Bengaluru: The Kannada Development Authority said it will host a conference of Dravidian languages in November this year, aimed at fostering cultural unity.
The agenda is also expected to include protests against alleged attempts to “impose” Hindi language, organisers said.
“We are holding meetings about hosting the conference of Dravidian languages. We have had meetings with Malayalam and Tamil organisations. We will be talking to Telugu organisations shortly.
After that, we will all sit together and discuss..,” KDA Chairman S G Siddaramaiah told PTI.
He said the conference would be held in the the third or fourth week of November under the banner “Dravida Vichara Kala Mela” for which literary personalities and cultural icons from Dravidian languages would be invited.
The KDA chief said all Dravidian languages, mainly Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam, are from the same Dravida source, “but, we are cultivating unnecessary estrangement or dissatisfaction among ourselves.”
The aim of the conference is to foster cultural unity, he said. “If we are all united like a family, we can become a force,” the KDA chief said.
He said protesting against imposition of Hindi language is also part of the agenda. In response to a question, Siddaramaiah said India is a federal system in which each one had their own rights.
“While safeguarding our rights, strengthening the federal system is our intention,” he said. The issue would be discussed and it would be part of the agenda.
The Authority had earlier intervened in the row over Hindi signages at Bengaluru Metro stations last year by issuing notices to the metro authorities.
Earlier at a press conference, Siddaramaiah said the Bengaluru Book Festival- 2018 will be organised in the city from October 15 to 21. It will have more than 350 stalls containing Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Bengali, Sanskrit, English and Hindi language books.
The festival is being jointly organised by Bengaluru Book Sellers’ and Publishers’ Association along with “India Comics.”
The festival, considered as one of the signature annual events in the city’s calendar since its inception in 2003, did not take place after the 2015 fest due to venue-related issues.