Several actors from the Kannada film industry, including Shivarajkumar, Upendra Rao, and Darshan Thoogudeepa, have condemned the recent Karnataka flag-burning incident in Kolhapur, Maharashtra.
On December 14, a group of miscreants burnt the Karnataka state flag in the border town, in the wake of the inter-state dispute between Karnataka and Maharashtra. The dispute dates back to the post-Independence period and the reorganisation of states along linguistic lines in 1956.
In recent times, the tensions have continued with a series of events like the vandalism of statues and a portrait of the 12th-century reformer Basavanna.
Karnataka Legislative Assembly passed a censure motion over the flag-burning incident.
Further, the Kannada film fraternity has voiced out against such atrocities.
Recently, at the press event for Badava Rascal, his upcoming Kannada film, actor Shivarajkumar spoke about the need to learn the language and respect the culture of the state one lives in, citing his own example. The actor was born in Chennai and learnt Tamil as a third language in school.
He also added that it is unacceptable to “stamp our authority” on other languages. “The flag-burning incident should not have happened,” he said. “The government should fight against it. I have said many times that I am ready to sacrifice my life for the sake of the Kannada language and I repeat this.”
Earlier in a tweet, Shivarajkumar had stated that those who burnt the flag should be punished.
Actor Upendra too stressed that the miscreants behind the act must be punished and termed the ones who burnt the flag, “cowards.” He also said, “We must stand together against anyone who disrespects our region’s culture.”
Darshan Thoogudeepa, meanwhile, also urged the Chief Minister of Karnataka to take strict action to prevent such incidents in the future.
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Several others from the Kannada film fraternity, such as actor Salaga Vijay, director Santhosh Ananddram, actor Prajwal Devaraj and filmmaker-actor Rishab Shetty, also condemned the flag-burning.