Belagavi mayor Sarita Viraj Patil participates in a protest with a black band around her mouth
It's Karnataka's birthday today, but not everyone is celebrating. In Belagavi, a district on the state's border with Maharashtra, the mayor controversially led a protest march.
Sarita Viraj Patil, mayor of Belagavi, belongs to the Maharashtra Ekikaran Samithi party, which has been demanding that towns and villages in this district and some places in other neighbouring districts be handed over to Maharashtra.
Ms Patil was spotted with a black band around her mouth as she participated in a silent protest.
The region, which has many Marathi speaking people, has a history of tussle. There have been protests in the past too by those who want to belong to Maharashtra instead of Karnataka.
Their argument is that the majority of the people in these areas speak Marathi. But Karnataka has resisted any move to transfer these areas to its neighbouring state.
Karnataka celebrates Rajyotsava Day on November 1, the day in 1956 when all Kannada speaking areas of south India were brought together to form the state.