Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala and Karnataka chief ministers are locked in a fresh confrontation over the LDF-led government’s proposed Malayalam Language Bill, weeks after their public spat over the Bengaluru demolition drive.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said Saturday that apprehensions raised regarding the Malayalam Language Bill, 2025 are not based on facts. His statement came after Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah wrote to him raising concerns that the legislation, which seeks to make Malayalam compulsory in schools in Kerala, was against linguistic freedom in bordering areas.
In his 9 January letter, Siddaramaiah said his state would oppose the Bill by “exercising every constitutional right” in defence of linguistic minorities. He expressed concerns that the Bill seeks to make Malayalam the first language in Kannada-medium schools in bordering districts such as Kasaragod, where Kannada is largely spoken.
Vijayan countered the allegation, saying that the Bill contains key provisions to ensure no language is imposed and that linguistic freedom is fully protected. He said students whose mother tongue is not Malayalam are free to choose languages available in schools in accordance with the National Education Curriculum, and those from other states or foreign countries are not compelled to appear for Malayalam examinations at the IX, X, or higher secondary levels.
“In notified areas, Tamil and Kannada speakers may continue to use their mother tongues for official correspondence with the Secretariat, Heads of Departments, and local offices, with replies issued in the same languages,” Vijayan wrote in response.
The Malayalam Language Bill, 2025, tabled in the Kerala Assembly in October last year, seeks to declare Malayalam as the official language of the state and ensure its usage for official purposes, as well as promote and protect the language. The Bill also proposes the formation of a commission for the same.
It was introduced nearly a decade after the state attempted to push a similar Bill in 2015. That legislation was returned by the President in May 2024.
The 2025 Bill mandates the use of Malayalam in communication by all Kerala government departments and makes teaching Malayalam compulsory in all government-aided schools from Classes 1 to 10. However, it states that official communications to regions with linguistic minorities should be in the language of that region, and that students whose mother tongue is not Malayalam have the right to receive education in their preferred language. Students from other states or countries attending schools in Kerala are exempt from Malayalam examinations in Classes 9, 10, and higher secondary education.
The tussle comes two weeks after the Kerala and Karnataka governments engaged in a heated debate over the demolition drive in Yelahanka, where hundreds of families were displaced. While the Karnataka government maintained that the drive was carried out on government-owned property earmarked for a solid waste management project, Vijayan was one of the first to react, calling it an example of “bulldozer justice” against minorities, allegedly adopted by several BJP governments.
A delegation of CPI(M) leaders from Kerala visited the site after Vijayan’s reaction. His party—LDF—also raised the issue to highlight Congress’s alleged double standards against minorities.
The Karnataka government later announced rehabilitation for the affected families.
Kerala is set to go to polls this year.
(Edited by Prerna Madan)
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