Pro-Kannada activist slams Onam celebrations at Infosys Bengaluru, calls it ‘threat to Kannada demography’

A pro-Kannada activist has voiced his objections to Onam celebrations at the Infosys Bengaluru campus, calling it a “threat to Kannada demography.”

A pro-Kannada activist has voiced his objections to Onam celebrations at the Infosys Bengaluru campus, calling it a “threat to Kannada demography.” The activist, who goes by Kari Subbayya on the social media platform X, shared a video of an Onam dance being performed at the Infosys office in the capital of Karnataka.

Screengrab from a video showing Onam celebrations at Infosys Bengaluru (X/@KariSubbayya)

“This is Infosys Bengaluru. How can this still be taken lightly?” he asked on the social media platform, taking issue with Onam festivities at the Bengaluru campus of IT giant Infosys.

Onam is a major annual festival celebrated predominantly in the state of Kerala. In the last few months, as the pro-Kannada movement has seen renewed momentum, several Kannadigas have objected to Onam celebrations in Karnataka, calling it a threat to Kannada culture. Subbayya, one among such numbers, pointed to “especially high influx of migrants from Kerala” in his controversial post.

“They will never keep quiet & definitely start injecting their culture, especially high influx of migrants from KL & their dependence & hold on KAR causing high threat to Kannada demography,” he wrote on X.

Take a look at his post below:

While he did find support from a section of the internet, many more criticised and questioned him for promoting regionalism.

“How do you know that all of them are from Kerala? They are just celebrating a festival. It does not mean anything. Just chill and have some fun and celebrate each day. Is that not the essence of each culture?” wrote X user Hari Pudipeddi.

“I really don’t get you. What is stopping the Kannadigas in Infosys from organising a similar celebration for Ugadi? They probably do it already. You’re just hate mongering here!” another said.

“So do Infosys offices in Kerala and Tamil Nadu celebrate Dasara or Ugadi in the same manner? No, right? So don't give this logic! Why should we celebrate Kerala festival in Karnataka office?” an X user countered.

This is not the first time that objections have been raised against Onam festivities in Karnataka. Earlier this month, a Bengaluru woman has slammed BigBasket for sending free flowers with her order on the festival of Onam.