Act, 2015 to ensure the learning of Kannada as one of the languages by all students from class I to X from the academic year 2015-16. Thus, the students from class I to X studying in the State of Karnataka are already learning Kannada as a language. The aforementioned Act also does not make it mandatory to study Kannada. It has been sought to be implemented from primary to secondary classes, however, there has been no attempt to implement Kannada at the higher education levels as primacy has been given to implementing Kannada from the primary stages so that students are well versed in Kannada. The choice of choosing languages at the higher education levels has been left up to the students.

It is claimed that the order dated 07.08.2021, states that two languages have to be chosen along with their other subjects and one of the languages has to compulsorily be Kannada.

Further, it is said "At this juncture, it is pertinent to note that the recommendations and reports submitted by the Task Force and sub-committees on implementation of NEP, 2020 in the state do not contain any recommendations on making Kannada a mandatory language for degree courses. The NEP, 2020 also does not specify any mandatory language criteria for Higher Education."

It is said, "Therefore the order dated 07.08.2021 is completely arbitrary and contrary to Articles 14, 19,21,29 and 30 of the Constitution of India."

The plea also states that the impugned government orders dated 07.08.2021 (Annexure-E) and 15.09.2021 (Annexure-F) are contrary to the freedom of speech and expression guaranteed under Article 19 of the Constitution of India. The said order takes away the freedom to choose a language for study and makes it mandatory for all students in Karnataka to take up Kannada as a language in degree courses offered in all streams of science, commerce and arts. Thus, there is a restriction on freedom of speech and expression enshrined under the Constitution of India.

The plea seeks to quash the Government Order dated 07.08.2021 and 15.09.2021 and to Declare that National Education Policy, 2020 do not impose any restriction upon the student to choose any particular language as part of the curricula for Higher Education.

Another petition pending before High Court:

On September 23, a single bench of Justice R Devdas has issued a notice on a petition filed by a fourth standard student, studying in an Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) affiliated school in Bengaluru, seeking to declare the Kannada Language Learning Act, 2018, which makes it compulsory for all the institutions in the State of Karnataka to introduce Kannada Language as a compulsory subject, either as a first or second language, from Standard I, II, III and IV, for the academic year 2020-21.

Case Title: Samskrita Bharati Karnataka Trust And Union Of India

Case No: WP 18156/2021