Karnataka DGP Praveen Sood moots incentive for constables to learn local languages

MANGALURU: Police constables who form the cornerstone of a policing unit face a unique problem in this part of the state – language. While Kannada is the lingua franca in Karnataka, Namma Kudla poses a challenge to outsiders in that it is Tulu, Beary, Konkani, Malayalam in that order besides Kannada that is locally used for business. To overcome this, the state police top brass has mooted an incentive for Khaki personnel to learn Tulu.
Head of state police force Praveen Sood, director-general and inspector-general of police who reviewed functioning of police units in DK recently told TOI that the need to rejuvenate Tulu classes for non-Tulu speaking police constables is an idea that came from the local police top brass.“This makes sense in that police constables who are the face of any police unit need to be conversant with the local culture and language for them to be effective,” he said.
The move to learn Tulu with their regular training will be incentivised. “It’s just an idea, only for the non-Tulu speaking trainees. CP (Mangaluru City Police commissioner) and IGP (Western Range) have to decide details,” Sood said. The incentive will spur the constables to own a new language and a culture that goes with the language. This will also give them a sense of belonging to their chosen place of work, Sood said.
Vikash Kumar Vikash, city police chief said a joint training programme for police constables recruited to DK and Udupi district police and Mangaluru City police units is on the cards. “This (language) is a strange problem that we see in this part of the state,” Vikash told TOI. There is Beary and Malayalam also to contend with, he said. Incentive to learn the language as mooted by Sood will also help constables remain grounded to the region, he said.
Muva Chandra Sekhar, Inspector-General of Police (Anti-Corruption Bureau), Bengaluru said Tulu and Beary speaking classes that he had introduced during his tenure as city police commissioner with help from Karnataka Tulu and Beary Sahitya Academies respectively were well received by the police constables. “It is important for policemen to earn the trust of the community they serve and language is a vital link,” he added.
Learning the language and culture also makes constables comfortable working here, B M Laxmi Prasad, superintendent of police, Dakshina Kannada district said. “Constables seek transfer to their native place after the seven-year lock-in period in the unit to which they are recruited,” he says. If they serve out their tenure locally, it will help strengthen police administration, SP said.
Devajyoti Ray, inspector-general of police (Western Range) said he has zeroed in on Konkani and Tulu as the languages he wants police constables getting recruited to Uttara Kannada, Udupi and Chikkamagaluru district units to learn. “Knowledge of Konkani will be useful in Karwar just as Tulu will be useful in Udupi and even Dakshina Kannada,” Ray said. “The range level incentives that DGP mooted will be presented at a function to be held on November 30,” Ray added.