The emotional connection that the Kannada flag enjoys among the people of Karnataka is rooted in the historical struggles, insecurities and political experiences of Kannada-speaking people, particularly in the aftermath of the linguistic reorganisation of states in 1956. PTI File photo
Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Nov 1 declared Karnataka’s commitment to granting official status to the traditional Kannada flag. For the past eight years, Karnataka has been keen to hoist the bi-colour flag (Nada Dhwaja) below the national tricolour. However, the Union government has not yet given its nod to it. The issue of the Kannada flag is an emotional one for the people, rooted in historical struggles and insecurities that continued even after the formation of the state in 1956.
For the past six decades, Shivashankarappa N, owner of a sweet shop in Karnataka’s Belagavi district, has had a dream, “to hoist the red and yellow Kannada flag below the Indian national flag” at his shop. The dream is rooted in cultural and linguistic pride and a real or perceived threat to that identity from other linguistic groups. There is a long standing dispute over Belagavi, which some want integrated into Maharashtra; the district near the Karnataka border was earlier a part of the Bombay Presidency. It was in 1956 that Belagavi became a part of the Mysore state under the States Act and of Karnataka in the ‘70s, when the state was renamed. Since 1948, the Maharashtra Ekikarana Samiti (MES), a Belagavi-based organisation, has been pushing for the district’s integration into Maharashtra. “Shiv Sena members and local MKS activists won’t let us display the Kannada flag,” claims Shivashankarappa. “But for me the flag is a symbol of my linguistic pride.”
On November 1, on the occasion of the Kannada Rajyotsava Day (or Karnataka State Day, celebrated annually to commemorate the merger of the Kannada-speaking regions and the formation of the state), Karnataka Chief Minister (CM) DK Shivakumar announced that the Congress government in the state would secure official recognition for the Kannada flag, which will allow it to be displayed alongside the Indian flag at government offices and events.
The announcement is being viewed as part of the Congress government's attempt to foreground Karnataka's linguistic and cultural identity as a counter to the Bharatiya Janata Party's aggressive nationalist politics. With the next assembly elections in the state scheduled for May 2028, the Congress appears keen to project regional pride, linguistic rights and inclusive development as an alternative to the BJP's Hindutva-driven political narrative, say political observers.
The CM has said the issue of the Kannada flag would be discussed during the winter session of the Karnataka legislature, scheduled to begin in Belagavi on November 30. The government intends to examine the legal and constitutional possibilities of granting the Kannada flag formal recognition and establishing a protocol for hoisting it alongside the national flag on government buildings. It will also consider making its display compulsory in institutions receiving state support.
The announcement comes close on the heels of the DK Shivakumar government's decision to accord Tulu (a language spoken mostly in coastal Karnataka) the status of second additional official language. Together, the two initiatives indicate an attempt to strengthen regional identity by recognising Karnataka's linguistic and cultural diversity.
In recent decades, coastal Karnataka has witnessed the growing influence of Hindutva politics. The BJP has consolidated its presence in the region through religious and cultural mobilisation. Against this backdrop, the Congress appears to be developing a counter-narrative centred on linguistic pride, regional identity and development.
While the BJP has dismissed Shivakumar’s announcement regarding the flag as a political gimmick (while stopping short of outright opposition, given the emotional heft of the issue among Kannadigas), the move has been welcomed by language activists and institutions such as the Kannada Development Authority (KDA).
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The origins of the flag movement can be traced to 1965, when Kannada activist M. Ramamurthy, popularly known as the Kannada Veera Senani, conceived the idea of a distinct flag for Karnataka. Associated with Kannada Paksha, he worked alongside activist Vatal Nagaraj to popularise the symbol. The flag subsequently gained wider acceptance at the Akhila Bharata Kannadigara Bruhat Samavesha, emerging as a powerful expression of Kannada linguistic consciousness.
Over the decades, what began as a cultural symbol evolved into an emblem of political assertion, particularly during movements against perceived threats to Kannada language, culture and territorial interests.
The demand had also gathered momentum following an appeal by Bheemappa Gundappa Gadada, a social worker and Kannada activist from Belagavi. In 2004, the Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MES), which advocates the merger of Kannada-speaking areas of Karnataka with Maharashtra, had objected to the hoisting of the Kannada flag near the offices of the Deputy Commissioner and Regional Commissioner in Belagavi. The controversy brought the question of Karnataka's linguistic identity and territorial integrity into sharper focus.
The red-and-yellow flag has been a familiar presence at Kannada Rajyotsava celebrations, language protests, cultural gatherings and political demonstrations across the state. File photo
Veteran Kannada activist Ra. Nam Chandrashekar, who has campaigned for official recognition of a separate state flag, believes the move is significant for Karnataka's cultural and political identity. "Kannadigas, irrespective of caste, creed and cultural differences, are waiting to see the Kannada flag hoisted alongside the national flag. The decision will help Karnataka strengthen its identity and enhance its position within India's federal structure," he told The Federal.
Chandrashekar disagrees with the argument that the Congress government has revived the issue merely for electoral gains. He points out that the demand has received support from leaders across political parties at different points in time. “Former Chief Minister and BJP leader BS Yediyurappa, during his tenure between 2008 and 2013, removed restrictions on hoisting the Kannada red-and-yellow flag in government offices. His successor [and fellow BJP leader], DV Sadananda Gowda, also supported its display in government offices, schools and colleges on November 1 [Kannada Rajyotsava Day].
