Hindi Imposition: How Perspectives Vary In Karnataka And Tamil Nadu

The three-language formula was first proposed by the Kothari Commission to promote linguistic diversity and national unity, and it was soon adopted by the National Policy on Education (NPE) in 1968. When states across India adopted this policy, Tamil Nadu saw it as a covert attempt to impose Hindi on the people. Under the leadership of the then Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C.N. Annadurai, the state resisted the move, ultimately leading to the non-implementation of the policy there. However, similar opposition to the three-language policy was not seen in the rest of the southern states.

In 1980, after the tenure of D. Devaraj Urs, the Congress formed a government under the leadership of R. Gundu Rao in Karnataka. Under his governance, Sanskrit, rather than Kannada, was made the first language in schools there. This was seen as a threat to Kannada identity and led to the prominent movement바카라�Gokak Chaluvali. The irony in the present context is that the same Congress party is in power in Karnataka now under Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, and is raising its voice against Hindi imposition by the Centre, much unlike its stance under erstwhile Chief Minister R. Gundu Rao in the 1980s. It is, therefore, important to look at the history of pro-Kannada activism to understand the change in their stance.

Gokak Chaluvali is the first major attempt at mass mobilisation around Kannada linguistic assertion to have unfolded in Karnataka in the 1980s. Due to the popular opposition to Sanskrit as the first language in schools, R. Gundu Rao formed a committee headed by the scholar and Jnanpith awardee, Vinayaka Krishna Gokak. The committee produced a report stating that Kannada should be the medium of instruction in the public and private primary schools and the first or a second language in the high schools of Karnataka. The non-implementation of the report led to the Gokak Chaluvali movement spearheaded by the actor and Kannada icon, Dr Rajkumar. Following this, the government passed an order to implement the suggestions of the report; however, later it was challenged by private schools and eventually struck down by the courts. Nevertheless, Gokak Chaluvali laid the foundation for pro-Kannada activism.

A Perceived Threat Of Tamil Dominance

In the 1990s, there was a growing sense of insecurity among the Kannadigas with the perceived dominating presence of the Tamilians in Bangalore, the capital city of Karnataka. There was a grouse that Tamilians were not making attempts to learn the local language, and to assimilate into the society. The then president of the Kannada Shakti Kendra, Dr Chidananda Murthy, argued that many Tamilians did not mix with Kannadigas and maintained a significant distance. This also led to a strong sense of job insecurity in Bangalore. Various pro-Kannada organisations demanded that the government respond to the perceived threat to the language and the people of Karnataka and to show the political will necessary to ensure the primacy of Kannada in the state.

When there was a growing sense of resentment among the activists towards Tamil immigrants, Kannada intellectuals chose to look at the larger picture, not conceiving Tamil migration as a threat. Writers in the Kannada literary sphere like Jnanpith awardee U.R. Ananthamurthy, P. Lankesh and K.P. Poornachandra Tejaswi were strongly influenced by the ideas of Ram Manohar Lohia, who argued that language is one of the dominant tools for controlling power relations in society. Thus, people바카라�s languages are required to be included in all government affairs since most of the Indian population is not acquainted with English. On the one hand, there were a large number of people speaking in their respective Indian languages, and on the other, there was a handful controlling them through English, the language most people did not know. Therefore, Lohia strongly insisted on removing English from the sphere of bureaucracy and replacing it with the people바카라�s languages. However, when he said 바카라�바카라�banish English바카라�바카라�, he did not imply its banishment from India바카라�s libraries and colleges. His argument was to retain English as an optional language. He also believed that original thinking can only happen in one바카라�s native language. The Kannada intellectuals were, thus, more concerned with the increasing influence of globalisation in Karnataka and on the Kannada language. U.R. Ananthamurthy argued that instead of targeting Tamilians and their language, the government should elevate Kannada by de-emphasising the importance of English and Hindi. Noted cultural critic D.R. Nagaraj took the argument further and said that the pro-Kannada movement had the potential to fight against the so-called universal market culture, which aimed to destroy local traditions. However, he sensed the lack of a larger understanding of the issue in the Kannada movements of that time.

