The language row in Karnataka escalated sharply Wednesday after pro-Kannada teams held violent protests at varied elements in state capital Benglauru, together with the Kempegowda International Airport.
There are additionally protests outdoors a lodge; the video confirmed ladies and men, some in yellow and pink scarfs (the colors of the Kannada flag) storming the courtyard and tearing down English signage.
One video confirmed a person attacking the English signboard of a salon and spa, as truckloads of males in pink and yellow scarfs drive previous. In one other, males waving pink and yellow flags protest outdoors an Airtel retailer; one man is defacing the signal by spraying black paint over the store’s pink signboard, which is in English.
The protesters have been demanding the instant implementation of an order by town’s civic physique, which directs all companies to have 60 per cent of their indicators in Kannada. The order adopted a gathering with the Karnataka Rakshana Vedike, seen by some as a right-wing group pushing the language row.
Several of the protesters have been later detained by the police.
READ | Bengaluru Shops Get ‘60% Kannada’ Order, Karnataka Language Row In Focus
BBMP chief Tushar Giri Nath stated business shops within the civic physique’s jurisdiction had until February 28 to conform, failing which they may face authorized motion, together with suspension of enterprise licences.
The language row is again in focus after Chief Minister Siddaramaiah stated 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 broader use of the native language, and it was in his earlier tenure that Hindi names of Bengaluru metro stations have been focused and coated with tape.
