Mangaluru–Kasaragod NH Bandh and Satyagraha in Third Week of December: Vatal Nagaraj

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangaluru, Nov. 23, 2025: Kannada Chaluvali Vatal Paksha president Vatal Nagaraj has announced that a national highway bandh and satyagraha will be held in the third week of December between Mangaluru and Kasaragod to protest what he termed the “systematic Malayalisation” of Kasaragod, a region he asserted belongs to Karnataka.

Addressing reporters in Mangaluru on Sunday, Nagaraj said a Kasaragod convention will be held in Bengaluru in the second week of December. “Appropriate resolutions will be taken at the convention and based on those, a satyagraha will be staged by blocking the national highway in the third week,” he said.

Nagaraj said the movement to merge Kasaragod with Karnataka has weakened after the era of leaders like Kayyara Kinjanna Rai and Govinda Pai. “No political leader is raising the issue in the Assembly, Council, or Parliament. Meanwhile, attempts to Malayalise Kasaragod are destroying Kannada culture. Kannada-medium schools are being closed, and Malayalam-speaking teachers are being appointed in Kannada schools. The state government must treat this issue with utmost seriousness,” he urged.

Expressing concern over the growing influence of other languages in Karnataka, he warned that Kannadigas could become a minority if corrective measures are not taken. He criticised IT-BT companies for neglecting Kannadigas in employment despite availing land, water, and electricity in the state. He also pointed out that about 11,000 acres in Ballari were allotted to Jindal Company at ₹1.5 lakh per acre, yet the Industries Department has not reviewed how many Kannadigas have been employed there.

Nagaraj said the Sarojini Mahishi Report has been sidelined and the employment bill, expected to be introduced in the Assembly, has not progressed. He added that after the Kasaragod convention, Kannada-supportive agitations will be organised across coastal districts including Karwar, Mangaluru, and Udupi.

Coastal Cultural Foundation president Shivaram Kasaragod, secretary Kushal Kumar K., Karnataka Samiti Kasaragod president K.M. Ballakkurayya, Kasaragod Kannada Horata Samiti chief coordinator K. Guruprasad Kotekani, Kasaragod District Kannada Awareness Committee general secretary K. Jagadish Koodlu, Kannada Awareness Committee secretary Srikanta Kasaragod, and Kerala Regional Kannada Medium Teachers’ Association president Sukesh A. were present at the press meet.