A post accompanying a video depicting a few individuals damaging name boards of shops is widely circulating across social media platforms. The claim accompanying the video suggests that the saffron colour cannot be used in homes, shops, and temples in Karnataka. In this article, let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video depicting a group of people destroying shop name boards because the saffron colour cannot be used on name boards in Karnataka.
Fact: This viral video shows Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) officials removing English name boards in Bengaluru in February 2024. According to the reports, the BBMP has issued an order mandating that all commercial establishments within Bengaluru city limits have 60% Kannada on their name boards. The deadline for compliance was set for 28 February 2024. Viral video is being shared with a false communal narrative. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Upon careful observation of the viral video, one can note that the ‘Burger King’ shop did not display the saffron colour on its name board. To gather more information about this viral video, we conducted a Google reverse image search using the keyframes from the video. This search led us to a similar video uploaded on an Instagram account named “bengalurublr” on 24 February 2024. The caption of the video states, “The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) staff could be seen breaking down English name boards of shops in the city. The Palike has already closed many shops on MG Road and Brigade Road in Bengaluru that have not installed Kannada boards”.
Taking a cue from this, we conducted a relevant keyword search on the internet and discovered a video news report containing similar visuals to the viral clip. The report was published on YouTube by ‘India Today’ on 23 February 2023, under the title: “Bengaluru’s Language War: BBMP Cracks Down on English Signboards Ahead of Deadline.” According to the description in this news report, “The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), the city’s civic body, is cracking down on businesses with English signboards ahead of the given deadline. Despite a 28 February 2024 deadline set by the BBMP, officers claim they will continue to target shops and establishments that do not display 60% of their signage in Kannada. The report includes reactions from shop owners and highlights an incident of vandalism by BBMP marshals and pro-Kannada activists.”
Following this, we came across a news report by ‘Deccan Herald’ on 26 February 2024. According to the report, the BBMP has issued an order mandating that all commercial establishments within Bengaluru city limits have 60% Kannada on their name boards. The deadline for compliance was set for 28 February 2024. Additionally, the BBMP has instructed its health officers to cover English name boards with a cloth if owners fail to adhere to the orders after receiving notices. Moreover, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has suspended one of its health officers who ordered his staff to damage English name boards, as this action deviated from the instructions provided by the BBMP top officials. Based on all this information, it is evident that the viral video depicting men removing names and signboards does not have a communal angle.
To sum it up, this video depicting officials removing English name boards in Bengaluru is being shared with a false communal narrative.
