‘Use 60% Kannada On Signboards Or...’: Bengaluru Civic Body’s Order To Shops Triggers Language Row

In a move to push local language, the civic body of Bengaluru has ordered shops in the city to use at least 60 per cent Kannada on their signboards.

In a notice issued by Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), shops must use Kannada prominently on their signboards by February 28 or they would lose their trade licence and face legal action. 

The move has reignited the Hindi vs Kannada row in the capital of Karnataka. 

The Chief Commissioner of BBMP, Tushar Giri Nath, said that the administration will soon start identifying shops that do not comply with the order. 

During a meeting with the organisation advocating the Kannada issue in the city called Karnataka Rakshana Vedike (KRV), Nath said, “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.”

Bengaluru is home to people from all over the country who come to the city for IT-related jobs. The issue of the use of Kannada has been sensitive in the city for quite some time. 

Apart from shops, shopping complexes and malls located under the jurisdiction of BBMP will be given 15-20 days to comply with the new rule. 

In October, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah emphasised the importance of using Kannada, bringing the issue back to focus. He said, “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.”