Karnataka: Officials asked to learn Kannada

The Government of Karnataka has ordered the officers of the Indian Administrative Services (IAS) to implement Kannada as the administrative language in the state saying it would initiate an action against those who failed to do so.

The development came after the Kannada Development Authority (KDA) issued a show-cause notice to senior IAS officer Srivatsa Krishna, who is currently the secretary of the public enterprises department, after he allegedly instructed his subordinates to put up files in English citing they would be returned if instructions were not followed.

The authority reportedly asked Srivatsa for an explanation and an immediate withdrawal of his directive, which reportedly stated that all files had "to be put up in English with relevant acts, latest government order, circulars otherwise the files would be returned."

The notice stated that Kannada is the administrative language in the state and hence, should be implemented at every stage of development adding that the directive by Krishna was "highly condemnable and unpardonable.