Shops were shuttered and political leaders took to the streets on Friday as a mark of protest over violence against Tamil people in Karnataka as well as demanding more water from the Cauvery river for the state. Ever since the Supreme Court ordered Karnataka to release Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu on September 5, tensions have been bubbling between Kannada and Tamil-speaking communities in both states.

Both states have seen sporadic instances of violence over the past ten days, be it the torching of 30 buses owned by a private Tamil Nadu operator in Bangalore or the vandalising of a hotel in Chennai owned by a family of Karnataka origin. Shops were attacked in Karnataka just as banks were picketed in Tamil Nadu. Two persons were killed as a result of the outbreak of violence in Bengaluru. Overall, the scene has been nothing short of ugly.

Demonstrations across Chennai on Friday, leading to the death of one person who immolated himself, again seemed to reiterate the impression over the last week or so that people in the two states are adversaries in a zero-sum game. But many citizens have also taken to social media to remind people that Tamilians and Kannadigas have a deep, shared history.

Twitter handle @IndiaHistorypic has been using historical images to promote harmony between Tamil and Kannadiga communities, especially of famous personalities of each state having links with the other. These have been posted with #Peace and #IndiaFirst.

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“My purpose was to show that Tamils have Kannada interest in their heart and vice versa. Both Tamils and Kannada people are Indians first,” @IndiaHistorypic told The Hindu.

This trend seemed to catch on. Another Twitter account, which uses satire to make points, @RealHistorypic posted a picture on the Cauvery issue and the need to work towards a solution.

Several citizens have also been using social media to campaign against communal violence in each state. By using the #CauveryUnited, these citizens declared their non-endorsement of violence in the name of Tamils and Kannadigas.

There have also been several reminders of the help extended by the people of Karnataka to Chennai's citizens during the floods. In a Facebook post on September 11, Balaji Patturaj, popularly known as RJ Balaji wrote, "Its only a few violent groups, which are responsible for the attacks against Tamils in Karnataka. Thats a shame but for which let's not create hate tags against the entire state n its people. Its not gonna help our farmers here, rather it might worsen the situation of Tamils in Karnataka."

Indeed, the social media posts are a worthwhile reminder of the complexities of the current Cauvery agitation which date back decades and actually are the result of another thing that both Karnataka and Tamil Nadu share: Both states have terribly mismanaged their water and have local media networks that have done little to help the situation.