A Short Story of the Kannada Flag
It may not have an official status, but the red-yellow flag of Karnataka or Kannada has recently been in the news for several reasons. Associations of questionable intent use this flag to shield them from any allegations of wrong-doing. This flag is also used as a shield by those establishments that want to portray themselves as sympathetic to the causes of an indignant crowd and thereby protect themselves. Parties of various hues have played politics with this flag.
To the question of whether a state needs a separate flag, my answer is another question. If political parties or unions or even kabaddi teams can have their own flags, why can’t a state or a language? It may not have an official status like the National Flag, but if it manages to rally people behind a cause, why not?
I thought it would be good to write about this vermilion-turmeric flag on the occasion of the 62nd Kannada Rajyotsava. Why is this in English then? To help the non-Kannadiga Bengaluriga to understand the story behind the flag and empathise with the cause of Kannada. Kannadigas know English anyway….
I have relied mainly on the excellent ‘Bengaluru Darshana’, a veritable treasure trove of information on Bengaluru, published by Udayabhanu Kalasangha. The source article titled ‘Bhāṣhā-samasyegaLu’ (Language Problems), written by Sri RN Chandrashekhar, documents the origins of the Kannada movement in Bengaluru in good detail. Bengaluru is at the centre of the story of the flag.
It is not just now that Bengaluru is a haven for migrants. Throughout its history, Bengaluru has had a steady influx of Reddys and Devangas from Andhra Pradesh, Marathas from Maharashtra, Marwadi money lenders and workers from Tamil Nadu. There is anecdotal evidence of squabbles between Kannadiga villagers and Tamil migrants, even as early as the 19th Century CE. With the advent of the British, English ruled the roost. Kannada had to fight for its chances even then.
The movement for Kannada received a fillip when Sir M Visvesvaraya, a Kannadiga, became the Diwan of Mysore. The Kannada Sahitya Parishat established in 1915 provided an umbrella organisation to promote Kannada and its literature. The movement for Kannada and Kannadigas continued under the able leadership of Sri BM Srikantaiah, Sri Bellave Venkatanaranappa, Sri M Venkatakrishnaiah, Sri R Narasimhachar and Sri Devudu Narasimha Shastri among others.
Even after the unification of Kannada speaking regions in 1956, the situation did not improve much. The grouse even then was that central government jobs went to migrants and Kannadigas formed only 10 to 15% of that workforce in Bengaluru. The new factories established in Bengaluru also seemed to favour non-Kannadigas. This step motherly treatment in their own state caused angst in several Kannadigas. The renowned author A N Krishnarao and Ma Ramamurti, a writer — who later attained fame as “Vira-Senani” - bemoaned the plight of Kannada in Kempegowda’s Bengaluru. As a result, the 1960s saw a renewed vigour in the movement for Kannada and Kannadigas.
In this already heated milieu, the Tamil movie Kaanchi Thalaivan (1963), starring MG Ramachandran, ignited a fire. This movie on the Pallava King Narasimha Varman not only portrayed the Chalukya King Pulikeshi II as a buffoon but apparently featured a scene where the Tamil king tramples upon a Chalukya flag. This infuriated Kannada activists, who, under the leadership of AN Krishnarao and Ma Ramamurti, began massive protests.
When Tamil migrants came to Bengaluru, they had brought their politics with them too. Tamil dominated areas such as Srirampuram, Prakashnagar, Ulsoor and the Cantonment area had numerous flagstaffs from which fluttered black-red DMK flags. In the aftermath of the Kanchi Thalaivan episode, the tension between Kannadigas and Tamilians saw more such DMK flags being flown in these areas. This caused much concern with Ma Ramamurti who held meetings and foot marches in these areas in 1964.
He realised the need for a banner behind which Kannadiga activists could rally. He conceived a three striped flag — with a red coloured central strip surrounded by two yellow strips with a green paddy crown in the middle. With the flag getting rather difficult to make, Ma Ramamurti was persuaded by the likes of B N Ishwarappa and K M Sampangiramayya to simplify the flag to its current bi-color form. With the flag created, a movement started to take down DMK flags and hoist the newly made Kannada flags in their stead. This gave a shot in the arm to Kannada activists. It is a pity that Ma Ramamurti, who began a political party, ‘Kannada Paksha’, died within three years of the Kannada flag being formed.
Since then, this flag, for good or otherwise, has become the symbol for all that is Kannada. Educational institutions, Kannada associations all over Karnataka and even the Government of Karnataka routinely use this flag, especially around the Rajyotsava period.
archakasya prabhāveṇa shilā bhavati shañkarah goes a common adage. (Due to the piety of the priest, even a stone becomes Shankara). This adage is true at least with this flag. Symbols are indeed powerful.
Happy Kannada Rajyotsava!
ಎಲ್ಲರಿಗೂ ಕನ್ನಡ ರಾಜ್ಯೋತ್ಸವದ ಶುಭಾಶಯಗಳು! ಸಿರಿಗನ್ನಡಂ ಗೆಲ್ಗೆ!
Footnote: While Ma Ramamurti conceived the Kannada flag in yellow and red to fight Tamil DMK flags, it is interesting to note that the Tamil Eelam Flag (banned in Sri Lanka) also features the same colours bordered in black!