- By Chetna Shree
- Tue, 17 Jun 2025 02:29 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Kannada Language Row: A recent clash between a Bengaluru shop owner and an elderly man in the Begur area has garnered attention over the compliance of the Karnataka government rules for signboard language. The 45-second video of the clash between a woman, the shop owner, and an elderly man over the commercial signboard language is going viral on the internet.
In the viral video, the elderly man confronted the shop owner over her English-language commercial signboard. He demanded that the signboard should be changed in compliance with the Kannada government's signboard language rule. The woman shop owner alleged that the man had harassed and tortured her for not having a signboard text in the Kannada language.
Senior citizen kannadiga : politely asked the shopkeeper "As per government order sign board should be 60% in Kannada & 40% in English"
— Karnataka Update (@about_karnataka) June 16, 2025
But the lady shopkeeper seen abusing the kannadiga. And posting it in social media just to gain attention? #kannada #karnataka pic.twitter.com/Rzv4imAfaS
According to the Kannada Language Comprehensive Development (Amendment) Act, 2024, all the commercial, public, industrial and institutional signboards in Karnataka need to be 60 per cent in the Kannada language. The Kannada language text should cover more than half of the signboard, and the remaining 40 per cent can be in any other language.
The man insisted that the shop owner change the signboard. Though the woman said that the signboard has text in the Kannada language too, he argued that Kannada should cover 60 per cent of it. The man was seen filming a video of the signboard to register a complaint against the owner.
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The argument over the signboard escalated between the two, and the woman angrily asked, “Who is he to tell about the signboard rules?” Replying to this, the man said, “Public citizen from Karnataka.” The woman then said that this is India.
How Internet Responds
The heated argument between the man and the shop owner immediately caught attention and sparked debates over various social media platforms. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the users defended the elderly man's decision to demand that Kannada text should cover more than half of the signboard. Other users wrote that the man is not authorised to tell the woman what to do; let the authorities address the issue.