Context
- The Karnataka Cabinet decided to accord additional official language status to Tulu in specified districts of Karnataka.
About Tulu
- Tulu is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts of Karnataka.
- It is also spoken by communities in neighbouring regions.
- Tulu has a long literary and cultural tradition and is associated closely with the linguistic heritage of coastal Karnataka.
- The Census recognises Tulu as an important language spoken by a significant linguistic community.
- Tulu is not included in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.
Constitutional Provision
- Article 345 empowers a State Legislature to adopt one or more languages in use in the State or Hindi as the official language(s) of the State.
- Article 346: Governs the official language for communication between one State and another State, or between a State and the Union.
- Article 347: Contains special provisions relating to a language spoken by a section of the population of a State (Presidential direction to recognise a language if requested).
- Karnataka currently has Kannada as its official language.
- Declaring Tulu as an additional official language would require the necessary legal/legislative process (e.g., amending Section 2 of the Karnataka Official Language Act, 1963), beyond a Cabinet decision alone.
Tulu in Education
- Tulu is taught as an optional language in some educational institutions.
- The language has a strong literary and cultural tradition in the Tulu-speaking region.
Q. Consider the following statements regarding the Tulu language:
1. It belongs to the Indo-Aryan family of languages.
2. It is primarily spoken in coastal Karnataka and northern parts of Kerala.
3. It is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 and 3 only
(b) 2 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Answer: (B)
Explanation:
• Statement 1 is incorrect: Tulu belongs to the Dravidian language group.
• Statement 2 is correct: It is mainly spoken in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi (Karnataka), and Kasaragod (Kerala).
• Statement 3 is incorrect: Tulu is currently a non-scheduled language and is not in the Eighth Schedule.