Kannada is our mother, and everybody must respect it, shouted activists who targeted commercial establishments in Bengaluru without signboards following the new “language rule“. The demand escalated into a law-and-order problem, with the police detaining activists and arresting those involved in vandalism.
Bengaluru’s civic body recently asked shops to ensure their signboards have at least 60 per cent Kannada, a move that has brought the Hindi vs Kannada debate in Karnataka back under the spotlight.
Groups of Kannada activists, affiliated with the Narayan Gowda faction of the Karnataka Rakshana Vedike outfit, chucked stones and damaged properties, pulling down English signboards of businesses not using Kannada. They claimed that despite notices from the city’s civic body, many have not adhered to the rule.
The activists turned violent, throwing stones and black ink on boards along Bengaluru’s Lavelle Road and UB City area. They also held a rally across the city, from MG Road to Sadahalli Gate near Devanahalli, to register their protest.
Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah earlier this month said that the state’s Congress government was committed to those born, raised, and living in the state. He mandated that commercial establishments must have 60 per cent of signs in Kannada, instructing compliance before February 28.
“Let’s follow the rule and be proud Kannadigas,” he had posted on social media site X.
Arun Javagal, KRV’s organising secretary, stated that business establishments were repeatedly warned not to undermine Kannada. He pointed out two problems: the state government’s ineffective implementation of the Kannada language rule and businesses not complying with regulations. Javagal emphasised the need for effective implementation and compliance.
Speaking to News18, he said that when somebody is found disobeying a rule, the government should insist their licences should be cancelled.
“The government is not effectively implementing it. Secondly, people who set up their business in our state, earn money and make a living, must obey the government’s rules and regulations. If you jump a signal, they file a case against the rider, right? So why not this?” he questioned.
On whether it was right for activists to turn violent, KRV defended their move, stating there was no intent to harm individuals. Javagal mentioned receiving legal notices from Mall of Asia and other shopping centers when requesting Kannada signs. He questioned the refusal to comply with a simple request.
“The notice had the tone that asked us who we were to make such demands. It was as if they wanted to defy the rule and threaten us. We asked them to only put up one extra signboard in Kannada; what is wrong with that request?” the KRV leader said.
Javagal was at the forefront of the Namma Metro Hindi Beda campaign against the use of Hindi in metro station boards. KRV activists blackened boards at various metro stations in Bengaluru where Kannada was not used.
The president of KRV, Narayan Gowda, issued a warning to the owner of Mall of Asia to follow the 60 per cent Kannada signboard rule or face action. “If the Mall of Asia officials do not follow the rules and do not give preference to Kannada, our activists will seize and destroy the properties,” he said. Gowda was arrested and taken into custody by the Bengaluru police near Sadahalli gate after this remark.
The activists’ rampage followed notices from the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) instructing commercial establishments to adhere to the rule of using 60 per cent Kannada language on signboards.
BBMP chief commissioner Tushar Girinath set a deadline after a meeting of zonal commissioners, instructing officials to issue notices and conduct surveys. He empowered the officials with the authority to suspend licences for non-compliance.
“We will serve notices to those who don’t follow the signages in Kannada and conduct surveys in the 1,400 km of arterial and sub-arterial roads in Bengaluru where there are commercial establishments. The survey will be conducted zone-wise,” Girinath had said.
Last week, Kannada activists using loudspeakers made announcements while taking out rallies in the heart of Bengaluru’s commercial hub, including Chickpet, Balepet, Cottonpet, and Gandhinagar, instructing traders to “respect the local language Kannada while conducting their businesses”.
A trader who is also part of the local business association in Chickpet told News18 that they were ready to make the changes and follow the rule.
“We have time till February 28. We have sent messages to more than 5,000 commercial establishments in our area and if need be will go door to door, asking the changes to the name boards to be made. It will be done at the earliest,” he said, not wanting his name to be revealed for fear of backlash from the activists.
In 2015, the then Congress government spoke of implementing a regulation mandating that both private and public enterprises prominently display Kannada signboards before using other languages based on a request from the Kannada Development Authority (KDA). The KDA sought a comprehensive revision of the existing Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishments Rules, 1963, replacing English and other languages on all nameboards of shops and establishments with Kannada.
In March 2014, during a legal dispute between the state government and Vodafone, the Karnataka High Court noted that rule 24 of the Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishments Rules, 1963, did not align with the objectives of the act, which sought to establish Kannada signboards as predominant.
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