For generations of schoolchildren, Vatal Nagaraj was a familiar name – a man whose protests could unexpectedly grant them a day off from school, whether over the Cauvery water-sharing issue or Kannada name boards. Few of them understood that behind the noise and spectacle lay a deeper history of Kannada identity and activism.
What was unfolding to the uninitiated as a “street drama” was in fact just the latest chapter in a centuries-old struggle: a struggle that began in poetry and developed through various phases of politics.
Writers and activists consider the Kannada movement to have developed in four phases: the 1950s as a struggle for unification as a linguistic state, the 1960s as a period of celebration and assertion of identity, the 1970s as an era of political change and anti-migrant movements, and the last phase as a phase focused on the demand for federalism.
Race
Yet Kannada writer Baraguru Ramachandrappa claims that the Kannada movement has existed since the 10th century, citing Adikavi Pampa’s words “Maarga mattu Desi” – an assertion of Kannada identity against the dominance of Sanskrit. However, it was not until centuries later in the 19th century that it emerged as a “movement” of a completely different nature.
Writer and critic Banjagere Jayaprakash pointed out that the movement for the unification of the state, led by writers and intellectuals such as Alur Venkata Rao, Kuvempu, Govinda Pai and Niranjana, was fought through their writings and intellectual discourse and influenced those in power.
He noted that the unification movement was largely characterized by national conferences that attracted the attention of those in authority.
Beginning of street fighting
The real ‘street movement’ began in 1962. One iconic moment was when a group crashed the Ramanavami music festival in Bengaluru demanding Kannada songs – a demand that still resonates, but more so in restaurants across the city.
In 1962, a group led by Mr. Nagaraj attacked and vandalized the now-demolished Alankar Theater on KG Road, demanding more projection screens for Kannada films. Since then, Mr. Nagaraj’s street campaigns have always been a spectacle – featuring bison weddings, donkey parades and similar events that occasionally made headlines even in English newspapers abroad.
What began as a unification movement turned into a struggle for linguistic dominance in the 1960s. In parallel, writers like Kuvempu and Kayyara Kinhanna Rai and at a later stage like KS Nisar Ahmed spoke about the pride of language through poetry.
The movement took a violent turn after the 1980s when the Cauvery issue became synonymous with language politics. Many lives were lost and tensions rose against non-Kannada speakers. In another development, the major language campaign after independence saw the emergence of the Gokak movement, which demanded primacy over Kannada in education.
Around this time, there were a number of reports related to giving primacy to Kannada in various spheres, such as the report recommending reservation for Kannadigas in jobs by Sarojini Mahishi – but most still remain unimplemented.
“In the 1990s, movements demanding federalism and the use of Kannada in day-to-day transactions emerged and continue today. These movements also opposed governments pushing for industrial expansion, regardless of socio-cultural aspects,” said Mr. Jayaprakash. Amidst this, there have been some disturbing developments such as the anti-Urdu riots that broke out when Kannada activists took to the streets to oppose news bulletins in Urdu. This turned violent and resulted in several deaths.
Since the late 2000s, strikes and street demonstrations have been on the rise. Critics say the movement has turned into “hooliganism”. But Arun Javagal, a member of the Karnataka Rakshana Vedike, counters that so-called “acts of vandalism” have only come up when governments have refused to act on pressing issues, be it blackening Hindi signs in the metro or shop signboards.
What “forced” them to act frequently, Mr. Javagal argued, was the growing control of the central government and the “imposition of Hindi” in the Railway Board and other such central examinations had a negative impact on the local Kannada beneficiaries.
Frequent conflicts
As the job market expanded with the IT boom in the national capital, conflicts began between Kannada and Hindi speakers, often amplified on social media. These linguistic tensions have become everyday conflicts, giving even road incidents a linguistic undertone.
However, Mr. Ramachandrappa says the underlying issues remain quite the same. “The gulf between intellectuals and activists today is troubling and needs to be bridged if today’s campaigns are to be truly effective.”
Published – 31 Oct 2025 23:38 IST
