Canada: Indian origin MP Chandra Arya speaks in mother tongue Kannada in Parliament

In a never happened before event, an Indian origin Canadian and Member of Parliament of Canada, Chandra Arya spoke in Kannada. The video of Karnataka-born Canadian MP Chandra Arya speaking in Kannada in the Canadian parliament has gone popular on social media, with Arya claiming that it is the first time Kannada has been spoken in any Parliament outside of India.

Taking on his Twitter, the Indian-Canadian MP shared a video where he is seen speaking in Kannada, and said, "I spoke in my mother tongue (first language) Kannada in Canadian parliament. This beautiful language has long history and is spoken by about 50 million people."

He further claimed that it is for the first time that Kannada has been spoken in any parliament outside India.

"This is the first time Kannada is spoken in any parliament in the world outside of India," Chandra Arya wrote in his tweet.

In his speech in the Canadian Parliament, Arya briefly presented himself as belonging to the Sira Taluk area in the Tumkur district of India's Karnataka. He closed his address with a poem by Kuvempu, which Dr Rajkumar turned into a song and said, "Elladaru Iru Enthadaru Iru Endendigu Nee Kannadavaagiru", which translates to wherever you are, however you are, forever be a Kannadiga.

Karnataka Higher Education Minister Ashwathnarayan CN also shared Chandra Arya's post on Twitter and said, "Heartfelt congratulations to those who smell the Kannada musk." 

It is pertinent to mention that Chandra Arya is an Indian origin Canadian Liberal politician, who was elected to represent the electoral district of Nepean in the House of Commons of Canada in the 2015 federal election and thereafter re-elected in the 2019 federal election as well.

'Kannada supreme at home': Bommai

Earlier, reiterating his support for actor Kiccha Sudeep's remark on the debate over the use of Hindi for official purposes, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, on April 29, said that Kannada will remain a supreme language in the state. While asserting support for regional languages over Hindi, CM Bommai propounded that the states were primarily formed on a linguistic basis, hence no one language in India can be imposed as a national language.

“I have stated it clearly, as the States were formed on a linguistic basis, the regional considerations would have primacy. Kannada is supreme in Karnataka, not any other language," said Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai.