Kannada Saahithya Parishath is an Indian non-profit organisation that promotes the Kannada language. Its headquarters are in the city of Bangalore

Bangalore

Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...

, in the state of Karnataka

Karnataka

Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...

, India. It strives to promote Kannada through publishing books, organising literary seminars and promoting research projects. It also organises an annual conference on Kannada literature called Kannada Sahithya Sammelana.

Origin

During the British rule of India, the people who spoke Kannada language were spread across different provinces. Coming under the influence of different languages in those provinces, the pronunciation and grammar of Kannada language started to differ across provinces. This led to a gap in communication across the people in these provinces though they spoke the same language of Kannada. Mokshagundam Vishweshwaraiah, who was the Diwan of the Mysore Kingdom felt the need to conserve and promote the Kannada language and literature. In this direction, he started the Mysore Economic Conference and created a study circle under the responsibility of H. V. Nanjundaiah

H. V. Nanjundaiah

.Hebbalalu Velpanuru Nanjundayya was the founding president of the Kannada Sahitya Sammelana established in 1915. He presided over Kannada Sahitya Sammelana from 1915 to 1917 held in Bangaloer and Mysore. He authored books on legal matters....

. A sub-committee formed under the study circle came up with five different topics on which suggestions were invited:

• To come up with ideas to promote unity and co-operation among Kannada speakers spread across different regions.
• To come up with suggestions for a common written Kannada which had diversified across different regions
• To ensure that students learning Kannada language use a common text book
• To improve the general knowledge among the Kannada speaking population by publishing appropriate books.
• To come up with appropriate Kannada translations for words used in other languages, especially the scientific words.

The sub-committee received good responses from the public and it decided to organise a conference in Bangalore on 3 May 1915 to act upon these suggestions. The conference was held on the grounds of the Government High School and was attended by littérateurs, newspaper editors and other dignitaries from different regions. The conference came up with a proposal to create the Karnataka Sahitya Parishat with a mandate to conserve and promote Kannada language and literature. H. V. Nanjundaiah was unanimously elected to be the President of the Parishat. Apart from the Mysore province, the Karnataka Sahitya Parishat was simultaneously started in the Madras, Mumbai

Mumbai

Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...

, Hyderabad

Hyderabad State

-After Indian independence :When India gained independence in 1947 and Pakistan came into existence in 1947, the British left the local rulers of the princely states the choice of whether to join one of the new dominions or to remain independent...

 and Kodagu

Kodagu

Kodagu , also known by its anglicised former name of Coorg, is an administrative district in Karnataka, India. It occupies an area of in the Western Ghats of southwestern Karnataka. As of 2001, the population was 548,561, 13.74% of which resided in the district's urban centres, making it the least...

 provinces.

Growth

H. V. Nanjundaiah remained as President of the Parishat for the first five years of its creation. In 1935, a proposal to conduct an annual event under the aegis of the Parishat called as Kannada Sahitya Sammelana

Kannada Sahitya Sammelana

Kannada Sahitya Sammelana is the premier gathering of writers, poets and kannadigas. It is held with the aim of preserving and developing Kannada language, its literature, arts, culture and music. It was started in 1915 and held at Bangalore for the first time. It used to be inaugurated by...

was decided. The foundation ceremony of a separate building to house the Parishat was organised on 12 April 1937 under the Presidentship of Karpura Srinivas Rao. The construction of this building was completed on 29 May 1938. B M Srikantaiah was the Vice President of the Parishat from 1938 till 1942. In 1938, the name of Karnataka Sahitya Parishat was changed to Kannada Sahitya Parishat. Under the guidance of B M Srikantaiah, the logo of the Parishat containing the map of the Mysore province with the phrase Sirigannadam gelge, Kannada Sahitya Parishat written inside it was created. Over the period of time; a women's wing, a publishing house, a Kannada journal and literature exams were also added to the repertoire of the Parishat. Kannada Sahitya Parishat branches at the district and taluk levels were also created. A new building is being constructed to replace the exiting building of the Parishat at a cost of Rupees five crores. During its existence, the Parishat has contributed to the growth of Kannada language by organising conferences and debates, publication and release of books, organising talks by eminent littérateurs and also by holding the annual Kannada Sahitya Sammelana

Kannada Sahitya Sammelana

Kannada Sahitya Sammelana is the premier gathering of writers, poets and kannadigas. It is held with the aim of preserving and developing Kannada language, its literature, arts, culture and music. It was started in 1915 and held at Bangalore for the first time. It used to be inaugurated by...

.

Criticism

In the recent past, it seems that the Parishat has lost focus on its goals due to various reasons including lack of funds and political interference. There were also reports of irregularities conducted within the Parishat in the year 1987, which prompted the Karnataka Government to nominate an Administrator to the Parishat. The office of the Administrator was removed in the year 1989.