Karnataka stands third in the country for multilingual states

BENGALURU: In terms of the percentage of people who speak more than one language Karnataka stands third in the country. It's because of its cosmopolitan capital, with multiple cities sharing their borders with other states and being among the top states that attract migrants.

Other than English, the top languages spoken in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Karnataka are Marathi, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Konkani, Saurastri, Hindi and Malayalam, according to 2011 census.

An analysis of the data stated that the state has a greater percentage of its total population which speaks two or more languages, when compared to Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, undivided Andhra and Kerala. 

Even among the 10 major states, Karnataka and Gujarat have a close battle while Maharashtra is a clear leader.

“The 2021 census is most likely to show a different trend. With cities like Mumbai and Pune having reached saturation point so far as migration goes, and Gujarat’s development likely to slow down, in terms of new constructions and projects, Karnataka is likely to attract more migrants, who will speak different languages,” said professor CM Lakshmana, head of the Population Research Centre at the Institute for Social and Economic Change.

“If you look at the Gujarati settlement in Maharashtra, it has a history of more than 100 years. Similarly, people from several other parts of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka and more recently those from north India have migrated to the state (Maharashtra). The story is similar with Karnataka, which has seen a major increase in migration post 1999-2000,” professor AR Vasavi, formerly with the National Institute for Advanced Studies said.