Pro-Kannada activists vandalised a board at the Krantivira Sangolli Rayanna (KSR) Railway Station in Bengaluru during a protest against Hindi imposition on Monday, September 14; a day celebrated as ‘Hindi Divas’. Activists belonging to Karunaada Sevakaru, a pro-Kannada group, took out a march and subsequently vandalised the board of the railway station in the centre of the city.
The activists had earlier stated that they will push the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) for strict enforcement of the rule of having 60% of all signboards in Kannada.
The members of the group, wearing black shirts and yellow-red scarves, turned up at the railway station before proceeding to remove the letters on the signboard at the station. The act was filmed by members of the group themselves and streamed live on social media on the Facebook page of Karunaada Sevakaru
The signboard which read - KSR Bengaluru Station - was written in three languages - English, Hindi and Kannada. The activists vandalised the Hindi board, while leaving the Kannada and English ones intact.
Another protest held by pro-Kannada activists of the Karnataka Rakshana Vedike at the Gandhi statue in Anand Rao circle passed off peacefully. Prominent actors and politicians including Prakash Raj and HD Kumaraswamy had spoken out against Hindi imposition on Monday calling for people to voice their opinion on the issue.
An online campaign was organised by pro-Kannada activists using the hashtag #ServeInMyLanguage to canvas support for regional languages. Actors Chethan, Dhananjaya and Janata Dal (Secular) leaders Prajwal Revanna and Nikhil Kumaraswamy were among the people posting about the need for upholding regional languages on Monday.