Karnataka Sena Pade holds stir against multi-lingual actor Kamal Haasan's statement

Mysuru

Members of the Karnataka Sena Pade staged a protest in front of the old Deputy Commissioner's office in Mysuru on Wednesday against actor Kamal Haasan’s statement claiming that the Kannada language originated from Tamil.

Addressing the gathering, Karnataka Sena Pade District President Tejesh Lokesh Gowda said that Kannada is a rich language with a glorious history of thousands of years, its own unique script, and constitutional recognition.

He strongly condemned Kamal Haasan's remark that Kannada was born from Tamil, stating that it insulted a proud language that is the lifeline of millions of Kannadigas.

"Our Kannada language has 52 letters, whereas the Tamil language has only 18. It is shameful that Kamal Haasan, who lacks knowledge about Kannada and languages in general, made such an ignorant statement," he added.

Lokesh said “Kannada is one of the oldest languages in the country—perhaps second only to Sanskrit in antiquity. That’s why Kannada has been awarded eight Jnanpith awards. Recently, Kannada also received the prestigious International Booker Prize. Kamal Haasan should educate himself about this."

The protesters demanded that Kamal Haasan immediately apologize to the people of Karnataka and to the Kannada language.

They warned that if he fails to do so, his upcoming movie, set to release next week, would be boycotted and its release blocked across the state.

Participants in the protest included Gold Suresh, Prabhushankar, Neha, Bogadi Siddegowda, Krishnappa, Girish H, Sindhuvalli Shivakumar, Tayur Ganesh, Hanumanthayya, Murthy Lingayya, Darshan Gowda, Varakoodu Krishnegowda, Ravish, Prabhark, Nagaraj Rcha, Shivarama Gowda, Raghu Aras, Elaneeru Ramanna, and others.