The Kannada Development Authority (KDA) has urged Karnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao to mandate the use of Kannada in medical prescriptions across all government health centers and hospitals in the state. In a letter submitted on Monday, KDA Chairperson Purushotham Bilimale emphasised the importance of promoting Kannada as the official language in healthcare services.
Bilimale proposed recognizing doctors who demonstrate a commitment to using Kannada by honoring them annually on Doctors' Day at the taluk, district, and state levels. He further suggested creating an environment that encourages Kannada-loving doctors in private hospitals and their administrators to adopt the language in their professional practice.
"This will be of great help in the progress of Kannada language, and I hereby request you to pay attention in this regard," he said in the letter, as reported by PTI.
Bilimale also shared that during a recent official visit to Raichur, he encouraged government doctors to write prescriptions in Kannada and directed the Deputy Commissioner to issue the necessary instructions. Following media coverage of this initiative, he noted that hundreds of doctors had voluntarily committed to using Kannada in their prescriptions, with several even sharing copies of their Kannada-written prescriptions with him.
He highlighted that making Kannada mandatory for writing prescriptions at health centers and hospitals would be a crucial step toward safeguarding Kannada's cultural and linguistic identity, as per the report. "If it is not made compulsory, the desired progress will not be achieved," he stated, underscoring the need for a strong stand by the state government in this matter.
However, Karnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao said that the prescriptions and medical terms should be flexible so the move does not seem to be practical.