However, Chandrashekar is critical of the “subsequent political inconsistency” on the subject. “The Congress-JD(S) coalition government headed by HD Kumaraswamy [May 2018-July 2019] failed to pursue the demand effectively with the Centre. The BJP government, which returned to power under Yediyurappa in 2019, also failed to take the proposal forward. His successor, Basavaraj Bommai, remained silent on the issue. In August 2019, CT Ravi, then Kannada and Culture Minister, announced that the BJP government would not pursue the previous Congress government's proposal for official recognition of a separate state flag, citing constitutional considerations.”
The constitutional question remains central to the controversy.
Responding to a question in the Lok Sabha on January 2, 2018, the Union home ministry had clarified that the Constitution contains no specific provision either permitting or prohibiting individual states from having their own flags. It referred to Article 51A(a), which makes it a fundamental duty of every citizen to abide by the Constitution and respect its ideals and institutions, the national flag and the national anthem. While this clarification does not expressly prohibit a state flag, questions concerning its official recognition, protocol and relationship with the national flag require legal and administrative examination.
“The challenge is to establish a legally sustainable framework without creating the impression that a state flag is being projected as an alternative to the national flag,” says Purushottama Bilimale, chairman of the Kannada Development Authority, who, while welcoming the government's initiative to accord official recognition to the flag, emphasised the need to resolve the legal ambiguities.
For many Kannadigas, however, emotions outweigh legal protocols.
“What is wrong in hoisting the Kannada flag below the Indian flag?” asks Ramanna Rai, a school teacher in Talapadi village of Dakshin Kannada district. “We will be following what Jnanpith recipient writer Kuvempu said in his state anthem Jaya Bharata Jananiya Tanujate [victory to you, Mother Karnataka, the daughter of Mother India].”
The present initiative is not the first attempt by the Congress to secure recognition for Karnataka's flag. In 2018, the Siddaramaiah-led government constituted a committee of Kannada writers, artists and activists to design an official state flag. The initiative followed representations from veteran journalist, writer and Kannada activist Patil Puttappa, who had long advocated a distinct flag representing Karnataka's linguistic and cultural identity. After examining various possibilities and obtaining legal opinions, the committee recommended a design that was unveiled on March 8, 2018. The state Cabinet approved the proposal and forwarded it to the Union government for formal recognition. However, the proposal made little progress at the Centre.
Manu Baligar, former president of the Kannada Sahitya Parishat and a member of the committee, recalled that there was broad agreement among its members on the need for a Nada Dhwaja. "The committee was constituted to design a flag that would emotionally represent the people of Karnataka. The Kannada and Culture Department sought legal advice, and after obtaining the opinion of the Law and Parliamentary Affairs Department, the proposal was submitted to the state government. Following Cabinet approval, it was forwarded to the Centre," he said. Baligar has appealed to the Union government to reconsider the proposal and recognise Karnataka's flag.
The design unveiled in 2018 retained the traditional red-and-yellow colours that have symbolised Kannada identity since the 1960s, while incorporating a white band in the middle. Red and yellow represent kumkuma and arisina (vermillion and turmeric), while white signifies peace and harmony. The Gandaberunda, Karnataka's state emblem, occupies the centre, symbolising strength and resilience.
The emotional significance of the red-and-yellow flag goes far beyond its proposed official status. It has been a familiar presence at Kannada Rajyotsava celebrations, language protests, cultural gatherings and political demonstrations across the state. Kannada cinema has also played a role in popularising the symbol. Legendary actor Dr Rajkumar helped give the flag an emotional appeal through his film Aakasmika, in which he waves it while riding a bullock cart, accompanied by a song that subsequently acquired the status of an unofficial Kannada anthem.
Actor Ashok (identified by first name only) recalls the time writers, Kannada activists and film technicians and artistes came together under the Kannada flag to oppose the dubbing of other-language films into Kannada, “which had almost consumed Kannada films”. “Under pressure, an unofficial ban was imposed on dubbing movies. A movement launched by Ma. Ramamurthy and Vatal Nagaraj [the two personalities are architects of the bi-colour Kannada flag] and others under the Kannada flag provided much-needed relief to Kannada cinema then,” notes K V. Chandrashekar, a Bengaluru-based exhibitor.
Also read: Why Karnataka govt's recognition for Tulu has revived debate on plight of other minor languages
Ultimately, Karnataka's flag controversy is about more than official recognition of a cultural symbol. It raises fundamental questions about the space available for regional identities within India's constitutional framework. As the Congress government prepares to revive the issue in the legislature, the debate is likely to extend beyond electoral politics: can Indian nationalism accommodate the legitimate linguistic and cultural aspirations of its constituent states without treating every assertion of regional pride as a challenge to national unity?
The emotional connection that the Kannada flag enjoys among the people of Karnataka is rooted in the historical struggles, insecurities and political experiences of Kannada-speaking people, particularly in the aftermath of the linguistic reorganisation of states in 1956. Unlike in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu or the Telugu-speaking regions of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, where linguistic identity found relatively established political and administrative expressions, Karnataka's linguistic identity evolved through a prolonged struggle for recognition and equality.
And so, even 70 years after the unification of Karnataka, for people like Shivashankarappa, the flag remains a tangible symbol of the state’s linguistic identity.
