Mangaluru: Two youths begin bike journey to Delhi to raise awareness on Tulu language & culture

Mangaluru: Two Tuluva youths have embarked on a motorbike expedition to raise awareness about the Tuluva culture, heritage, language, and script. On Friday, Mangaluru Police Commissioner N Shashi Kumar flagged off Vikith Manjunath and Sharan Shetty’s expedition to New Delhi to justify the demand for including Tulu language into the 8th schedule of the Indian constitution.

The weekend curfew and restrictions imposed by the pandemic haven’t deterred Vikith from embarking on this journey. He has been reportedly planning it for the past two months.

Vikith, who is also the organizing secretary of Tuli Rakshana Vedike (TRV), told DHNS that the expedition would begin on Saturday in the early hours from Surathkal.

Vikith and Sharan plan to ride via Goa, Mumbai, Rajasthan to reach New Delhi in 30 days. Along the way they will create awareness about the Tuluva culture and heritage with help of Tuluva organizations, they said.

Upon reaching New Delhi, the duo would submit TRV’s memorandum to Union Minister for Culture and Tourism Kishan Redd for the Tulu language to be recognized as a scheduled language of the Indian Constitution.  into the eighth schedule. including the Tulu language into the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution, they added.

The expedition is sponsored by Beltangady MLA Harish Poonja and the journey vlogs will be uploaded onto the ‘Tulunadu Traveller’ YouTube channel.