Minister for Social Welfare Kota Srinivas Poojary said the BJP government in the State was in favour of implementing the Sadashiva Commission report on internal reservation.
According to a statement here, Mr. Poojary made clear the government’s stand on internal reservation while speaking at a programme in Bittangala village of Virajpet in Kodagu district on Sunday.
Mr Poojary said he will hold another round of discussion with Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on the issue while stating that there was a need for the government to give voice to the voiceless sections of the society.
The Sadashiva Commission has looked into the decades-old demand for internal reservation of the 101 castes that comprised the Scheduled Castes.
Even though internal reservation has become a complicated issue, Mr. Poojary said the government was in favour of ensuring social justice to the communities that had been deprived of government benefits.
The government will be ordering a study on genealogy of all native Kodava communities at a cost of ₹25 lakh and the task will be entrusted to either the Karnataka State Tribal Research Institute in Mysuru or the Kannada University in Hampi.
Also, Mr Poojary said the government will be releasing a grant of ₹5 crore for the development of ‘Ainmane’ or ancestral houses of the native Kodagu community that play an important role in preserving the architectural heritage of Kodavas and the community’s culture.
The BJP government’s emphasis on language and culture becomes clear when people working for the good of the society even behind the scenes in rural areas are recognised for the prestigious Padma awards, Mr. Poojary said.
Earlier, speaking on the occasion, Professor of History from Kannada University in Hampi Vijay Poonacha Thambanda said the government should ensure political and social justice to all communities speaking Kodava language by bringing in internal reservation.
Apart from demanding the inclusion of Kodava language in the 8 th Schedule, he sought the post of Chairperson in the Kodava Sahitya Academy for persons from smaller communities that spoke the Kodava language.
Dakshina Kannada MP Nalin Kumar Kateel and BJP MLA K.G. Bopaiah also spoke on the occasion.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> India / by The Hindu Bureau / February 19th, 2023
