Release Kannada activists from jail, nix cases: Sahitya Sammelan chief to CM

HAVERI: The 86th Kannada Sahitya Sammelan got off to a start here on Friday with Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai inaugurating the event. There were colourful presentations by folk artists too.

In the morning, the Tricolour and the Kannada flag were unfurled by district minister Shivaram Hebbar and Kannada Sahitya Parishat president Mahesh Joshi. Following this, Sammelan president Prof Doddarange Gowda, Kannada poet and lyricist, was taken in a 6-km-long procession from the Purasiddeshwara temple as cultural troupes performed along the route.

Later, in his address, Doddarange Gowda said pro-Kannada activists are not terrorists and asked the chief minister to release them and withdraw cases against them. “The border row with Maharashtra has not been resolved and Marathis say Belagavi belongs to that state. As a writer, I would like to say that we will not part with even an inch of land”, he stressed.

Advising the people of Maharashtra to read the Mahajan Commission report properly, he said that the border issue will be sorted out legall, but regretted that Kannada schools in the border areas were shutting down. Questioning people’s love for English, he regretted that love for Kannada among Kannadigas is diminishing.

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“Only when we stand up as Kannadigas will we understand the problems. People should develop a love for the language”, he stressed. He also requested the CM to announce writer S L Bhyrappa as the cultural ambassador of the state and to publish his works in other languages.

Doddarange Gowda is a retired professor of Kannada and has published a number of anthologies and released several audio cassettes and CDs of his poems.

Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, who released 86 books, said, “Karnataka is the land of Kanakadasa, Sarvajna and Sishunala Sharif. Other greats like Gavai Panchakshari, Hanagal Kumaraswamy and Jnanpith awardee V K Gokak hailed from the district. After wide consultations, steps will be taken to create a permanent legal framework to protect Kannada language. The government is committed to the development of border areas and also the welfare of Kannadigas living elsewhere. A ‘New India’ should be created from a ‘New Karnataka”, he said.

Thousands of literature lovers from across the state are participating in the Sammelan. Over 40 counters have been set up to prepare food for the participants and zilla panchayat CEO Mohammed Roshan himself oversaw the arrangements.