The Kannada Development Authority (KDA) has asked banks in Karnataka to either teach Kannada to their employees in six months or terminate them from service.
The demand comes in KDA’s latest circular issued on Monday to all the nationalised, rural and scheduled banks in the state, which reads: "If employees, who do not know Kannada, fail to learn the language within six months, they should be relieved of their services in accordance with the recruitment rules.”
The circular also demands that special units must be set up at the banks to ensure that Kannada is promoted. KDA Chairman SG Siddaramaiah said that a trend of not giving importance to the local language has emerged across services and it could lead to conflicts in the future.
The authority has asked banks to use Kannada in the three-language formula in their advertisements and other documentation.
While there has been criticism against the move, several voices have come out in favour of the decision as well. Times of India quoted Arun Javgal of Banavasi Balaga, a pro-Kannada group planning protests outside banks, saying: "Even RBI has made it clear that all consumer services (challans etc) in banks must follow a three-language policy, but several PSU banks are not following this and have even excluded Kannada from challans."
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