State Of Narratives

The Language Wars in Karnataka

7 months ago
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kannada war

Karnataka language protests bring back to the fore the language divisions in the country and its weaponization as a political tool. Language has always been a great unifier and a greater divider. In the subcontinent we already have a nation created based on language usurping religion as a unifying force.

Right since independence, language and its emotive nature has been used to score political points. The States Reorganization Act of 1956 did create states based on languages, however, reservations and protests against having a Hindi as a central language have regularly taken place in South Indian states especially in Tamil Nadu.

There have also been instances of protests and riots in certain areas within a state, where the populations language and culture is more affiliated to its neighboring state, such as in the Belgaum region in Karnataka with a sizeable Marathi speaking population. Even in the Eastern part of the country, Assam and Gorkhaland agitations were based in preserving linguistic and cultural autonomy of these regions against uncontrolled migration.

Time and again, protests in urban areas against brands and establishment seeking imposition of regional language on their signages have also been organized by political parties. This weaponisation of language to rouse the popular sentiment is a playbook often used by opposition parties and their affiliates to score political points and energize the local masses by showcasing the ruling party as pandering to businesses and by extension to outsiders.

This was the playbook used by opposition parties in Maharashtra in early 90’s and is often employed elsewhere in states with strong linguistic and cultural identities. What’s happening in Bangalore today is just a leaf from this playbook. The interesting fact is that when the party presently in power in Karnataka was in the opposition few months back, they were also protesting against imposition of Hindi in Central funded projects such as Bangalore Metro.

The question remains, that is language still an emotive issue for the masses and has popular support, after more than 75 years of integration under a common constitution. It is also important to ponder, if language protests are purely politically expedient tools in the hands of the opposition or is there a larger underlying fault line fueled by economic and opportunistic disparities between the locals and low income migrants.

As per data released by the GoI in Jul 2023 (https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=1941077) Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Karnataka are top centers for migrant labor. It is not coincidental that these states also have the highest GDP numbers in the country (https://www.rbi.org.in/Scripts/PublicationsView.aspx?id=22091).

The politics may vary but to an informed observer it is evident that vibrant business environment attracts economic migration and sustained migration fuels economic growth by easier and cost-effective availability of human resource.

What are the risks that these protests, vandalism and riots bring to the people, the states, and the country as a whole? The obvious casualty is the investor confidence in making large scale investment in projects in the regions where the business interests may run foul with the protests. Having said that, most international investors today are usually well aligned with the ruling dispensations in the state and understand local politics and its manifestations much better.

They also employ local interlocutors to represent them and balance their requirements. Hence, a short-term risk to business environment is not expected. However, if the protests continue and spread over time and if the law-and-order situation deteriorates due to government inaction or disinterest, then there is a potential for loss of business and investor confidence. We saw this in UP, West Bengal and Bihar, where prolonged weakness of the state machinery to reign in the negative elements led to capital flight from the state and has also contributed to high levels of economic migration away from the state.

Politically, it is a strong emotive ploy to attract marginal voters. With the national elections around the corner, it is likely that these tactics would expand across states to promote a stronger regional identity. It will become very interesting, if a party at the receiving end of such protests in a state where they are in power, use similar tactics to pressurize the state government in another state where the same party is in opposition. A manifestation of this could be if Congress which is in power in Karnataka, facing these protests, resorts to similar tactics in Maharashtra.

For the people who live, work, and run businesses in mega urban centers this is a reality they need to be resilient about. While the risk to life and limb seems to be low, it takes little to suddenly inflame the mobs to engage in endless violence. It is also realized that most of this violence was done in upmarket areas and played to the social media gallery. We will have to wait and observe if this spreads to larger parts of the city.

Also Read: Insensitive Anti-Farmer Comment Lands Karnataka Minister Shivanand Patil in Trouble

On the whole, the protests tell a sad story, that unless political parties are held accountable to more relevant deliverables like development and pan national growth, we will continue to see such protests to garner eyeballs over nonissues. With millions of Indians of different states living in other states and in foreign countries, the sentiments of these protests if inflamed, pose a risk for everyone. Indians should then not be surprised and disheartened if their kin in Europe or America face similar circumstances from local chauvinists in their adopted countries.

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