Karnataka: Language row back in focus with BBMP's '60% Kannada' order for shops

Bringing the Hindi vs Kannada debate in Karnataka back into the limelight, the Bengaluru civic body has come out with a fresh directive, asking shops to ensure their signboards have at least 60 per cent Kannada.

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) will suspend the licence of shops, hotels, and malls that do not comply with the 60 per cent Kannada rule on signboards by February 28. Addressing a meeting with the Karnataka Rakshana Vedike (KRV), BBMP Chief Commissioner Tushar Giri Nath said he will hold a meeting of all the zonal commissioners regarding the mandatory use of Kannada language on the nameplates and appropriate directions will be given.

“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,” Nath said.

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

Traders threatened

Interestingly, close on the heels of the fresh BBMP order, the video of a KRV supporter threatening shopkeepers has started circulating. A campaign vehicle can be seen in the video moving ahead in a narrow alley with shops on both sides. A woman holding a microphone atop the vehicle 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 don’t know Kannada, you will be a target,” she warns.

While most shops’ signboards had Kannada font too, some had Hindi and English fonts. One of the shopkeepers 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.”

CM’s Kannada push

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.

During his earlier tenure as the 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.