SPECIAL ARTICLES 'Memories of Underdevelopment' Language and Its Identities in Contemporary Karnataka Janaki Nair Kannada nationalism, like all nationalisms, attempts to produce a solidarity between all Kannada speakers in order to efface the specificities of caste and class, and pits itself against other dominated minorities rather than addressing the hierarchical division of labour that has ensured Kannada's dominated status. As long as it continues to privilege the identity of Kannada over other democratic aspirations, the movement will tend increasingly towards alignment with strident communal or anti-minority forces. The movement encompasses a range of moderate and progressive intellectual positions, which have of late been overshadowed by the more strident voices. There is the danger that in the context of the structural changes already under way, benefiting a few at the expense of the rest, the ideology of the movement while expressing genuine anxieties may tend towards undemocratic resolutions of its identity crisis. THERE is a familiar ring to the way in which said during the Cauvery riots of 1991, "The the early years of the 20th century but they Kannada nationalism, currently in the Kannadigas have been tolerant always but too remained somewhat limited in their scope making, is crowded with memories of histo- they have awakened to their rights now" and reach at least until the 1930s.12 ric lacks, of opportunities missed, of (The Times of India, December 2, 1991). Many historians of Mysore have been 1 inadequacies past and present. After all, the Since the narrativisation of Kannada's content, to attribute this absence of civil founding moment of Indian nationalism too modern identity has been somewhat over- associations to the idiosyncrasies of indi- was a necessary confrontation of the reasons whelmed by the sense that it is unoriginal, vidual dewans or to the generally autocratic for subcontinent's subjugation by an alien, weak, even imitative, the significance of a nature of the princely bureaucracy,13 in what exploitative power.2 Where Kannada massive and indisputable presence has been has become a characteristic refusal to nationalism struck a different chord, right marginalised, understated or overlooked. Of acknowledge the significance of the from its start during the days of colonial rule, the various political administrations under displacement of the agenda of cultural was in measuring itself and its inadequacies which the Kannada speakers lived, the nationalism by an agenda of state-sponsored 14 not against the overarching triumphs of the princely state of Mysore, nominally economic and legal modernisation. Yet we imperial power but against the more modest independent, was best poised to articulate the know that the state, not the people, loomed successes of other linguistic nationalisms cultural aspirations of the Kannada people large even in the imagination of cultural within India itself. Alur Venkat Rao's within the framework of the nation state. Yet nationalists searching for patrons and anguished response in 1920 to the nationalist the impetus for shaping Kannada's identity sponsors of a rejuvenated Kannada: thus, imperative that "We don't have a history! came not from Mysore but the Bombay B M Srikantia made the plea in 1915 at the We must have a history!"3 recognised that Karnataka region where a Marathi national Mysore Economic Conference that it was only through a recast history of the identity was fairly well developed by the end governments concerned with Kannada areas will, as they have been doing already, Kannada people that the Indian nation could of the 19th century. Mysore instead was encourage writers systematically and on be imagined, but more importantly deplored noted throughout the colonial period and by settled principles, and may even see the way the fact that his effort came a full 40 or 50 its historians for its other achievements. Tipu to establish a sort of academy with power years after his Bengali, Marathi and Hindi Sultan himself has been acknowledged as the to lay down general principles to map out counterparts had made their heroes and earliest mobiliser of state resources in the a course of production and to reward any historic triumphs part of the Indian common struggle against the British,8 but by the late work that is done in an excellent manner and sense.4 Just after the demand for a linguistic 19th century, the bureaucracy of the princely to print and distribute it if necessary among Kannada province was conceded by the state forged a paradigm of development the people at large.15 Indian National Congress in 1920, there was which, while unmistakeably nationalist, It need not surprise us that when the 'academy' explicitly expressed envy for the "the rich strove to usher in a legal and economic was established as the Kannada Sahitya modern literature of modern (sic) vernaculars modernity by relying entirely on the Parishat in 1915, it was as part of Dewan like Bengali, Marathi and Telugu."5 The instrumentalities of the state. State-sponsored Visvesvaraya's overall vision of Mysore's absence, until as recently as 1956, of a industrialisation is the most well known of material progress and welfare.16 This pre- unified administration under which the Mysore's achievements, but equally independence envisioning of the state as the Kannada peoples could develop continues significant was the legislative agenda that set prime mover in building a sense of nationhood to haunt even contemporary historical the pace for improved rights of Hindu women may be distinguished from the latter day accounts.6 If the 'real Congress struggle' got 9 under law in 1930, and accepted the principle demands for control over the apparatuses of off to a late and timid start in (Bombay) 10 of reservations for non-brahmins in 1921. the nation-state, as we shall see below, but Karnataka (heralded by the 1930 salt The state thus absorbed the nationalist agenda the continuities cannot be ignored.17 satyagraha), it was ironically because of an restricting severely the conditions of The displacement of cultural nationalism administrative identity on which nationalist possibility for a public sphere to develop, by economic nationalism in the colonial 7 politics could build was unavailable, More "tending to suffocate non-state institutions period is critical to any discussion of the recently, even 'tolerance' widely regarded of civil society by theoretically equating the predicament of the Kannada movement as a virtue, has been recast as yet another principle of public good with the institutional today, which rather than being a latecomer 11 obstacle to the full-blooded citizenship of form of state control". There were for to linguistic and communal identities, has Kannada speakers: thus L S Seshagiri Rao instance, caste associations that came up in fashioned a different path to modernity, Economic and Political Weekly October 12-19, 1996 2809 fraught with unexpected anxieties that have nationalists. With neither the possibility of site of such bitter contention that it has come violently manifested themselves in the past a truly unified linguistic market nor a to speak for the predicament of Kannada two decades. For there is another register on democratic transformative vision, Kannada and Kannadigas throughout Karnataka. which contemporary Kannada's muted (until nationalism is content to remain within the Historically, the division of the city between recently) political identity appears as a parameters of a segmented linguistic market, the colonial cantonment (east) and the old distinct advantage vis-a-vis other states. largely abandoning the field of economic city (west)27 produced on the one hand areas Favourably endowed with an impressive and technological dominance to English with a polyglot legacy and on the other areas technological personnel base, a scientific while striving for politically legitimate that were relatively monolingual. One aspect establishment and a state that has long authority through the agency of the state and of this cultural uniqueness is that Kannada favoured industrial development, Karnataka, against other minorities. The Kannada speakers account for about 34 per cent of the and more properly Bangalore, have been movement thus retains the split between city - although contrary to the widespread actively promoted as exceptionally well- dominant economic and technological belief, Kannadaspeakers constitute the single poised for integration into the new world languages and the legitimate sphere of largest group of people, followed by Tamil 18 economic order. On this register, the growth politico-cultural languages. From within this (25 per cent) Urdu (19 per cent) and Telugu of the state's economy appears to have a narrowly defined sphere of legitimate (17 per cent).28 The other, and equally momentum of its own, on which the recent political and cultural authority, this regiona- important fact is that some parts of the city assertions of Kannada identity have served list discourse aspires to become a "perfor- have large segments of minority religious as a frustrating ideological drag. mative discourse which aims to impose as populations, Christian and Muslim, identified Yet it is clear that the very features that legitimate a new definition of the frontiers with languages other than Kannada, whereas made Bangalore/Karnataka an attractive and to get people to know and recognise the more recent migrants to the city are both location for the realisation of global ambitions