Bengaluru : Letter Forest and Kannada and Culture Minister Aravind Limbavali to Hon’ble Chief Minister, Karnataka regarding Kerala Government move to change names of border villages in Kerala from Kannada to Malayalam.

Kerala state government is implementing its decision to change the Kannada names of villages in Kasargod and Manjeshwar taluks, which border Karnataka, into Malayalam.

Kannada speaking people are in high number in these taluks. They have been speaking Kannada and also following Kannada culture for several centuries. The Kannada name of every village reflects the culture of the local residents. The people too are emotionally attached to these names.

The move of the Kerala government severely affects the life of such citizens. The government should have at least discussed the matter with the local residents and taken their opinion before making the move. The present decision, therefore, is totally unilateral.

We must strongly oppose the move of the Kerala government as a move to protect Kannada culture. Since the issue is about emotions of the people and also a sensitive one, Hence Arvind Limbavali has requested B.S.Yediyurappa to write to the honourable chief minister of Kerala, and urge him to withdraw the decision to rename the villages into Malayalam.