A speech given in Kannada by a Canadian member of Parliament who was born in India has gone viral on social media, generating a lot of attention and igniting a discussion about the native tongue’s relevance.
“In Canadian parliament, I spoke in Kannada, my mother tongue (first language).” This lovely language has a rich history and over 50 million people speak it. “This is the first time Kannada has been spoken in a parliament outside of India,” said Chandra Arya, an Ontario MP.
A one-minute video of Chandra Arya’s speech was also uploaded.
“An Indian from Karnataka’s Tumakuru district, Shira taluka, Dwaralu village has been elected to Canada’s parliament, and speaking Kannada is a source of pride for 5 crore Kannadigas,” he added in his address.
He ended his speech with a quote from a passage by Kuvempu, considered the greatest Kannada poet of the 20th century: “Yelladharu iru, Yenthadaaru iru, yendendigu nee Kannadavagiru” (Wherever you stay, however you are, always be a Kannadiga).
Chandra is from Dwaralu village in Tumakuru district’s Shira taluka, roughly 70 kilometers from the state capital Bengaluru.
Chandra is the Vice President of Ottawa Community Immigrants Services Organization and is on the board of Invest Ottawa Unity Non-Profit Housing Corporation. He is also the founder and director of the Federation of Canadian Brazilian Businesses and the Chair of the Indo-Canada Ottawa Business Chamber.
