Number Theory: A look at urban migration amid language riots in India

Is fear of migrants taking over the most lucrative segments of Karnataka’s economy fuelling such violence in India’s biggest urban centres?

The last week of December 2023 saw pro-Kannada groups running riot in Bengaluru. While language riots are not new in India and have erupted from time to time in various parts of the country, the latest violence in Bengaluru was, in a way, unique. It was more pro-Kannada than anti-anything such as the anti-Hindi violence in Tamil Nadu or anti-Bengali violence in Assam that rocked these respective states in the 1950s and 1960s.

Activists of the Karnataka Rakshana Vedike during a rally over the 60% Kannada sign board rules, in Bengaluru on December 27, 2023.(PTI)