These dissenting voices were overwhelmed by the strident tone of groups such as the Kannada Shakti Kendra and the Rajkumar Abhimanigala sangha against Tamil cultural assertion, a tone that became more menacing in the days leading up to the Cauvery agitation and anti-Tamil riots of December 1991 following a central directive regarding the sharing of the Cauvery river waters. Many Kannada leaders emphasised that the people of Karnataka were paying the price for their historic tolerance of other communities; violence was to be the new language of the Kannada movement. No wonder then that the Tamil groups in turn took to a defensive reinterpretation of Bangalore's history, suggesting through an analysis of place names and temples that the region had been a Tamil stronghold since the time of the Cholas. "In fact," said the Tamil Sangham pamphlet A Mute Genocide, "Tamils of Bangalore and Kolar are the original inhabitants and these areas were gradually colonised". The alleged arrogance of former Tamil Sangam President Maran in saying "I was born in Bangalore, not in Karnataka" echoed demands for Bangalore's "autonomy" from the region.
