Mangaluru: Tulu organisations will launch a major social media campaign on September 15, seeking official language status for Tulu in Karnataka and Kerala. The campaign is being organised ahead of the Karnataka Cabinet meeting scheduled to be held in Mangaluru on September 18.
Led by Jai Tulunadu, the campaign is being supported by several Tulu organisations, which have appealed to people across the Tulu-speaking region and elsewhere to join the initiative and amplify the demand on social media platform X.
Campaign planned for September 15
The campaign will be held from 6 am to midnight on September 15. Participants have been urged to post messages supporting official language status for Tulu using the hashtag #TuluOfficialinKA_KL.
Organisers are seeking widespread public participation to draw attention to the long-standing demand at a time when the Karnataka Cabinet is scheduled to meet in Mangaluru.
A member of Jai Tulunadu said the campaign is intended to demonstrate the strength of public support for recognising Tulu and to place the language issue prominently before policymakers.
The organisers have appealed to Tulu speakers, cultural organisations, language enthusiasts and members of the public to participate throughout the campaign period.
2021 campaign generated 4.5 lakh posts
The latest campaign draws inspiration from a similar social media initiative conducted in 2021, which received a strong response.
According to Jai Tulunadu, the earlier campaign generated around 4.5 lakh posts, with the demand for official language status for Tulu trending on X.
Organisers are hoping to surpass that response this time.
“While the 2021 campaign received a strong response, we are expecting a much larger participation this time, with a target of around 20 lakh posts,” a Jai Tulunadu member said.
The proposed target represents a significant increase over the participation recorded during the previous campaign.
Campaign ahead of Karnataka Cabinet meeting
The timing of the campaign is significant as the Karnataka Cabinet is scheduled to hold its meeting in Mangaluru on September 18.
Tulu organisations hope that the social media campaign will generate greater visibility for their demand ahead of the meeting and draw the attention of the state government to the linguistic and cultural significance of Tulu.
Jai Tulunadu is coordinating the campaign, while several other Tulu organisations have extended their support.
The groups are seeking to use the campaign to create a unified voice around the demand and encourage people from across the Tulu-speaking community to participate.
Jai Tulunadu meets Chief Minister
Members of Jai Tulunadu had recently met Karnataka Chief Minister D K Shivakumar and submitted an appeal seeking official language status for Tulu.
The meeting provided the organisation an opportunity to present its demand directly to the Chief Minister ahead of the upcoming Cabinet meeting in Mangaluru.
The latest social media campaign is expected to build on that effort by mobilising public support and highlighting the demand across digital platforms.
The campaign also seeks to underline the importance of Tulu as a regional language with a strong cultural presence in the coastal belt.
Appeal for wider public participation
The organisers have called upon members of the public to participate in the campaign by posting on X with the designated hashtag between 6 am and midnight on September 15.
The initiative is expected to bring together Tulu organisations and supporters under a common hashtag, with the goal of making the demand visible at the state and national level.
With the Karnataka Cabinet meeting scheduled in Mangaluru just three days after the campaign, Tulu organisations see the social media drive as an opportunity to renew attention on the official language demand.
If the campaign reaches its target of around 20 lakh posts, organisers believe it could demonstrate the scale of public support and give fresh momentum to the movement seeking official language status for Tulu in Karnataka and Kerala.