Karnataka needs to talk about real issues that matter. NOW!

Poor infrastructure, agrarian distress, Hindi imposition, caste discrimination, unemployment, and a lack of basic education are among the problems affecting the state and its people...but Nalin Kumar Kateel, BJP state president, says all these are 'minor' issues and citizens should only focus on 'love jihad'. REALLY?

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: Nalin Kumar Kateel, the state president of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has urged his party supporters to focus on combating “love jihad” rather than “minor issues” like sewage and road issues, setting off a political war in the state where elections are due only in a few months.

But what are the real issues that matter most to voters? Agrarian distress is a big concern in Karnataka. Farmers have consistently claimed that the government, in the name of providing employment by attracting global investors, is selling away the state’s rich natural resources.

One of the prime examples of this policy is the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB) gearing up to acquire 1,777 acres of land from 13 villages in Devanahalli to set up an industrial area. Karnataka also has the second highest farmer suicides in the whole nation, accounting for 20.5 percent. It recorded 3,339 suicides by people engaged in the farming sector in the year 2021, according to the latest NCRB data.

Kannada pride has been a topic of importance to every voter. The Karnataka Rakshana Vedike (KRV) has repeatedly brought up instances of Hindi imposition and intensely spoke against the lack of provision to take up government recruitment exams in regional languages.

The option of Hindi allows native Hindi speakers from outside the state to find jobs in Karnataka, cutting into the the employment prospects of locals. Many referred to the recent report of recruitment for Gramin Banking Service in Karnataka, where out of 18,000 personnel recruited, only 1,060 were people belonging to the state, to support their argument.

Civic issues cannot be ignored, especially when one considers the plight of the state’s capital. Bengaluru’s potholes are now legendary. According to NCRB data, Bengaluru accounts for 30 incidents and 31 deaths “caused due to negligence of civic bodies.” Bengaluru topped the charts during the years 2019 and 2020 too.

After receiving heavy rainfall, the city saw massive flooding, bringing the city’s infrastructure to a standstill. Several IT parks were submerged in the Mahadevapura zone along with the Sarjapur and Bellandur area, with water gushing into houses. Karnataka has a grim reality of caste discrimination, especially in the rural areas.

A fine of Rs 60,000 was imposed on a Dalit teenager in a village in Kolar for touching a pole that was attached to a Hindu deity. A 2022 survey by Grameena Koolikarara Sangha in Raichur district has found that Dalits enter temples in only nine of the 56 surveyed villages.

Between 2019 and 2021, there was a 11 percent increase in violence against Dalits. Employment and education must be looked out for the young. With Covid hurting the economy over the past two years, Karnataka saw 754 factories downing the shutters leaving more than 46,500 employees without a job or financial relief or alternative employment from the government.

In the state that houses the silicon valley, over 40 percent of children did not get even a full 12 years of basic education as of 2021 – 2022. To paint a clearer picture, the neighbouring states, Tamil Nadu and Kerala had 81 percent and 85 percent of teenagers transitioning to high school.

Karnataka’s urban sex ratio at birth is the fourth worst in the country, despite the state being the third richest. Furthermore, it has fallen since 2018, while many states have improved.