Mangaluru : A delegation of MLAs from Dakshina Kannada, comprising D Vedavyas Kamath, Dr Y Bharat Shetty, Rajesh Naik and Harish Poonja, urged Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa and Kannada and Culture Minister C T Ravi to declare Tulu, one of the Pancha Dravida languages, as an official language of the state.

In an appeal, they said, “Tulu language is the mother tongue of people in coastal districts. People have been demanding to include Tulu in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution and to declare it as an official language in the state. The people have been demanding recognition to Tulu language for the last several decades.”

Kamath said, “Tulu language has a history of 2,500 years. To include Tulu in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution, it has to be declared as an official language. More than 1.5 crore people speak Tulu language, which has its own script as well. Poems and prose were written in Tulu even before the 14th century.”

Ramayana and Mahabharata are also available in Tulu script. There are several inscriptions, copper-plate inscriptions, palm leaf manuscripts available in Tulu language in the coastal belt.

The inscriptions stated that land from Neeleshwara to Ankola as Tulu Rajya. Hence, there is a need for recognition for Tulu language, to include it in the Eighth Schedule.