Noted Kannada scholar, epigraphist and activist Chidananda Murthy passed away at age 88. He was ill for sometime and was being treated for age-related illness at a private hospital, where he breathed his last. Murthy was known for his work on Kannada inscriptions.
His work played a key role in deciding the antiquity of the Kannada, which helped get the language Classical Language status from the Union government in 2008. He was also a vocal Kannada activist, leading Kannada Shakti Kendra in 1970s and 1980s. Later, he became a champion of the Hindu Right-Wing cause. He was one of the key articulators of the argument against Tipu Sultan.