The protests continue! Pro-Kannada activists agitating against the influx of non-Kannadigas into Bangalore

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27
Bangalore, 11 a.m.

The yellow and red flags that pro-Kannada activists use as their calling card have been waved on many occasions before. Supporters of Kannada film superstar Rajkumar waved them vigorously to protest against the actor's kidnapping by sandalwood smuggler Veerappan, and agitators used them again during the spat with Tamil Nadu over Cauvery waters. I am standing in front of the Infosys campus at Electronics City, off Hosur Road, feeling more than a trifle out of place, surrounded by a sea of 500-odd protestors. Their demand: recruit more Kannadigas. Infosys' gates remain firmly shut and employees duck under the very visible police cordon to enter the campus. The flag-waving protestors are led by Narayana Gowda, the fiery, pot-bellied convener of the Karnataka Rakshana Vedike, a fringe pro-Kannada organisation. Gowda works his motley crew, many of whom wear yellow and red scarves, inciting them with volleys of anti-industry slogans, and provoking them to heckle Infoscions ensconced in their air-conditioned cocoon inside their verdant, space-age oasis. He acts as the cheerleader and spokesperson for the protestors, alternately deriding it companies and (being media-savvy despite external appearances) taking time out every few minutes to make scathing comments against Karnataka Inc.

As I size up the scene, it seems the clout of Infosys and the it industry-which employs some two lakh techies in Karnataka and exports Rs 27,000 crore of software and invisibles from the state-has won this round; the posse of policemen posted at the spot prevents the agitation from getting out of hand. The fire-breathing Gowda attacks the corporate sector for not taking better care of locals. "We don't mind long-time residents getting jobs. Our main issue is with companies bringing in people from other states to fill up vacancies," he fumes. "Given the benefits the industry receives from the state government, it's only fair that it hires locals (30 per cent as per the recommendations of the Sarojini Mahishi Report) in return."

Software pros are clearly unimpressed. One code jock curses softly in Hindi, shoulders his ThinkPad and ducks behind the security barrier into the campus; drivers mill around making fatal predictions about Infosys and their own future. The protestors close ranks and move into a tighter circle, lifting their placards and flags; slogans blasting Infosys bosses N.R. Narayana Murthy, Mohandas Pai and others for their alleged anti-Kannada attitudes rent the air. The pitch is rising. The excitement among the protestors is palpable. Gowda is enjoying his role as conductor of this chaotic orchestra. This carries on for two hours; then it's back to work for everyone.

His next stop, a few days later: the IBM office in south Bangalore. The cause is the same; and IBM's reaction predictable. A company spokesperson stresses its "merit-based" recruitment policy. It doesn't seem unduly worried. "We did take some precautions like asking employees to come in early and rescheduled some meetings; otherwise it was business as usual," says the spokesperson.

So where's the administration during these protests? "The Chief Minister (Dharam Singh) and Industries Minister (P.G.R. Sindhia) have held extensive talks with it companies, and we have taken steps to sort out the issue," says Y.S.V. Datar, the Janata Dal (S) General Secretary, whose party is part of the ruling coalition in the state.

As he walks away from the scene of his latest protest, Gowda says his plans are just beginning to unfold. "We will organise many more protests that will culminate in a grand rally in end-October," he thunders. But the IT industry is not running scared. It is betting that Bangalore's inherent cosmopolitanism (Kannadigas make up less than a fifth of the city's seven million inhabitants) will ensure that oddballs like Gowda remain fringe elements.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 5
Chennai, 9.00 a.m.

Not to be left behind, the fairer sex takes to the streets! Members of the moral police holding dharnas in Chennai

Sipping my morning Kaapi, I pick up the papers to find Chennai full of angst; the city, it seems, is going through an agonising self-examination following the publication, by a Tamil daily, of pictures taken surreptitiously at a pub. The images of couples dancing and kissing at a private party had, the daily implied, deeply offended Dravidian values. On cue, the police (but of course) gallantly rushed to repair the breach by shutting down the pub. The intelligentsia is up in arms against this moral policing, and reporters are having a field day posing 'Where is Chennai headed?' questions to all and sundry. Ad guru Prahlad Kakkar has promptly responded, saying something pompous about a city Talibanising itself, while columnists are lamenting Chennai's regression into the dark ages.

Other such stray incidents have added to the impression that some amount of fundamentalism might be creeping in. These come at a time when Chennai is beginning to attract huge foreign investment; will such exhibition of intolerance threaten this flow?

I ask and the answer is a reassuring no. While there's no denying that avant garde sits uneasily on angavasthram-clad shoulders, it's equally true that the average Chennaiite is fairly tolerant. Such incidents are typically politically motivated and inevitable. As Daniel Jebasingh, Director (hr), Ajuba Solutions, says: "These dramas fizzle out. They cannot constrain growth opportunities."

When I speak to Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) President G.K. Mani, he sounds equally reasonable. "We welcome these companies coming in; they increase employment and revenue." What he does add, though, is that the party would like to preserve Tamil culture and ensure that the city's youth get jobs. "We are sending letters to the companies informing them about our views."

I speak to corporate executives. They ask why on earth companies will stay away if they get infrastructure and an educated workforce here? Says Farid A. Husain, Director, Enricher Wealth Management Consultants: "Companies ignore such incidents. If they can cut costs by 20 per cent in Chennai, they will come here."

Even a decade ago, no Tambram father would have sent his daughter on night shift. Today, Jebasingh says, women make up 40 to 50 per cent of the BPO workforce. So much for the party poopers.

P.S.: Incidentally, those "offending" pictures were published because the reporter concerned was furious at being denied entry into the pub the night before.