A Hindi signboard at BEL Circle in Bengaluru was removed by Karnataka Rakshana Vedike (KRV) activists on Tuesday, June 29, saying it was installed illegally and amounted to Hindi imposition.
KRV activists alleged that the signboard had been put up on a public road near the Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) campus in Jalahalli without proper authorisation. KRV says the protest is a fight to protect Kannada in public spaces.
The group argued that people of Karnataka had helped build BEL’s legacy, so a Hindi board outside the campus was unacceptable to them.
The activists alleged that Hindi is being pushed into public spaces in Karnataka in ways unfair to Kannada. A report quoting KRV president TA Narayana Gowda said the group would not allow Hindi imposition in Karnataka and would resist such moves regardless of how they are introduced.
They argued that a public road outside a major national institution should not be used to promote Hindi in a state where Kannada is the main language. The police have registered an FIR against KRV activists on charges of destruction of public property.
BEL, or Bharat Electronics Limited, is a major defence public sector undertaking based in Bengaluru under the Ministry of Defence.
Under the Kannada Language Comprehensive Development (Amendment) Act, passed by the Karnataka State Legislature, all commercial, industrial, and business undertakings across the state must ensure that at least 60% of their signboard text is in Kannada. The law mandates that the Kannada script must occupy the dominant upper half of the name board, leaving the remaining 40% for English or other languages in the lower portion.
Non-compliant business owners are issued a 15-day show-cause notice, and failure to align with the law results in escalating fines ranging from Rs 5,000 to Rs 20,000, alongside the severe risk of having their trade licences suspended or entirely cancelled. The Act, however, allows for enforcement only by authorities, including the Kannada Development Authority, local municipalities and district administration.
This is not the first time Kannada groups have had issues with signs or businesses over language. In December 2023, activists in Bengaluru attacked English signboards and demanded more prominent use of Kannada in displays, saying shops and establishments must follow the state’s 60% Kannada signage rule. Police later intervened and detained some protesters. In March 2025, Kannada groups called a statewide bandh after a language dispute in Belagavi.
In 2017, activists had blackened Hindi signboards at Bengaluru metro stations.
This article was written by a student interning with TNM.
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