Language Debate Reignites After Zoho CEO Sridhar Vembu Urges Bengaluru Residents To Learn Kannada

The language debate has reignited on social media following comments by Zoho CEO Sridhar Vembu, who encouraged those settling in Bengaluru to learn Kannada, describing a failure to do so as "disrespectful."

Vembu's remarks came in response to a post on X showing two men wearing T-shirts with the print "Hindi National Language," captioned "Perfect T-shirt for Bangalore trip." The post was later deleted.

Photo Credit: https://x.com/svembu

Responses to the Post

Moneycontrol journalist Chandra R. Srikanth highlighted the irony of individuals readily learning foreign languages for travel abroad but neglecting local Indian languages.

"People won't think for a minute before buying English to French, English to Spanish and English to Italian dictionaries while flying abroad. But God forbid if you tell them to try and be courteous enough to learn a local language in India. There are folks who go on saying Kannada gothila (I don't know Kannada) for years like it is a badge of honour," she tweeted.

Srikanth added a disclaimer, noting that Kannada is not her mother tongue but that she has made an effort to learn it over the years.

She shared, "Full disclaimer: My mother tongue is not Kannada, but I picked up the language in the last decade that I lived here. My Kannada is not perfect and I still struggle with full sentences, but people really appreciate it when you at least make an effort."

Vembu's Reaction

Vembu endorsed the journalist's views, asserting that those who consider Bengaluru their home should learn Kannada. He stated:
"I agree with this sentiment. If you make Bengaluru your home, you should learn Kannada, and your kids should learn Kannada. Not doing so after living many years in Bengaluru is disrespectful. I often request our employees in Chennai coming from other states to make an effort to learn Tamil after they come here."

Public Reactions

Vembu's comments sparked an online debate over whether learning a language should be a personal choice or a social obligation.

One user argued: "I have many Kannada friends in Mumbai, living here for decades. No one can speak Marathi. Not one word. Fair?"

Another pointed out the challenges for professionals frequently relocating: "The problem is that an IT professional working in Chennai for 3 years could move to Bengaluru for 5 years and then to Hyderabad for 2 years. So, by this logic, they should learn Tamil, Kannada, and Telugu in those years and then return to their hometown in Maharashtra and never use these languages again."

Some took a satirical tone, with one user writing: "Great Sir. Let's divide the country and require something like an IELTS certificate in the local language for entry. Just before that, the tagline of our country, Unity in Diversity, should be immersed in the Ganga at Varanasi."