Bangalore, Aug. 29: The director of a central institute credited with breakthroughs in food technology has been transferred reportedly at the behest of pro-Kannada groups for his refusal to let the campus be used for cultural events that have little to do with research.

Ram Rajashekaran, the director of Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI), Mysore, has been replaced after pressure from Kannada activists who sought his scalp for his alleged discrimination against the local language and culture.

The change of guard is the latest instance of the Kannada campaigners having their way after Bangalore Metro was recently forced to remove Hindi signboards.

The cultural activism is incongruous with the cosmopolitan and tech-friendly image associated with Bangalore but it mirrors the patronage such campaigners receive from most political parties, including the ruling Congress that has been tugging at local sentiments ahead of the Assembly elections next year.

The CFTRI functions under the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research and is known for its research in food technology. Among its array of achievements are long-lasting high-protein processed foods that help feed survivors of natural calamities like earthquakes and floods and food-preservation packaging.

The institute confirmed that the transfer order was received on August 25 and Rajashekaran has since been on medical leave but did not attribute any reason for the shift.

Rajashekaran told The Telegraph he had no idea why he was transferred. "I am still trying to understand the reason for the transfer as I haven't had time to check. I am still on medical leave," he said.

On his run-ins with pro-Kannada activists, Rajashekaran said: "I am sure you already know about the issues. I have nothing more to say now."

The irony is that Rajashekaran has been credited with opening up the institute to local farmers. "All I care is he is an Indian and he did some great work. Before he took over, we farmers had no idea what the CFTRI was all about," Kurubur Shanta Kumar, president of Indian Sugarcane Farmers' Association, told this newspaper.

"He went out of his way to provide high-yield millet seeds that helped us increase our income as it requires very less water. I don't understand the issues as the CFTRI is a central agency free to appoint anyone in any position. The central government shouldn't have transferred him," he said.

The director of the National Aerospace Laboratory, Jitendra Jadhav, has been asked to hold additional charge at the CFTRI until a replacement is found.

Rajashekaran, who hails from Tamil Nadu and was appointed director about five years ago, had reportedly stopped a long-standing practice of allowing the in-house Kannada group to hold its cultural and literary events on the CFTRI campus.

The director's stand was that the campus should not be used for any non-scientific activity.

In January 2014, when Rajashekaran was just 18 months into the job, pro-Kannada activists had roughed him up and sprayed black paint on him. The self-appointed guardian of the state's language and culture, the Kannada Rakshana Vedike, was then held responsible. The outfit had termed it as a "retaliation" for denying permission to hold a Kannada festival on the CFTRI campus.

Last month, the Kannada Development Authority (KDA), a government body assigned to safeguard the state's language, intervened. KDA chairman S.G. Siddaramiah had met Rajashekaran to "review" the implementation of the Kannada language in the institute.

The KDA subsequently sent out a circular with a 15-day deadline to rectify the alleged lapses that included the suspension of three Kannadiga employees and remove the "anti-Kannada" atmosphere from the campus.

One of the employees who faced disciplinary action for defying the director's orders against holding cultural events on the campus told this newspaper that the CFTRI always encouraged local events until Rajashekaran arrived. "We have had several Tamil-speaking officials, but never had any issue. In fact, the new director is a Maharashtrian," said the official who now hopes to resume the activities suspended for the past five years.