Kannadiga man on foot for Punjabi

Gagan K Teja                                    

Tribune News Service

Patiala, October 6

Irked over the violation of the Official Language Act, 1963, Kannadiga man Pandit Rao Dharennavar, working as an Assistant Professor in Sociology at Government College, Sector 46, Chandigarh, held a ‘padyatra’ in the home city of Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh. 

Pandit Rao was in the city to hand over a letter to the PWD authorities, urging them to write Punjabi on top of all sign boards on National Highways. He said it was distasteful that Punjabi was not being given due respect in the state. 

He said all sign boards on National Highways in Punjab should be in the order of Punjabi, Hindi and English according to the Official Language Act, 1963. “The Act suggests the use of the local language at the top while making public sign boards, but it has been observed that some boards installed on National Highways in Punjab bear the wrong sequence, which reduces the importance of Punjabi.”

“Therefore, I want that the CM should take note of the same and ensure the compliance of the Act at the earliest.” He also held a ‘padyatra’ from the bus stand to PWD headquarters flashing placards that read ‘Punjab vich Punjabi thale kyun likhi gayi and Punjabi vich kyun nahi likhya gaya’ which caught the fancy of city residents. 

Rao told The Tribune about how he took up the goal of saving Punjabi. “I came to Chandigarh in 2003 for teaching sociology, but faced language problems initially as most of the students came from rural areas and were not well versed in English. So, in order to form a rapport with them, I started learning Punjabi and soon fell in love with the language and the rich culture,” he informed.

His passion of learning Punjabi not only made him popular among students, but transformed him into a writer who has penned down various books in the past four years. He has translated many Kannada works into Punjabi.

Expressing concern over the way Punjabi youth is blindly following the West, Rao said it was heartbreaking to know that the youth was unaware of their history and background. “They claim to be Punjabi, but a few of them are concerned about their language and literature. Forget about reading Punjabi poets and historians they are not even aware of their names. No community can survive without respecting its culture,” he said.