The Kannada language row in Karnataka has sparked significant debate, particularly in Bengaluru, a city known for its multicultural populace. Advocates suggest people learn the language, claiming it’s a way of respecting the local culture. Critics argue that such a demand is exclusionary in a cosmopolitan setting. A post by an entrepreneur has reignited the Kannada language row after he accused a policeman of harassment. His now-deleted X share got noticed by many, including Bengaluru Police.
Vatsal Sanghvi claimed that the incident occurred when he was outside with his friend at around 10:30 pm in Bengaluru. At that moment, he was approached by a cop who allegedly started harassing them until his friend started speaking in Kannada.
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“A cop stopped by and started asking us why the heck were we sitting there, what were we doing etc etc - he was hostile at first but my friend reverted to him in Kannada and asked him that on what grounds/law was he asking us these things. The cop immediately changed the tone, apologised and asked us to carry on. I’m pretty sure things would have been otherwise different had my friend not known Kannada,” he wrote.
He added that he is all for “learning local language”, but “uncalled harassment” upon not doing so is unacceptable.
{{/usCountry}}He added that he is all for “learning local language”, but “uncalled harassment” upon not doing so is unacceptable.
{{/usCountry}}What did the Bengaluru police say?
The department posted a standard reply in the comments section. “Please provide the exact location of the incident happened and DM your contact number,” it wrote.
Social media is divided:
“Not sure if you're aware but that road actually has an underground dance bar. Near Rice Bowl, which is slightly ahead of where you were sitting. The cops have good reason to be very extra vigilant at night time esp on that street,” suggested an X user. Sanghvi responded, “Did not know this and I’m totally okay with patrolling. My only point here is the indifferent treatment that was evidently visible. Positivity and warmth will forward the cause, such biases will no.”
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Another added, “Auto fare is different based on the language one speaks.” A third commented, “Imagine police come to you and you can’t speak Tamil in Chennai or Hindi in Delhi. What would happen ?”
A fourth wrote, “Isn’t this the same in every major city, how is this specific to Bengaluru?”
What prompted the Kannada language row?
The debate and conversation around this topic started with a post that warned "outsiders in Bengaluru" to learn the language. People flooded social media with opinionated reactions as the X share went viral. Further, it sparked a war of words about North India and South India on social media.