Professor Chandan Gowda observes that Tamil and Kannada language movements are different. Tamil language movements are strongly tied to the assertion of Dravidian culture. They form a separate tradition associated with self-respect and freedom movements. However, the geographical history of Karnataka had a role to play in pro-Kannada movements not being strongly articulated. Although the unification of Karnataka happened in 1973, it did not manifest as a strong linguistic movement. One of the important reasons for this could be the fact that several regions in Karnataka were under Nizam바카라�s Hyderabad, Madras Presidency and Bombay Presidency during the colonial period. In Dharwad for example, Kannada had a secondary status to that of Marathi. When a new state was largely formed out of royal Mysore, the people of the Mysore region were not elated to include everyone, as this indicated they would have to share the resources of their region.

Kannada scholar Rahamat Tarikere points out that Kannada is not the only language in the region. 바카라�There is Tulu, Konkani, Urdu, Marathi, Telugu, all of which are languages of the region,바카라� he says. 바카라�Unlike Tamil or Telugu speakers, the people from Karnataka who live in other parts of the country do not carry their customs and language with them and make their linguistic presence felt abroad. They tend to accommodate and live with others and, in the process, don바카라�t opt for a sole Kannada identity.바카라� Further, while there are different dialects of Kannada across Karnataka. The South Karnataka dialect of Kannada is considered a benchmark and the medium of expression in popular culture. The dialects of North or Coastal Karnataka are often considered to be inferior and even comically depicted in films. This disparaging attitude, along with the invariable economic distribution, has kept these regions 바카라�backward바카라�. This has led to feelings of discontent among people, going as far as a demand for a separate state by a few. It is important to address these concerns before this feeling becomes dominant among the people along the borders of the state.

The Question Of Hindi Imposition

Hindi imposition on the non-Hindi speaking states has become a serious problem over the years. In Karnataka, most of the public examinations are usually conducted in English and/or Hindi. Pro-Kannada activists have raised this issue, and their demands of including Kannada in written exams have been, by and large, met. In the rural areas of Karnataka, even challans are issued only in Hindi and English. Hindi speakers are being employed in banks, creating a language divide between the service provider and the consumer. One can rarely see Kannadigas in these positions. These seemingly small issues might have given rise to an increasing sense of Hindi imposition in the state. The feeling that Kannada does not enjoy linguistic prestige is still evident, however, Tamilians are no longer the key rivals today. They have been replaced by the Hindi speakers who live in Bengaluru and are largely indifferent to learning Kannada. The fight against Hindi imposition began in Bengaluru when the Metro services started in 2011. The signage and announcements were in Hindi apart from Kannada and English. Pro-Kannada activists demanded that Hindi signage be removed from Metro stations. The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) acted upon it in certain places. Later, the city saw the rising demands for Kannada sign boards and prominent Kannada hoardings across the city.

The first of November in Karnataka is celebrated as a 바카라�Rajyotsava Day바카라�. This day commemorates the redrawing of states in 1956, which resulted in the creation of Karnataka out of Mysore State. It also recalls past glories such as the 바카라�reunification바카라� of Vijayanagara to make the primeval link between the old empire and the modern state of Karnataka. The Vijayanagara era has been perceived as a period of Kannada cultural and political hegemony over other regions of South India. Many recall that in the 1990s, the Rajyotsava celebration in Bangalore turned into anti-Tamil parades. Clashes broke out during processions. The arches of the grand Vijayanagara empire were carried in these protests. In response, Tamilians carried a Chola-style arch to portray their ancient and rich cultural heritage. These historical antecedents are often used to make sense of present sentiments. These 바카라�inventions of traditions바카라� as Eric Hobsbawm points out, are required to mobilise the sentiments of the particular groups. These archetypes are also necessary to classify the groups into watertight categories. In the above example, Cholas are the 바카라�other바카라� for Kannadigas and similarly, the Vijayanagara empire for the Tamils. The reason why the sentiment of Hindi imposition in Karnataka is not yet strong among the people of the state is because of the absence of the archetype of Hindi. Time will tell whether it is in the process of making.

(Views expressed are personal)

Aniruddha Nagaraj teaches English at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan College, GGSIPU, New Delhi

This article is a part of Outlook's April 11, 2025 issue 'Viksit South', which explores the growing north-south divide in India. It appeared in print as 'Who Is Afraid Of Hindi?'.