After fighting with the Marathi speaking population in Belgaum and Nipani, it is now the Tamil Sangham against whom the 'Kannadiga Vedike' is all set to lock horns. The reason is of the Honekagal dam. The dam to be built with the financial assistance from Japan Bank of International Co-operation on the river Kaveri with an aim to fullfil the demand for water of the people living in the two of the districts of Tamil Nadu. Though the water usage is perfectly in sync with the earlier award by the judicial authorities, the dispute has cropped up.
The dispute though appears to be one where there is an involvement of 'Kannadiga Asmita' as the artists, writers, poets and many more cultural groups have gathered in Bangalore. Many Kannada cultural groups have taken the steps of organizing protests and even went on waging armed attacks on 'Tamil Sangham.' At the same time, the Tamilians in the boarder areas of Tamil Nadu are also 'ready'. This situation has left many Tamilians in the cities of Karnataka as to how the events will unfold. All the situation is being built up in such a manner that it will be seen as a fight between two cultures or two linguistic groups. Some of them are trying to draw parallels from the blood clad history of the fights between the two sides.
However many of the observers have failed to understand the undercurrent. The Karnataka Assembly elections are due in the month. It makes sense for the political parties to ignite the 'cultural' issues as it helps polarization of votes wherein people simply agree to ignore the real growth and developmental issues that matter. Once again the dirty game is being played in Karnataka. Are the voters listening? |
