Duty of both States to maintain legacy of Kasaragod Kannadigas, tweets HDK

Bengaluru: Former chief minister HD Kumaraswamy has said that it is the duty of the States of Karnataka and Kerala to safeguard the legacy of Kannadigas of Kasaragod.

In a series of five tweets, he said, “the Kerala government has begun the process of changing the Kannada names of Manjeswara and some of the villages in Kasaragod district to Malayali language. Before beginning the process of name changing, I would like to address some points to the Government of Kerala.”

“Karnataka and Kannadigas have cultural affiliation with the people of Kasaragod. Kasaragod is a symbol of linguistic harmony. Kasargod has an equal number of Kannada and Malayali speakers, both complementing and motivating each others lives,” he tweeted.

“They have never been confused when it comes to language ad identity. We need to maintain this in the future too. In today’s age where politics and emotions are co-mingling, it is imperative to maintain linguistic cohesion,” Kumaraswamy added.

“The current Kannada names of the villages are being changed to Malayali, retaining their original meaning. The Kerala government, which aims to preserve the meaning of the village’s name, should also preserve the original Kannada name,” Kumaraswamy added.