Chandra Arya who hails from Dwaralu village in Shira taluka of Tumakuru district, about 70 km from Karnataka capital Bengaluru  became the first person to speak in Kannada language in any Parliament in the world outside Bharat. Chandra Arya is on the board of Invest Ottawa Unity Non-Profit Housing Corporation Ottawa and was the Vice President of Ottawa Community Immigrants Services Organization. He is also the Chair of Indo-Canada Ottawa Business Chamber and founder-director of Federation of Canadian Brazilian Businesses.

Chandra Arya wrote on twitter by adding the video “I spoke in my mother tongue (first language) Kannada in Canadian parliament.
This beautiful language has 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.”

Chandra Arya while giving his speech in Kannada spoke “A person from the country of India in Karnataka, Tumakuru district, Shira taluka, Dwaralu village has been elected to the parliament of Canada and speaking in Kannada is a matter of pride for 5 crore Kannadigas,” . He added that in 2018, Kannadigas celebrated Kannada Rajyotsava in the same parliament. Chandra Arya ended his speech with a quote from a passage by Kuvempu, considered the greatest Kannada poet of the 20th century: “Yelladharu iru, Yenthadaaru iru, yendendigu nee Kannadavagiru” (Wherever you stay, however you are, always be a Kannadiga).

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