Kerala’s Malayalam Language Bill Under Review: How It Compares With Karnataka’s Kannada Act

Kerala’s proposed Malayalam Language Bill, 2025 has triggered a political and administrative row between Kerala and Karnataka. On Thursday, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah publicly opposed the Bill, which makes Malayalam the compulsory first language in all government and aided schools in Kerala, including Kannada-medium schools in border districts such as 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 that have studied in Kannada-medium institutions for generations.

Siddaramaiah warned that enforcing a single first-language choice would burden students and weaken minority-run schools.

India’s unity rests on respecting

every language and every citizen’s right to learn in their mother tongue.

The proposed Malayalam Language Bill–2025, by mandating compulsory Malayalam as the first language even in Kannada-medium schools, strikes at the heart of linguistic…

— CM of Karnataka (@CMofKarnataka) January 8, 2026

The Karnataka Border Areas Development Authority also submitted a memorandum in Kerala seeking the Bill’s reconsideration, calling it “wholly unconstitutional”.

Meanwhile, BJP leader R Ashoka targeted Congress and Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi for “double standards” and asked why she has remained silent on a law that affects Kannadigas.

As Kerala’s Bill moves to a Subject Committee for review, the dispute has drawn attention to how both states approach language policy differently, particularly when compared with Karnataka’s existing Kannada Language Comprehensive Development Act, 2022.

Do Both States Declare Their Language As ‘Official’?

Kerala’s Bill modernises the framework created by the Kerala Official Languages Act, 1969 and positions Malayalam as the state’s official language for all administrative purposes. Karnataka had already declared Kannada the official language decades earlier; the 2022 Act’s purpose is consolidation, bringing multiple legislations under a single, comprehensive law that strengthens enforcement.

How Far Do The Laws Extend Into Government, Legislation, And Courts?

Both states require official communication to be issued in their respective state languages. Under the proposed Kerala Bill, all Bills, Acts, ordinances, rules, and government orders must be in Malayalam, with an English translation published alongside them. The Bill also requires important Central and State Acts currently available only in English to be translated into Malayalam within a prescribed timeline.

Karnataka’s law similarly requires Bills, Acts, rules, regulations, and bye-laws to be issued in Kannada, and mandates that older laws be translated into Kannada. Unlike Kerala, Karnataka treats the Kannada version as the authoritative text for official reference.

In the judiciary, Kerala adopts a gradual, infrastructure-dependent shift: proceedings and judgments up to District Courts are to be translated into Malayalam. Orders of quasi-judicial bodies must be in Malayalam, and orders affecting linguistic minorities may be issued in their mother tongue or English.

Karnataka is more stringent. District courts and tribunals must conduct proceedings in Kannada, though English words/phrases can be used where necessary.

High Court can permit the recording of evidence in English by special order; however, all orders of quasi-judicial authorities must be in Kannada.

What Each State Demands From Students

Kerala’s education clause triggered Siddaramaiah’s objection. The Bill makes Malayalam the compulsory first language in all government and aided schools up to Class X, including those in border districts like Kasaragod, where Kannada-medium schools have existed for generations.

Kerala does allow students whose mother tongue is not Malayalam to learn it as an additional language and provides exemptions for students from other states/foreign countries from writing Malayalam in Class IX, X, and Higher Secondary exams.

But Siddaramaiah argues that compulsory first-language Malayalam alters the character of minority-run Kannada schools and disregards lived cultural realities in border belts.

Karnataka’s framework is different. Kannada must be taught as one of the languages in all schools, but it is not imposed as the compulsory first language. In higher, technical, and professional education, functional Kannada linked to the course must be taught, while students who did not study Kannada earlier must take a basic Kannada paper. More significantly, Karnataka reserves seats in higher and technical institutions for students who completed Classes I to X in Karnataka or in Kannada-medium schools elsewhere.

Jobs And Recruitment

Kerala’s Bill does not make Malayalam proficiency a prerequisite for government employment. Its language focus is administrative, not employment-linked.

Karnataka’s Act is far more assertive: Kannada knowledge is mandatory for government, boards, corporations, co-operative societies, and local-body jobs. Candidates must pass a Kannada language test equivalent to SSLC first or second language unless they already studied Kannada at that level. Karnataka also requires its employment portal to display Kannada proficiency requirements.

Treatment Of Linguistic Minorities

Kerala explicitly acknowledges Kannada and Tamil as linguistic minorities, particularly in specific areas. These communities are permitted to use their own language in official correspondence with the Secretariat and local offices, and the state must reply in the same minority language. Students from minority communities may pursue education in their language of choice in accordance with the national curriculum.

Karnataka’s law defines who counts as a “Kannadiga”, based on residency and Kannada literacy, and extends education and employment benefits accordingly. Linguistic minorities may correspond in Kannada or English, but their own mother tongues do not receive the same legal space that Kerala provides.

This is the central reason Siddaramaiah argues that Kerala’s compulsory first-language clause violates Articles 29, 30, 350A, and 350B, because Kerala’s broad mandate sits uneasily with the strong protections the rest of its Bill gives to linguistic minorities.

Language On Name Boards, Business 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 half and English in the second. Labels and product information sold in Kerala must also be in Malayalam.

Karnataka requires that name boards of government departments, undertakings, autonomous bodies, banks, private industries, and universities must be primarily in Kannada.

For commercial/industrial/business establishments, trusts, hospitals, hotels etc. with government/local authority approval, the upper half of the board must be in Kannada and the lower half in any other language. Amendments later required at least 60 per cent of the signboard to be in Kannada.

Industrial and consumer products sold in Karnataka must carry Kannada names and usage instructions.

How Do The Two 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 are yet to be framed.

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 work can face action for dereliction of duty. Private establishments can be fined for signage violations (up to Rs 20,000 for repeat offences) and may even lose their licences after repeat offences.

Economic Incentives

Kerala’s Bill provides incentives for suggestions on promoting Malayalam in IT and technology, but its industrial and tax policy does not depend on language compliance.

Karnataka’s Act links language directly to industrial policy. Industries must show that they have provided a defined percentage of reservation for Kannadigas to avail of benefits such as tax rebates, land concessions, and deferments. Non-compliance can lead to disentitlement of benefits and recovery of past concessions.