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With Karnataka opposing the mandatory Malayalam section, a closer look at how the two neighboring states structure their language laws.
Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah and Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan. (Image: News18)
Kerala’s proposed Malayalam Language Bill, 2025 has created a political and administrative dispute between Kerala and Karnataka. On Thursday, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah publicly opposed the bill that makes Malayalam a mandatory first language in all government and aided schools in Kerala, including Kannada-medium schools in border districts like Kasaragod.
He said the move is a “coercive approach” that violates the constitutional rights of Kannada-speaking linguistic minorities and ignores the reality of communities who have studied in Kannada-medium institutions for generations.
Siddaramaiah warned that implementing a single first-language option would burden students and weaken minority-run schools.
The unity of India rests on respecting every language and the right of every citizen to learn in his or her mother tongue. The proposed Malayalam Language Bill-2025 strikes at the linguistic base, by making Malayalam mandatory as the first language even in Kannada-medium schools…
– Chief Minister of Karnataka (@CMofKarnataka) 8 January 2026
The Karnataka Border Area Development Authority also submitted a memorandum in Kerala demanding reconsideration of the bill and terming it “completely unconstitutional”.
Meanwhile, BJP leader R Ashok hit out at Congress and Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi for “double standards” and asked why she was silent on the law affecting Kannadigas.
As Kerala’s bill goes to a subject committee for review, the controversy has drawn attention to how the two states approach language policy differently, especially when compared with Karnataka’s existing Kannada Language Comprehensive Development Act, 2022.
Do both states declare their languages ​​as ‘official’?
Kerala’s Bill modernizes the framework created by the Kerala Official Languages ​​Act, 1969 and positions Malayalam as the official language of the state for all administrative purposes. Karnataka had declared Kannada as an official language decades ago; The 2022 Act aims for consolidation, bringing multiple laws under a single, comprehensive law that strengthens enforcement.
How far do the laws extend to the government, legislature and courts?
Both states are required to issue official communications in their respective state languages. Under the proposed Kerala Bill, all bills, acts, ordinances, rules and government orders must be in Malayalam and published with an English translation. The Bill also requires important Central and State Acts, currently available only in English, to be translated into Malayalam within a stipulated time frame.
Similarly Karnataka law also requires bills, acts, rules, regulations and bye-laws to be issued in Kannada, and translation of old laws into Kannada is mandatory. Unlike Kerala, Karnataka considers the Kannada version as the official text for official reference.
In the judiciary, Kerala follows a gradual, infrastructure-dependent change: proceedings and judgments up to the District Courts are to be translated into Malayalam. Orders of quasi-judicial bodies must be in Malayalam, and orders affecting linguistic minorities can be issued in their mother tongue or in English.
Karnataka is more strict. District courts and tribunals should conduct proceedings in Kannada, although English words/phrases may be used where necessary.
The High Court may by special order allow evidence to be recorded in English; However, all orders of quasi-judicial officers must be in Kannada.
What does each state demand from students
Siddaramaiah’s objection started on the education section of Kerala. The bill makes Malayalam a mandatory first language in all government and aided schools up to Class X, including in border districts like Kasaragod, where Kannada-medium schools have existed for generations.
Kerala allows students whose mother tongue is not Malayalam to learn it as an additional language and exempts students from other states/foreign countries from writing Malayalam in Class IX,
But Siddaramaiah argues that mandatory first language Malayalam changes the character of minority-run Kannada schools and ignores cultural realities in border areas.
Karnataka’s profile is different. Kannada should be taught as a language in all schools, but it is not implemented as a mandatory first language. In higher, technical and professional education, functional Kannada linked to the curriculum must be taught, while students who have not previously studied Kannada must appear for a basic Kannada paper. More importantly, Karnataka reserves seats in higher and technical institutions for students who have completed classes I to X in Kannada-medium schools in Karnataka or elsewhere.
Jobs and Recruitment
The Kerala bill does not make Malayalam proficiency a prerequisite for government employment. The focus of its language is administrative, not employment related.
Karnataka’s Act is far more explicit: Kannada knowledge is mandatory for government, boards, corporations, co-operative societies and local-body jobs. Candidates must have passed a Kannada language examination equivalent to SSLC first or second language, unless they have already studied Kannada at that level. Karnataka also requires its employment portal to reflect Kannada proficiency requirements.
treatment of linguistic minorities
Kerala explicitly recognizes Kannada and Tamil as linguistic minorities, especially in specific areas. These communities are allowed to use their own language in official correspondence with the Secretariat and local offices, and the State must respond in the same minority language. Students from minority communities can receive education in the language of their choice as per the national curriculum.
Karnataka law defines who counts as a “Kannadiga” on the basis of residence and Kannada literacy, and provides education and employment benefits accordingly. Linguistic minorities may correspond in Kannada or English, but their own mother tongues do not have the same legal status that Kerala provides.
This is the main reason why Siddaramaiah argues that Kerala’s mandatory first-language clause violates Articles 29, 30, 350A and 350B, because Kerala’s broad mandate is uncomfortable with the stronger protections that the rest of its Bill gives to linguistic minorities.
Language on name boards, commercial signs, labels and public interfaces
Kerala requires Malayalam and English on government name boards, and mandates that commercial establishments, with government approval, display Malayalam in the first part and English in the second part. Labels and information about products sold in Kerala should also be in Malayalam.
Karnataka requires that the name boards of government departments, undertakings, autonomous bodies, banks, private industries and universities be predominantly in Kannada.
For commercial/industrial/business establishments, trusts, hospitals, hotels, etc. approved by Government/local authority, the upper half of the board should be in Kannada and the lower half should be in any other language. Later amendments required at least 60 percent of the signboard to be in Kannada.
Industrial and consumer products sold in Karnataka must have Kannada names and usage instructions.
How do both states enforce these laws?
Kerala’s bill creates a Malayalam language development department and directorate to oversee implementation. It does not impose direct penalties on individuals or private entities, and detailed rules have yet to be created.
Karnataka has an elaborate enforcement structure with state, district and taluka-level committees, dedicated enforcement officers and disciplinary provisions. Officers who fail to use Kannada in official functioning may face action for dereliction of duty. Private establishments can be fined for signage violations (up to Rs 20,000 for repeat offences) and may also have their licenses canceled for repeat offences.
economic incentives
Kerala’s bill provides incentives for suggestions to promote Malayalam in IT and technology, but its industrial and tax policy does not depend on language compliance.
Karnataka’s Act directly links language to industrial policy. Industries will have to show that they have provided a specified percentage of reservation to Kannadigas to receive benefits such as tax exemptions, land concessions and moratoriums. Non-compliance may result in denial of benefits and recovery of past concessions.
January 09, 2026, 17:35 IST
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