Bengaluru: The language row in Karnataka escalated sharply Wednesday after members of a right-wing group - the Karnataka Rakshana Vedike, which is pushing for the enforced use of Kannada - held violent protests across state capital Benglauru, including the Kempegowda International Airport and high-profile business and shopping centres in the city, like MG Road, Brigade Road, Lavelle Road, and St Marks Road.
English-language signboards of shops and businesses were damaged by the KRV goons, who declared such signages were "undermining the official language of Karnataka, which is Kannada". Police detained 700 protestors, including KRV convener TA Narayana Gowda, and said other pro-Kannada outfits were also involved in the vandalism.
The Bengaluru Police has registered four cases against members of the pro-kannada outfits in two police divisions. Three of these cases were filed in the North East Division - where the protest rally started and remained the most affected area - while the other case was registered in the Bengaluru East division. The protesters were detained under the Karnataka Police Act and were released in the evening.
"As per rule, 60 per cent of signboards and nameplates should be in Kannada. We are not against some business but if you are doing business in Karnataka then you have to respect our language. If you ignore Kannada, or put Kannada letters in small (print), we will not let you operate here," Gowda told reporters.
Several videos of the violence have been circulated online, including one from a hotel; it showed women and men, some in yellow and red scarfs (the colours of the Kannada flag) tearing down English signage.
Another showed a man attacking the English signboard of a salon and spa, as truckloads of men in red and yellow scarfs drive past. In another, men waving red and yellow flags protest outside an Airtel store; one man is defacing the sign by spraying black paint over the shop's red signboard, which is in English.
The KRV is demanding the immediate implementation of an order by the city's civic body, which directs all businesses to have 60 per cent of their signs in Kannada. The order followed a meeting with the group.
READ | Bengaluru Shops Get '60% Kannada' Order, Karnataka Language Row In Focus
BBMP chief Tushar Giri Nath said commercial stores in the civic body's jurisdiction had till February 28 to comply, failing which they could face legal action, including suspension of business licences.
The language row is back in focus after Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said in October "everyone living in this state should learn to speak Kannada". "We are all Kannadigas. People speaking different languages have settled in here (and) everyone living in this state should learn to speak Kannada."
READ | "Everyone In Karnataka Should Learn To Speak Kannada": Siddaramaiah
In his earlier tenure too Mr Siddaramaiah had pushed for the wider use of the local language, and it was in his previous tenure that Hindi names of Bengaluru metro stations were targeted and covered with tape.
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