Context: Recently, various organisations initiated a Twitter campaign demanding official language status to Tulu in Karnataka and Kerala and received an overwhelming response.

History of Tulu Language in India

• The scholars have suggested that Tulu is among the earliest Dravidian languages with a history of 2000 years.
• Robert Caldwell (1814-1891), in his book ‘A Comparative Grammar of the Dravidian or South-Indian Family of Languages’ had called Tulu as one of the most highly developed languages of the Dravidian family.
• In between 14th to 15th century the oldest inscriptions were available in Tulu.
• These inscriptions are in Tigalari script and it is found in Barkur (capital of Tulu nadu) during Vijaynagar period.

About Tulu Language

• Tulu is a Dravidian language.
• It is spoken mainly in two coastal districts Dakshina Kannada and Udupi of Karnataka and Kasaragod district of Kerala.
• As per the 2011 Census report, there are 18,46,427 Tulu-speaking people in India.
• It has a rich oral literature tradition with folk-song forms like paddana, and traditional folk theatre yakshagana.
• It has an active tradition of cinema with around 5 to 7 Tulu language movies produced a year.

Demand of Tulu Speakers

• The Tulu speakers, mainly in Karnataka and Kerala, have been requesting the governments to give it official language status and include it in the eighth schedule to the Constitution.
• The official languages mentioned under eighth schedule are Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, Bodo, Santhali, Maithili and Dogri.

Present status of Tulu language

• According to Karnataka Tulu Sahitya Academy president Dayananda G Kathalsar, people who speak Tulu are confined to the above-mentioned regions of Karnataka and Kerala.
• They are informally known as Tulu Nadu.
• Tulu is not an official language in the country.
• If included in the eighth schedule, Tulu would get recognition from the Sahitya Akademi.

Use of Tulu language in education

• The Karnataka government introduced Tulu as a language in schools a few years ago.
• In the year 2020, a total of 956 children from Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts wrote Tulu as the third optional language in SSLC (Class 10) examination.
• In 2020, ‘Jai Tulunad’ conducted an online campaign demanding to include Tulu in the new National Education Policy (NEP).

Why Should Tulu be included in the Eight Schedule?

• Firstly, According to the 2011 Census, there are around 18 lakh native speakers of Tulu in India. This is more than the speakers of Manipuri and Sanskrit, which have the Eighth Schedule status.
• Secondly, 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.
• Thirdly, Article 29 of the Indian Constitution provides that a section of citizens with a distinct language, script or culture have the right to conserve the same.
• Lastly, the Yuelu Proclamation made by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) at Changsha, China in 2018 provides for the protection and promotion of linguistic diversity.

Advantages of including Tulu in Eight Schedule: If it is included in the Eighth Schedule, it would get the following benefits:

• Recognition from the Sahitya Akademi.
• Translation of Tulu literary works into other languages.
• Members of Parliament (MP) and Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) could speak Tulu in Parliament and State Assemblies, respectively.
• Option to take competitive exams in Tulu including all-India competitive examinations like the Civil Services exam.