The Karnataka Rakshana Vedike has launched a month-long campaign to collect information from IT and biotechnology companies about employment opportunities for Kannadigas and press firms to provide greater opportunities to local candidates.
The campaign will begin from Karnataka Rajyotsava day, according to a statement by the organisation’s state president T. A. Narayanagowda. The organisation plans to visit IT-BT companies, meet company leaders and human resources officials, and submit letters demanding information and action on local hiring.
The campaign follows a public debate over complaints that Kannadigas are not receiving adequate employment opportunities in companies operating in Karnataka. Narayanagowda said Kannada-speaking IT employees had raised concerns about employment difficulties, alleged discrimination in recruitment and a lack of opportunities for local candidates.
Several teams have been formed for the campaign, with each team comprising 10 office-bearers and activists, the statement said. These teams will meet company heads, human resources officials and other responsible representatives to seek details about the employment opportunities made available to Kannadigas.
The organisation said it would seek answers on the current status of Kannada representation in company workforces, the criteria used when hiring local candidates, and why qualified Kannada-speaking applicants may be denied opportunities. It also said the campaign would examine the reasons for alleged discrimination against local candidates during recruitment.
Alongside information from companies, the teams will collect complaints from Kannada-speaking employees and jobseekers. The organisation said this exercise was intended to establish the nature and extent of the issue using factual information and assess the need for corrective measures.
Narayanagowda urged company managements and human resources officials to cooperate with the campaign, respond transparently to questions about employment opportunities and provide clarity on their recruitment practices. He also called for steps to ensure that Kannadigas were not treated unfairly.
The campaign follows the circulation of a video by a young woman who said she was unable to obtain employment at IT companies because she had identified Kannada as her mother tongue. The video triggered a wider public debate, including a response from Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar, and was discussed extensively on social media.
The campaign’s planned company visits and collection of employment-related complaints will determine what information the organisation is able to gather. The statement did not provide a list of companies to be visited, a proposed definition of local hiring, or details of any formal mechanism through which the collected information would be submitted to the government.
