After Shops Get "60% Kannada" Order, Pro-Kannada Groups Go On Rampage

The language row in Karnataka escalated sharply Wednesday after pro-Kannada groups held furious protests at various parts in state capital Benglauru, including the Kempegowda International Airport. 

Visuals shared by news agency ANI also showed protests outside a hotel that appeared to be part of the Bloomrooms chain; the video showed women and men, some in yellow and red scarfs (the colours of the Kannada flag) storming the courtyard and tearing down English signage.

The protesters are demanding the immediate implementation of an order passed by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike, the city's civic authority, on Monday.

The order directed all businesses to have at least 60 per cent of their signs in Kannada. 

The order followed a meeting with the Karnataka Rakshana Vedike, seen by some as a right-wing group pushing the language row.

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 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.
 



source https://www.ndtv.com/south/bengaluru-60-kannada-kannada-language-row-after-shops-get-60-kannada-order-pro-kannada-groups-go-on-rampage-4750179

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PM Inaugurates Boeing's Global Engineering And Tech Centre Near Bengaluru

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today inaugurated Boeing's new global engineering and technology centre campus near Bengaluru. Built at a cost of Rs 1,600 crore, the 43-acre state-of-the-art Boeing India Engineering and Technology Centre (BIETC) campus is the planemaker's largest such investment outside the US, the company said. The campus at Hightech Defence and Aerospace Park in Devanahalli on the city outskirts will become a cornerstone for partnerships with the vibrant startups, private and government ecosystem in India, and will help develop next-generation products and services for the global aerospace and defence industry, Boeing said. The Prime Minister also launched the Boeing Sukanya Programme that the company said aims to support the entry of more girl children from across India into the country's growing aviation sector. The programme will provide opportunities for girls and women from across India to learn critical skills in the science, technology, engineerin...
Read more

56-Year-Old Kerala Woman Raped, Accused Arrested: Police

A man was arrested for allegedly raping a 56-year-old woman in Kerala's Ernakulam, police said on Sunday. According to the police, the incident took place on December 13 when the accused, identified as Firdous Ali, lured the victim on the pretext of a job. "The 56-year-old woman, who was returning after looking for a job in Kochi, was taken away in an auto on the promise that she would be taken to the metro station. He then took her to a swamp near the railway yard and raped her," police said. After a thorough investigation, the accused was identified and taken into custody in Kochi. The accused will be produced in court today, police said. The police further stated that the victim woman is being treated for her injuries at Kalamassery Medical College here. Further investigation is underway. (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.) source https://www.ndtv.com/kerala-news/56-year-old-kerala-wo...
Read more