The riot at Bangalore, in the state of Karnataka, began as a protest over sharing river waters with the neighboring state of Tamil Nadu but swiftly spilled into a protest against outsiders, with old linguistic and cultural animosities asserting themselves. Kannadigas, the native people of the state, attacked Tamil homes, businesses and residents...

Banglaore is the capital of Karnataka, which has a population of about 40 million, including many Tamils who have lived here for decades.

Hostility toward the Tamils and, to a lesser extent, other outsiders has grown over the decades. "They are aggressive, intolerant, they don't learn anything about Kannadiga history, culture or Kannada language, and they dominate us economically," a lawmaker said of outsiders.

Anti-Tamil resentment was reflected in attacks on Tamil movie theaters, newspaper offices, businesses anad vehicles with Tamil Nadu license plates.

Kannan, a local Tamil leader, said: "Most of us are illiterate. We are construction workers, porters. How can we be an economic threat to the Kannadigas?"

But he and others like Kulandavelu Antalagan, a Tamil lecturer at a local college, acknowledged that they were aware of the hostility against Tamils for not mingling with other local residents and their insistence on retaining their language and traditions.

Many Tamils who were attacked appear determined to stay despite the fear and the failure of the police to protect them. The Government has given each displaced family the equivalent of $20 and pledged to rebuild the houses.

"We have nowhere else to go, and we will live and die here," said one Tamil, M. J. Kannanukl.

http://www.nytimes.com/1992/01/05/world/tamils-are-target-of-riots-in-southern-india.html

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This article is from 1992. I am referring to it to point out that that there does exist some resentment for tamils in Karnataka. The larger point i am making is that Kannadigas feel more threatened by Tamils than by NI's. Two reasons for this seem to be the Cauvery water problem and the fact that tamils fighting under the british had fought against kannadigas fighting against Tipu Sultan and that particular fight has not been forgotten by kannadigas.

I provide the following information from the British paper Sunday Observer:

"Crimes against Tamils were committed in connivance with the state police and some local political leaders."

"Local politicians and police shared the looted properties."

"Numbers of Tamil women were killed after being gang raped. Some women were tortured and raped. Numbers of Tamil women were missing."

"Two dead bodies and another on the verge of death were found at one place. The dead bodies were that of the father and mother of the young girl whose breasts were chopped off and still barely alive."

"A 14-year old girl was raped and murdered in front of her father."

"A group of Tamils were traveling (escaping!) to Kerala State from Karnataka. A mob of Kannadigas stopped them and took away ten women and girls between the ages of 15 and 25. They were never seen again."

While independent Indian and foreign news organizations reported the enormity of the situation, the Indian-government run Television and Radio showed its anti-Tamil bias by downplaying the situation as if nothing much was happening against Tamils in Karnataka. This biased reporting infuriated even Chief Minister Jayalalitha that she publicly complained about it.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa asked the Indian government to deploy the army to violence-struck areas. The Indian government refused. Note that this orgy of violence against Tamils was not a one-day event. It continued for well over two weeks.

We do not hold all Kannadigas responsible. This is the act of a few. In some instances Kannadigas sheltered Tamil neighbors from the criminal elements.

http://www.tamiltribune.com/98/0201.html