The language controversy has resurfaced as Chief Minister Siddaramaiah declared in October that “all residents in this state should acquire proficiency in Kannada.”
#WATCH | Bengaluru: Kannada Raksha Vedhike holds a protest demanding all businesses and enterprises in Karnataka to put nameplates in Kannada. pic.twitter.com/ZMX5s9iJd0
— ANI (@ANI) December 27, 2023
Bengaluru:The language dispute in Karnataka intensified significantly on Wednesday as members of the Karnataka Rakshana Vedike, a right-wing group advocating for the mandatory use of Kannada, engaged in violent protests throughout the state capital. The protests targeted prominent locations such as Kempegowda International Airport and key business and shopping districts, including MG Road, Brigade Road, Lavelle Road, and St Marks Road.
English-language signs of shops and businesses were vandalized by the KRV demonstrators, who asserted that such signage was “undermining the official language of Karnataka, which is Kannada.” The police took preventive measures by apprehending several protesters, including KRV convener TA Narayana Gowda.
Narayana Gowda explained, “According to regulations, 60 percent of signboards and nameplates should be in Kannada. We are not against business, but if you operate in Karnataka, you must respect our language. If Kannada is disregarded or presented in small print, we will not allow you to operate here,” he conveyed to the reporters.
Numerous online videos capturing the violence have been shared, with one particularly notable footage originating from a hotel. The video depicted individuals, both men and women, some adorned in yellow and red scarves (representing the colors of the Kannada flag), actively dismantling English signage.
#WATCH | Police detained members of Karnataka Rakshana Vedike, protesting to deliver messages to owners of many malls, shops, commercial buildings, companies and factories, especially multinational companies to install Kannada sign boards and give more visibility to the Kannada… pic.twitter.com/tRjsPidLbB
— ANI (@ANI) December 27, 2023
In a different video, a man was seen assaulting the English signboard of a salon and spa, while truckloads of individuals wearing red and yellow scarves passed by. In yet another footage, men holding red and yellow flags staged a protest outside an Airtel store. One man in the video was defacing the sign by spraying black paint over the shop’s red signboard, which was in English.
The Karnataka Rakshana Vedike (KRV) is pressing for the immediate enforcement of a directive issued by the city’s civic body. The directive mandates that all businesses display 60 percent of their signs in Kannada, and this requirement followed a meeting with the KRV.
