Mangaluru:

The Jai Tulunad organization has appealed to the Karnataka Tulu Sahitya Academy to expedite the long-pending process of including the Tulu script in the Unicode Standard, describing it as an important step towards preserving and strengthening the digital and educational identity of the Tulu language.

Background and Unicode Initiative:

The official efforts to bring the Tulu script into Unicode began in 2019 during the tenure of then Karnataka Tulu Sahitya Academy president Dayananda G. Kattalsar, through a committee led by Dr. Akash Raj Jain.

Earlier, a meeting of Tulu language and script scholars held in 2017 had discussed and finalized the script form that was subsequently used as the basis for the Unicode proposal submitted in 2019.

As the process progressed, necessary modifications were made to the script design based on technical requirements and recommendations from script experts.

Despite continued efforts, the process was reportedly left incomplete following changes in government and administrative supervision of the initiative.

Academy President Assures Further Action:

Jai Tulunad recently submitted a memorandum to the current President of the Karnataka Tulu Sahitya Academy, Taranath Gatti, urging the Academy to immediately revive the stalled Unicode process.

After receiving the memorandum, President Taranath Gatti responded positively and assured the organization that a meeting with concerned experts and key stakeholders would be held on October 10.

He also assured that the Academy would take necessary governmental and technical steps to accelerate the process of seeking Unicode inclusion for the Tulu script.

The inclusion of the Tulu script in Unicode is considered significant for its digital representation, technological use, education and long-term preservation. The Academy's proposed follow-up meeting has generated renewed hope among Tulu language enthusiasts and advocates.

Attendance:

Taranatha Gatti (President, Karnataka Tulu Sahithya Academy), 

Kiran Tuluve (Founder Member, Jai Tulunad & Tulu Script Teacher), Geetha Laxmish (Menber, Jai Tulunad & Tulu Script Teacher), Ashwith Samani Belady (Organising Secretary, Jai TuluNad Karla Unit & Tulu Script Teacher), Vinay Rai Kudla (Member, Jai Tulunad),

PraveenRaj S Rao (Rastriya Computer Saksharatha Samithi) , Vivek Acharya (Rastriya Computer Saksharatha Samithi)