Violence does not benefit anyone, our image is dented: Narayana Gowda
The violence over the Cauvery crisis has brought back the focus on pro-Kannada organisations and their commitment to Kannada and Karnataka. To trace the DNA of these organisations, Deccan Chronicle caught up with T.A. Narayana Gowda, president of Karnataka Rakshana Vedike, popularly know as KaRaVe one of the biggest pro-Kannada organisations.
Sitting at his chamber in the Gandhi Nagar headquarters, Mr Gowda spoke about various issues and the recent violence in the city. Here are excerpts of his interview.
Many feel the city earned a bad name after violence, arson and looting happened last week. What do you feel?
Violence does not benefit anyone. Our image has been dented, I don’t deny it. When movements are led by organisations or an individual it can be controlled. When the common man is agitated and if he comes onto the streets, it is difficult to control the mob. Many unforeseen hands also played a role in last week’s violence.
Unforeseen hands..Who are they?
We have evil and wicked people in the city and they might have done it. I can’t say who they are. And I cannot rule out workers of some political parties exploiting the situation. After the first ruling, we observed a state-wide bandh. No organisation indulged in any violent act in the first 10 days of the agitation. If violence by pro-Kannada organisations was to happen, it could have happened on the bandh day on September 9. I feel the beating up of a Kannadiga in Tamil Nadu might have enraged people. To add to it came the SC’s second ruling. The common man got carried away.
From the common man to police, all suspect the hand of pro-Kannada organisations. The commitment of pro-Kannada organisations is being questioned.
This was not the first time we saw violence over Cauvery issue. In 1991 too it happened. Some even claimed late Bangarappa sponsored it. About last week’s violence too, we hear a lot of conspiracy theories.
Our workers might have committed small mistakes like pelting stones at lorries. But, I vouch for them. They never indulged in violence, arson and looting. The police had arrested over 1000 people. If your argument was true, I would have received calls from workers seeking my intervention.
There are CCTVs in many traffic signals. You can see the footage and verify. Even police are saying pro-Kannada organisations were not involved. Yes, going by the signature yellow shawl, you can say our people were involved. Actually, anybody can wear it. That might have misled people to misunderstand us.
Then, what’s the objective of Karnataka Rakshana Vedike?
We work for the state. On many occasions our agitation has been victorious. One case I can refer to the securing of D-Group jobs in railways for local people. After Mamata Banerjee became railway minister, she changed the rules giving priority to localites in D-group jobs.
Out of 4700 posts, 3800 Kannadigas got jobs. Even in IT and BT, the footprint of Kannadigas has gone up from 5 per cent to 25-30 per cent because of our fight. We do not indulge in violence, it’s not our aim either.
You say your organisation is ethical. But inputs from the police and intelligence wing suggest that workers of pro Kannada organisations including KaRaVe indulge in unethical practices like taking loans from bank and ransacking bank branches when they are asked to repay them. How fair is it?
Anyone can obtain a loan. If you take loan, you have to repay it. Whenever I get calls of this nature, I tell banks to seize the vehicles. Every month, I call for state, district bodies’ meetings. I keep telling my workers that people observe us when we are in public life. So, I caution them if they indulge in such acts. On the other side, many goons not associated with us do indulge in such acts in the guise of KaRaVe activists.
Do you check their background when people come to join your organisation?
At the taluk level, taluk presidents will check the background. Similarly, hobli and district presidents do the same job at their level. We give a form and they have to fill all the details. We ask them specifically if they have cases pending in any station or court.
Whats the social profile of your workers and what is KaRaVe’s strength now?
We generally get people in the age group of 17-35 years. We have 65 lakh registered members and 14882 branches across the state. Majority are from old Mysuru region and north Karnataka. Majority of them are from the middle class.
There seems to be a sharp contrast between what you say about your workers and what we see outside: Many KaRaVe workers own high end vehicles and big bungalows. This gives an impression that they earn money through extortion.
Why don’t you think otherwise. Around Bengaluru, land prices have shot up. If our workers do real estate business and buy cars, whats wrong in it? If he is into extortion, you are right, police are free to take action. If an Andhraite or a person from Rajasthan can come here and grow rich, why can’t a Kannadiga grow rich? I tell my workers they should not possess anything unethically. A Marwari can run a money laundering business. But we look down on Kannadigas if they do the same business. Then, what do you say about politicians and their followers?
Bengaluru has truly grown to become cosmopolitan. Even foreign nationals reside here. What’s your attitude towards outsiders?
We are for a ‘live and let live’ policy. They can come and work. But, our demand is they should respect our culture. I give you one example. The other day, I took the statistics of IBM. In its Hyderabad office, nearly 70 per cent of employees are Andhraites and in Chennai, Tamilians account for 80 per cent.
In the Bengaluru IBM office, only 20 per cent of the workforce are Kannadigas. Still, we do not create a commotion. All we say is: Since you are here, try to accommodate our people.
You have 65 lakh members, you are a strong organisation. Do you have political ambitions?
There is tremendous pressure on us to establish a regional outfit. We knew two national political parties are causing a lot of damage to the state. You see Tamil Nadu. Both regional parties keep the national parties on a leash and get their work done. In the past, parties which promised to drop cases against our workers came to power and turned their back on us. So, we can’t trust these parties. But we need time to establish a true regional party.
