What Does Tulu’s New Official Language Status Mean?

The Karnataka Cabinet has accorded Tulu the status of a second additional administrative language in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts.

How Will the Decision Help People?

• Tulu can be used in gram sabhas, gram panchayats, taluk panchayats, zilla panchayats and urban local-body meetings.
• Government circulars and orders in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi are expected to include Tulu.
• Citizens will be able to submit applications to government departments in Tulu.
• The State has proposed expenditure for translation, training and language-use support.

Background of the Demand

• In January 2023, the then Karnataka government constituted a committee to examine granting Tulu official-language status.
• The proposal could not be implemented before the 2023 Assembly election.
• The subsequent government appointed another committee to study models used by States such as Andhra Pradesh for additional official languages.
• Its recommendations eventually contributed to the Cabinet decision.

Is the Cabinet Decision Sufficient?

• Article 345 of the Constitution permits a State legislature to adopt one or more languages used in the State for official purposes.
• Karnataka’s Official Language Act, 1963 currently recognises Kannada as the official language.
• Therefore, full implementation is expected to require amendment of the State’s language law, gubernatorial assent and a formal notification.

Tulu in Education

• Tulu is taught as a third optional language from Classes 6 to 10 in parts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi.
• It has also been offered in higher education, though enrolment in some programmes has remained limited.

Is Tulu an Independent Language?

• The Registrar General and Census authorities recognise Tulu as a distinct language.
• Tulu speakers are recorded separately in Census data.
• It is regarded as an important non-Scheduled language of India.
• However, Tulu is not included in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.

Eighth Schedule

• The Eighth Schedule, referred to in Articles 344(1) and 351, contains 22 constitutionally recognised Scheduled Languages.
• The 22 languages are: Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Odia, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Santali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu.
• The Constitution originally recognised 14 languages; the number has subsequently increased to 22.
• Tulu is not included in the Eighth Schedule, although Karnataka can still recognise it for State administrative purposes under Article 345.

The decision gives Tulu greater administrative recognition in coastal Karnataka, but legislative amendment and formal notification are needed for complete implementation.