Kannada?

Read this........


I really don't know the Author of this mail...... but this
is the feeling of every Kannadiga!!

Read on & introspect how much pride do we have in being a kannadiga.

Whom do I ask this question to? Should I ask the Chief
Minister of Karnataka Sri S M Krishna? r should I ask people
of Karnataka? Or should I ask myself?

Yes, I definitely feel so. I know that many of you would get annoyed
with  this answer. But the tragedy is that this is true. To the world
Bangalore is known as the Silicon Valley of Asia and is also known as
the fastest growing city in Asia. But let's just try to look on the
other side of this growth.

Is this growth a boon to Kannadigas or a curse to Kannadigas?
I have been working in Information Technology industry for nearly 6
years now. In these years, I had the opportunity to work for many
companies. Believe me, none of these companies I worked for had more
than 10 per cent of the staff who were Kannadigas. Is it that Kannadigas
are not fit to work in IT industry or IT-related industries? Is it that
Kannadigas are not intelligent and smart enough to work in these
industries? Well some times I feel so. Or else why would a company (for
which I was working) take pains to go all the way to Thiruvananthapuram,
conduct campus interview and recruit fresh graduates and get them to
Bangalore. Bangalore is supposed to have 100-plus Engineering colleges
and I think that more than 15,000 Engineering students from Karnataka
pass out every year. Aren't these students fit enough to get a job in
Bangalore (Karnataka)?

At my work place I have to search for people who can speak Kannada.
Isn't this an unfortunate situation? Do we have to search for our fellow
men in our own land? Coming out of the office, I went to a juice shop
and asked him for a mango juice in Kannada, the guy replied back to me
in English. I asked him as to whether he knows Kannada. He smiled at me
and said, that he knows Hindi, English, Malayalam, and Tamil but not
Kannada. This made me realise that not only this is the scene in
Information Technology industry but also outside this industry.

There are about 300 recognized IT firms in Bangalore, but it
is sad to note that very few companies are headed by Kannadigas, like
Infosys (Narayana Murthy) and Phoenix (Suresh Bangalore). This means not
only that Kannadigas are unfit workers but also are unfit to head
companies.

I was transferred to Chennai from my previous company. To my surprise
people were conducting technical discussions in Tamil. When I told a
colleague about this, he told me that not only the technical discussions
were held in Tamil, but technical interviews were also held in Tamil.

I happened to go to Tidel Park at Chennai. To my surprise I
was able to hear traces of English, Hindi. Or else it was totally Tamil.
I also heard the same is the case in Technology Park at
Thiruvananthapuram where you get to hear only Malayalam. But the moment
you enter International Technology Park, Bangalore, you can find the
security guard at the gate speaking to you in English. When you try to
speak to him in Kannada, he will answer you back in Hindi. Ask him where
he is from, with a broad smile, showing all his teeth, he says from
Uttar Pradesh.

As such, Kannada is not one of the official languages in the Technology
Park. Other South Indian languages along with Hindi and English are
recognised as official languages here. I was told by someone that
industrial and labour rules emphasise that industries and establishments
set up in a region should give prominence to the local inhabitants. At
least 60 per cent of the work force should be filled by local people
depending upon the availability of the skill. Are our people so
unskilled that companies find unsuitable to hire them? Can't we make up
to at least half this mark?

I happened to get a chain mail some days back. And in that mail it was
stated that only 37 per cent in Bangalore were Kannadigas or people who
speak Kannada. Don't you know that we should bid for minority status?

There is this famous FM radio station in Bangalore called Radio City. I
got to learn that only two of the RJs know Kannada. Isn't it a shame
that the people who present programmes in this region are not from this
region and don't know the local language?

Don't you all feel that at this rate Kannada would enter into the book
of extinct languages? Don't you feel that we all would have identity
crisis? Don't you think that our own future generations would suffer?
When a country like the United States of America can take steps to
safeguard the interest of its people by reducing H1B Visas and scrapping
L1s, doesn't our state politicians bear a responsibility on their
shoulders to safeguard the interests of the people of Karnataka? Isn't
there a need for the government of Karnataka to impose some kind of
restrictions on the recruitment policies in order to safeguard
Kannadigas?

Don't you feel that it is your responsibility to safeguard Kannada in our
state.
Speak Kannada at your workplace as much as possible. Support kannadigas
always.
Circulate this mail to all kannadigas you know.

Regards