Indian origin lawmaker addresses Canadian Parliament in Kannada

Ottawa: Chandra Arya, an Indian-born Canadian lawmaker, spoke in his mother tongue Kannada in the Canadian Parliament last Thursday and said that it’s the first time the language was spoken in any parliament in the world outside India. A video of his address has gone viral.

Arya, who represents the electoral district of Nepean, Ontario, in the House of Commons, the lower house of Canada, tweeted a video of his address, saying Kannada is a beautiful language spoken by about five crore people.

“I spoke in my mother tongue (first language) Kannada in the Canadian parliament. This beautiful language has a long history and is spoken by about 50 million people. This is the first time Kannada is spoken in any parliament in the world outside of India,” he said.

“I am happy that I have got the opportunity to speak in my mother tongue Kannada. It is a matter of pride for 5 crore Kannadigas that someone who comes from Sira Taluk in Tumakuru district is speaking in Kannada after getting elected to the Canadian Parliament,” he said in Kannada. His colleagues in the house greeted him with a big round of applause once he finished. 

Arya is from the Tumakuru district, about 70 kilometers from Karnataka capital Bengaluru. He was elected to the parliament as a Liberal party candidate in the 2019 general election.

Image courtesy of (Image courtesy: canadiandream.cbet.ca)

Share this post