Public Perceptions Of The Mandatory 60% Kannada Language Signage Law In Bengaluru, India

This paper provides insights into the public perception of the recent 60% Kannada signage law in Bengaluru, a city in southern India. Kannada is the official language of Karnataka, the state where Bengaluru, the fastest-growing metropolis of India is located. The creation of India from sovereign states involved the reorganization of territories along linguistic lines resulting in formation of Karnataka, with a majority of Kannada speakers. However, with the rising influx of working population from other cities, Bangalore is now linguistically diverse. The recent signage law, implemented in Karnataka, mandates that all commercial establishments must display their signs with at least 60% of the text in Kannada to reflect the regional linguistic identity. The remaining 40% of the signage can be in English or any other language, allowing for inclusivity and understanding by non-Kannada speakers. To better answer the question of how this law impacts the diverse Bengaluru community, the paper addresses the history of Karnataka, Kannada, language imposition, contributing events leading up to this law and signage regulations in other states.