Minister for Kannada and Culture V Sunil Kumar on Tuesday, September 21, said that the state government will announce a decision on the tune and duration of the 'Naada Geethe' (state anthem) before October 2, based on the report by a committee constituted for this purpose. "There have been discussions regarding the Naada Geethe in the past, especially on its tune and the duration within which it should be completed, but the government had not come to any final conclusion or decision. So on September 9 we constituted a committee consisting of literary figures and music experts," he said.
Replying to the issue raised by Mudigere BJP MLA M P Kumaraswamy in the Assembly during Zero Hour, he said the committee, comprising Mysuru's Leelavathi and Dr Doddarange Gowda, have been asked to submit a report in 15 days regarding the tune and the duration.
"The committee held its first meeting on September 16. Based on their report the government will take a decision... soon we will make an announcement in this regard....before Gandhi Jayanti we will make the announcement," he added. The song which is currently the Naada Geethe — Jaya Bharata Jananiya Tanujate — penned by eminent poet Kuvempu, was officially declared as the state anthem in 2004. It is sung at all government functions and in schools every day.
Noting that there have been repeated discussions on the duration and tune of Naada Geethe, but have always been incomplete, Kumaraswamy said there have been committees constituted under eminent poets like Chennaveera Kanavi and GS Shivarudrappa regarding this in the past, but still no decision has been arrived at. "Whether other states have state anthems or not, we are not sure, but our Naada Geethe is our pride," he said.
Speaker Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri too pointed out that attempts have been made to finalise a tune and duration for the state anthem for several years now, asked the Minister to finalise it and put an end to the issue during his tenure.
At present, the Naada Geethe is sung in different styles and tunes and it is deemed to be lengthy. There has been a constant demand to shorten it and to bring uniformity in the singing style.
In 2019, a proposal was made by Kannada Sahitya Parishat (KSP) to cap the duration at two minutes and thirty seconds.
In 2014, there was also a proposal to reduce the duration to one minute and 30 seconds by the Channaveera Kanavi committee.