Sahyadri Arts College in Shivamogga. | Photo credit: Special arrangement
Sahyadri Arts College, a constituent college of Kuvempu University, conducted a language landscape survey among students on the occasion of International Mother Language Day. According to the college authorities, the survey showed a miniature ‘multilingual India’ existing in the college campus at Shivamogga.
Among the respondents, 74% said that their mother tongue is Kannada. About 50 students reported Lambani as their mother tongue and 24 students reported Urdu as their mother tongue. There are students who come from families whose primary languages are Tamil, Marathi, Telugu and Malayalam among others.
Out of total 98% students use Kannada for daily communication. About 14% use Urdu to communicate at home and within the community, and 8% of students converse in Lambani at home. About 45% of students communicate in English for educational purposes.
The results of the survey were presented as part of a program organized on the occasion of International Mother Language Day at the college on February 21. Professor M. Purvachar presented a summary of the survey.
Prof. Siraj Ahmed, principal of the college, said the survey was conducted to understand the linguistic diversity on campus. “The survey showed interesting results. We have students with different mother tongues. English became the language of instruction for most of them. Most of them emphasized the need for bilingual pedagogy. These results are necessary for formulating policies in the field of education and ensuring multilingual education based on the mother tongue,” he said.
The director mentioned that in the coming days, after consultation with the vice-chancellor of the university, he plans to extend the survey to other universities.
Meti Mallikarjun, a professor of linguistics who was the coordinator of the committee that conducted the survey, said the committee compiled questions and sought responses from students by sending out a Google form. “Of the 1,300 students enrolled at the college, 750 responded. We only had a few days to complete the survey. Otherwise, many more would have responded,” he said.
Emphasizing the importance of the day, Mr. Mallikarjun said that UNESCO has declared February 21 as International Mother Language Day, commemorating the martyrs of the Bengali language movement. “The only thing that separates human beings from animals is language. We speak. That’s why we exist. 22 state languages are included in the eighth schedule of the Indian constitution. However, according to the 2011 census, 19,526 languages are spoken in India,” he said.
Eminent theater personality Nataraj Honnavalli opened the program by reading an excerpt from the play Aa Laya Ee Laya, a translation of South African playwright Lewis Nkosi’s The Rhythm of Violence.
Students and teachers from different linguistic backgrounds presented songs, poems and dialogues in their mother tongues as part of the programme. There were presentations in Lambani, Telugu, Hindi, Urdu, Malayalam and Marathi.
Published – 21 Feb 2026 16:56 IST
