Strong protests erupted in Mandya, Karnataka, on Friday as local Kannada organisations gathered in front of the Mandya railway station. The demonstrators voiced their strong condemnation of the railway authorities for systematically excluding the Kannada language from departmental promotion examinations.
Constitutional Right and Federal Principle Ignored
The core of the protestors' anger stemmed from the fact that the recent exams were conducted only in Hindi and English. They labeled this a deliberate move to sideline the local language and undermine Karnataka's linguistic identity. The activists firmly asserted that allowing candidates to write exams in Kannada is not just a courtesy but a constitutional right and a fundamental principle of India's federal structure.
Oversight or Intentional Policy?
While railway officials reportedly claimed the omission of Kannada was an unintentional oversight, the protest leaders strongly refuted this explanation. They provided evidence, citing that the station master examinations conducted just 15 days prior were also held exclusively in Hindi and English. This pattern, they argued, clearly indicates an intentional policy rather than an isolated mistake.
The situation was described as particularly shameful by protest leaders, who alleged a calculated attempt to deprive Kannadigas of job opportunities. They highlighted the irony that this occurs even when the Minister of State for Railways is from Karnataka. Organisations such as Karnataka Rashtra Samithi, Namma Nadu Namma Alvike, Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha, and Karunada Sevakaru were at the forefront, demanding immediate disciplinary action against the responsible officials.
Key Demands of the Protesters
The protesters presented a list of concrete demands to the railway authorities:
- Conduct a re-examination for the recent station master exams with Kannada included as an optional language.
- Ensure all future railway and union government examinations include Kannada as a medium.
- Establish stalls for Mandya's famous ragi mudde and sugarcane juice at the railway station.
- Set up a new ticket vending centre on Old Railway Station Road.
- Reduce parking fees at the station and restore discontinued travel passes.
- Increase train services, including more Bengaluru–Mysuru trains and enhanced shuttle services.
- Release dedicated funding for key local railway projects.
Prominent community leaders who participated in the demonstration included MB Nagannagowda, HD Jayaram, Raju Gowda, Shekhar, and Basavaraju. The protest underscores the growing assertion of linguistic rights in administrative processes and the demand for equitable treatment of regional languages in central government employment avenues.
