Kannada activists are demanding that the State government enact a Kannada signboard Act.
An online petition demanding this has gathered over 5,000 signatures in just two days. Several attempts to ensure that shops and other commercial establishments use Kannada in their signage have repeatedly suffered a setback. Recently, a directive by the BBMP on Kannada boards in Bengaluru, was challenged in the High Court. The reason: the legal grounds for such directives is weak and an earlier directive had been struck down by the Karnataka High Court in 2014.
The State government and the BBMP has time and again issued directives under Section 24A of the Karnataka Shops and Establishments Act, 1961, asking commercial establishments to ensure signboards in Kannada. However, a prominent Telecom Service Provider (TSP) and retail chain challenged this directive in the High Court in 2014, which ruled that Karnataka Shops and Establishments Act, 1961 was primarily concerned with labour issues, and set aside the directive. But the BBMP’s recent directive in August was also issued under the same Act, again challenged in the High Court by the same retail chain that won a legal victory in 2014.
“We have discussed with bureaucrats and reviewed all legal options and found there are no answers. Issues of lack of Kannada usage in signboards and name boards have cropped up repeatedly in the State, including on highways. Only a dedicated law will settle this issue once for all,” said Arun Javgal, an activist with Banavasi Balaga, a pro-Kannada group. The online petition even demands a special Assembly session to pass the proposed legislation.
The petition says the High Court recently observed a directive that Kannada name boards were promotion of language and culture, which should not be imposed on commercial firms. “More than half of the people of Karnataka know to read only Kannada. Signboards and name boards in the State must be in Kannada to serve them. Moreover, the rest who can read English also have a right to service in Kannada. It is a consumer right,” argued Banavasi Balaga that initiated the petition.
Drafting a new Bill
The Kannada Development Authority (KDA) has taken up the cause and directed the Kannada and Culture Department to prepare a background note for the same. “We have roped in a legal expert, who is compiling related laws and regulations in other States. We will submit the paper to the State government,” said Vishu Kumar, Director, Kannada and Culture Department. Banavasi Balaga has demanded that the KDA rope in legal luminaries to draft a Bill which can form the basis of further deliberations.
Published - September 21, 2018 11:22 pm IST
