Explore Business Standard
Kannada Cause
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced that all cases registered against pro-Kannada activists who held protests against alleged violation of language norms by business establishments in the state, will be withdrawn. The CM was addressing a gathering at the unveiling of the 25-feet-tall bronze statue of Bhuvaneshwari, the goddess who represents the Karnataka state identity, on the Vidhana Soudha premises on Monday. The statue sculpted at an approximate cost of Rs 21.24 crore is 41-feet-tall including the pedestal, and weighs around 31.5 tonne. While speaking at the event, although he acknowledged that one must love and embrace all languages, the CM said, in Karnataka, Kannadigas should follow the culture of speaking and interacting with their brothers and other speakers in Kannada. "Instead of speaking incorrectly in other languages, we should speak our own language. In all our neighbouring states, the language spoken by the people of the respective state is sovereign. Thi
A social media post stating that "Bengaluru is closed for North India" has gone viral, generating debate about the Kannada language row online. In a post on 'X', a social media user stated: "Bengaluru is closed for North India and neighbouring states who don't want to learn Kannada. They don't need Bengaluru if they can't respect the language and culture." The recent post by Babruvahana (@Paarmatma) has garnered significant attention, with over 115,000 views, 198 reposts, and 1,839 likes. (at the time this was written) Reacting to the post, a social media user who claimed to be a "migrant to Bengaluru" said the post might sound a bit harsh. "But whenever I see people in Bengaluru completely disregard Kannada as some sort of tribal language and even look down on those who speak Kannada as illiterates, even in corporate offices, I feel very pained. Kannada is a phenomenally rich language that has received the most literary awards, including Sahitya Akademi and Jnanpith awards (sic),"
The Karnataka High Court on Friday granted bail to Kannada film actor Darshan Thoogudeepa in the Renukaswamy murder case. Along with Darshan, the court also gave bail to his friend Pavithra Gowda and seven others who are still in jail in connection with the case. The actor was arrested on June 11 this year for allegedly killing Renukaswamy, his fan, on June 8 for sending obscene messages to Pavithra Gowda. The actor was earlier lodged at the Parappana Agrahara Jail in Bengaluru, but when a photograph went viral showing him relaxing with some of the jail inmates, he was transferred to Ballari Central Jail. Darshan is presently hospitalised for back pain.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday gave a clarion call to the people of Karnataka to make Kannada their 'business language'. Speaking at an event to celebrate 50 years of naming the erstwhile Mysore state as Karnataka, the CM appealed to people to make Karnataka a Kannada state. "All the people living here are Kannadigas. No matter what your home language is, the business language' should be Kannada. Kannada should be the main and first language in the state," he said. "Learn every language, but Kannada should be the official language in the state," he added. Dwelling on the Gokak agitation, which was related to granting Kannada the first language status in the state, the chief minister said the 'Kannada Kavalu Samiti' was formed to create an atmosphere for Kannada to prosper in Karnataka. Later, the committee became the Kannada Development Authority, he explained. Siddaramaiah asked people to respect all languages, learn as many languages as possible but never be generous to
Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot has sent back an ordinance mandating 60 per cent use of Kannada in signboards of businesses and establishments, to the state government. This was revealed by Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Tuesday. "We (the government) approved an ordinance on signboards. The Governor has sent it back saying it should be passed in the Assembly. He could have given his assent now. Giving protection and respect to Kannada is our government's commitment," Shivakumar said. The Karnataka Cabinet had on January 5, given its approval to an ordinance to amend the Kannada Language Comprehensive Development Act that mandates 60 per cent use of the state's language in signages. The government had decided to take the ordinance route in the wake of violent protests by pro-Kannada organisations targeting businesses and establishments in Bengaluru for not giving prominence to Kannada. As of now, the law requires the use of Kannada language in the upper-half portion
Former Karnataka Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar on Saturday said the process to bring him back to the BJP had been on for the last five to six months, as he gave large credit to state president B Y Vijayendra and veteran leader B S Yediyurappa. He said one of the main reasons for his return to the BJP is to contribute towards making Narendra Modi prime minister once again, and that he will work towards ensuring that the party wins most of the seats in the state in the coming Lok Sabha polls. Shettar rejoined the BJP by quitting Congress in New Delhi on Thursday. He had joined the grand old party, ahead of assembly polls last year, after being denied a ticket by the BJP to contest the elections. "It is the wish of crores of Indians that Modi's leadership is needed for the country. The BJP is a cadre based party and when I was travelling across the state as a Congress leader, BJP workers used to ask me to return to the party; along with that there was also a call by several state ..
The Karnataka Rakshana Vedike (Narayana Gowda faction) on Wednesday targeted business establishments in Bengaluru and damaged their signboards and name plates which did not use Kannada. The activists took out rallies in various parts of the city, especially in the business hubs such as MG Road, Brigade Road, Lavelle Road, UB City, Chamarajapet, Chickpet, Kempe Gowda Road, Gandhi Nagar, St Marks Road, Cunningham Road, Residency Road and Sadahalli Gate near Devanahalli. The activists said the business establishments were "undermining the official language of Karnataka, which is Kannada." Many malls, shops, commercial buildings, companies and factories, especially multinational companies, faced the ire of KRV activists. They destroyed and defaced signboards and name plates which were not in Kannada. Later, the agitating members including the KRV convener T A Narayana Gowda, were taken under preventive custody by police. Speaking to reporters, Gowda said the name plates and signboards
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday made a pitch for holding competitive exams for central government jobs in Kannada saying it is not possible to conduct them in Hindi or English alone. Addressing people at Kanteerava Stadium on the occasion of 68th Karnataka Rajyotsava, the Chief Minister said he would write to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take a relook at the medium of language for these exams. "Shivaji Nagar MLA Rizwan Arshad has rightly said that the Central government conducts the exams only in Hindi and English. We need to oppose it," he said. According to him, it is not possible to hold the competitive exams in Hindi and English alone. "Our children will write the exams in the language they know. I will request our Prime Minister to take a relook (at the mode of language)," Siddaramaiah said. Noting that only government schools have Kannada as the medium of instruction and not private schools, the Chief Minister lamented there was a misconception among pe
The 'Koti Kanta Gaayana' programme on Friday received overwhelming response with an estimated more than one crore people singing six classic Kannada songs in various locations across the State. The mass singing programme was organised by the Kannada and Culture Department in the run-up to Karnataka Rajyotsava (state formation day) on November one. More than one crore people sang at the same time in entire Karnataka, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai told reporters after inaugurating the event on the footsteps of 'Vidhan Soudha' here. "It's a world record", he said as he highlighted the people's passion for the Kannada language and culture.