India, Nov. 8 -- November 1 marks Karnataka Rajyotsava,our State's birthday and every year, our leaders deliver predictable speeches about 'promoting Kannada.' Every year, pro-Kannada activists demand that "outsiders must learn Kannada." So, why is Kannada, in its own land, slowly losing its ground?

Because we don't teach functional Kannada. We teach grammatical and written Kannada first instead of spoken Kannada.

The truth is that Kannada can't be promoted by vandalising shops or threatening business owners and 'outsiders'. It can only be promoted if we, Kannadigas, speak it first, in our homes, offices and everyday life.

Two years ago, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah rightly said, "Everyone living in this State should learn to speak Kann...