India: What is 60% Kannada rule that led to vandalism in Bengaluru?
Protests in Bengaluru
The southwestern state of Karnataka in India has been embroiled in a language row after pro-Kannada activists went on a rampage, holding violent protests and demanding that ‘60 per centKannada’ be used on all signboards across shops and other establishments,
In the state capital of Bengaluru, activists of Karnataka Rakshana Vedike (KRV) stormed into businesses and tore down English signage on Wednesday (Dec 27). The protesters, wearing yellow and red scarves (the colours of the Kannada flag)destroyed multiple propertiesand only stopped after police intervened and arrested a few of the miscreants.
"People from various states are doing business in Bengaluru. But they don't put Kannada nameplates on their shops. They are only putting up the nameplates of their shops in English,"said KRV President TN Narayan Gowda.
"If they want to stay back in Bengaluruthen they have to put nameplates on their shops in Kannada or else they have to move from Karnataka to other states," he added.
The protest came a day after the Bengaluru municipality (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike) passed an order saying it would suspend licenses for shops, hotels and malls if they do not comply with the60 per cent Kannada rule on signboards by February 28. The guideline states that more than half of a signboard should read in Kannada.
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BJP and Congress, seemingly on same page
After the protests and violence, Karnataka Chief MinisterSiddaramaiah issued a statement saying action would be taken against the culprits.
"I don't know what they (the protesters) are doing. I have got information that Narayana Gowda is protesting about having Kannada name boards. We will take action against those who took the law into their own hands and went against the law," said CM Siddaramaiah, who added that he had no objection to Kannada displayed on signage.
Meanwhile, the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which is usually against the mandates brought by the Congress, seemingly agreed with the decision of the municipality.
Union minister and Karnataka MP Pralhad Joshi backed the '60 per cent Kannada' order by asking why theestablishments did not want Kannada signage.
"Everybody should be able to read the signs and not everyone can read English. What is the harm in writing in Kannada as well as in English or another language, like Hindi? This is not England," he said.
For a long time, the language divide in the state has been the bone of contention with the natives pressuring the outsiders to learn the local language and use it in day-to-day conversation.
(With inputs from agencies)