Bengaluru Shops Get '60% Kannada' Order, Karnataka Language Row In Focus

The Bengaluru civic body's latest directive, asking shops to ensure their signboards have at least 60 per cent Kannada, has brought the Hindi vs Kannada debate in Karnataka back under the spotlight. Tushar Giri Nath, chief commissioner of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike, has said commercial stores in the civic body's jurisdiction will face legal action if they fail to follow the signboard order.

The official was addressing a meeting with Karnataka Rakshana Vedike (KRV), an organisation that has been pushing the Kannada language issue. "There are 1400 km of arterial and sub-arterial roads in the city, and all the commercial shops on these roads will be surveyed zone wise. After the survey, a notice will be given to the shops that do not use 60 per cent Kannada language. After issuing the notice, they will be given time till February 28 to implement Kannada language nameplates and submit compliance to the respective zone commissioners," Mr Nath said.

"Legal action will be taken against shops that do not install Kannada nameplates by February 28. Accordingly, shopfronts that do not use Kannada language on nameplates will be suspended as per the law and then their licence will be cancelled," he added.

Amid the buzz over the new order, the video of a KRV supporter threatening shopkeepers has started circulating. The video shows a campaign vehicle in a narrow alley with shops on both sides. On top of it, a woman holding a microphone is threatening Marwari shopkeepers. "This is Karnataka. The Kannadigas are this state's pride. You go and show your pride in your state. Marwaris, next time you say you do not know Kannada, you will be a target," she says.

While most shops' signboards had Kannada font too, some had Hindi and English fonts. The shopkeepers in the area appeared unnerved by the language diktat and the threats, even though they understand and speak Kannada.

One of them said, "If there is an order to change the signboards, we will do it. If they want 60 per cent, we will get it done." Another echoed, "We will do as told, we cannot go against the government."

The language row is back in focus after Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said in October that "everyone living in this state should learn to speak Kannada". "We are all Kannadigas. People speaking different languages have settled in this Kannada land since the unification of Karnataka. Everyone living in this state should learn to speak Kannada," he had said.

"While it is impossible to exist in states like Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh without learning the local language, you can survive in Karnataka even if you don't speak Kannada," Siddaramaiah said at an event in October. "Instead of Kannadigas teaching our language to others, we are learning their language first," he had said.

During his earlier tenure as Chief Minister, Siddaramaiah had pushed for wider use of Kannada. A government body set up to promote Kannada had then given an ultimatum to bank officials to learn Kannada within six months. It was during the Congress veteran's last tenure that Hindi names of Bengaluru metro stations were targeted and covered with tape.