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Zoho CEO Sridhar Vembu recently caused a stir on social media with his remarks about the importance of learning Kannada for those who consider Bengaluru their home. Vembu’s comment came in response to a post on X (formerly Twitter) that showed two men wearing T-shirts with “Hindi National Language” written on them. The caption read, “Perfect T-shirt for Bangalore trip,” which seemed to imply that Hindi was the primary language in the city.
In response, Vembu wrote, “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.”
This comment sparked a range of reactions from social media users. While some agreed with Vembu’s viewpoint, others were critical of his stance, arguing that it was unfair to expect everyone to learn the local language. One user responded, “I have many Kannada friends in Mumbai, living here for decades. No one can speak Marathi. Not one word. Fair?” Another commented, “You sound immature here. Being disrespectful for any language, culture is unacceptable, but not learning a language is being disrespectful? Logic dies there.”
In contrast, others shared their own experiences of learning local languages while living in different parts of India. One X user recalled, “Most Tamils and Malayalis living back in Calcutta would speak Bengali fluently. One of them was my English professor, Late N Vishwanathan. He was an award-winning actor as well. Love the local language dialect if you are living for a long time.”
A fourth individual raised concerns about practical communication, stating, “Language is a means of communication. People do whatever is needed for their survival. In Bengaluru, I meet more non-Kannadigas than Kannadigas. 90% of them, when they speak, use English. How do you expect someone moving to Bangalore to prioritise Kannada over English?”
Sridhar Vembu’s Background
Sridhar Vembu, a well-known entrepreneur with a net worth of $5.8 billion, is the founder and CEO of Zoho, a leading provider of cloud-based business software. Vembu founded the company, originally named AdventNet, alongside his two siblings and three friends. A Princeton graduate with a PhD in electrical engineering, Vembu began his career at Qualcomm in 1994 and went on to establish Zoho as a key player in the global tech industry.
Vembu’s comments regarding language have sparked a larger debate on social media about the balance between respecting local culture and the practicality of using widely spoken languages like English in cosmopolitan cities like Bengaluru. The controversy highlights the complex nature of language politics in India, where linguistic diversity often intersects with regional pride and cultural identity.
Sources By Agencies
