Published Sep 21, 2026 | 12:13 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 21, 2026 | 12:13 PM
The party said Urdu has been spoken in Karnataka for a long time and is “an integral part of the daily lives of millions of people”.
Synopsis: The SDPI has urged Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar to grant Urdu additional official language status, citing the size of the Urdu-speaking population in the State. The demand follows Karnataka’s recent decision to recognise Tulu as an additional official language. The party welcomed the decision and said the same approach should apply to Urdu, whose speakers accounted for 10.8 percent of the State’s population in the 2011 Census.
The Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) has urged Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar to grant Urdu the status of an additional official language in the State, citing the sizeable population of Urdu speakers in Karnataka.
In a memorandum dated 20 September, the party said Urdu has been spoken in Karnataka for a long time and is “an integral part of the daily lives of millions of people”.
The demand comes days after the Congress government accepted the long-standing demand to recognise Tulu as an additional official language and permitted its administrative use in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts.
The SDPI welcomed the decision, saying it fulfilled a long-standing demand of people in the coastal region. It said the same approach should be adopted for Urdu.
“Respecting linguistic diversity is one of the beauties of democracy. Granting official recognition to a language after taking into consideration its population, usage, historical background, and the sentiments of the people is a welcome step,” the party said.
“By granting official recognition to the Tulu language, the State Government has conveyed the message that ‘Karnataka respects all its languages.’”
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The 2011 Census data records Urdu as the second-largest linguistic minority in Karnataka, with its speakers accounting for 10.8 percent of the population, ahead of Telugu (5.8 percent), Tamil (3.5 percent), Marathi (3.4 percent), Hindi (3.2 percent), Tulu (2.6 percent), Konkani (1.3 percent) and Malayalam (1.3 percent).
The SDPI referred to the Telangana Official Languages (Amendment) Act, 2017, under which Telugu is the official language and Urdu the second official language, and said it could serve as a model for Karnataka.
It asked the Karnataka government to establish a phased system for using Urdu in administrative affairs, including accepting applications and petitions in Urdu at government offices and providing important public-service information in the language.
The party also sought the filling of vacant teaching posts in Urdu-medium schools, improved infrastructure and quality of education in those schools, and greater government support for Urdu literature, culture, research and translation.
It said Telangana demonstrated how linguistic diversity could be incorporated into the administrative system through the use of both languages for specified official purposes.
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
