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Delhi-based entrepreneur Abhijit Chakraborty said conversations must not end up “being a culture war”.
Abhijit Chakraborty says recurring language rows are hurting Bengaluru’s image and turning everyday conversations into culture wars. (IMAGE: LINKEDIN)
The language debate in Bengaluru has once again sparked a wider conversation and how it’s affecting the city’s image. A Delhi-based entrepreneur says these recurring debates over Kannada language in India’s Silicon Valley are doing “terrible PR” for the state’s capital.
Abhijit Chakraborty, founder of Alphanumero Agency & Studio, shared his views on LinkedIn, calling language nothing more than a basic tool for communication.
“Any language, in everyday life, is simply a means to communicate,” he wrote, adding that people usually figure out a way to understand each other even when they don’t share a common tongue.
Citing an example, Chakraborty said that if someone from Chennai is trying to hail an auto in Delhi and that interaction turned into a cultural standoff, he said, “you’d never reach your destination.”
Chakraborty also pointed to his time in Delhi, where even after knowing Bengali, Hindi and English, he had to get familiar with Punjabi. “Because it’s everywhere,” he said. Even without fluency, he picked up enough to understand conversations and respond in his own way and was helped in part by his interest in Sikh history.
The same, he argued, applies to Kannada. People who stay in Bengaluru long enough, and who feel drawn to the language, will naturally learn it. “Shoving a language down someone’s throat never works,” he added.
His post struck a chord with many. One commenter said she had been married to a Kannadiga for four years but only knows a few Kannada words. Still, she’s slowly learning to follow conversations. “Language should be a bridge, not a battleground,” she wrote. “These culture wars only distract from the real issues.”
Another user said the only way to get others to learn your language is “to make it cool.” A third pointed out that aggressive language policing in the name of cultural preservation is bound to backfire.
The LinkedIn post comes days after a video from an SBI branch in Bengaluru’s Chandapura area showed a bank manager refusing to speak Kannada, insisting: “This is India, I’ll speak Hindi, not Kannada.” The video triggered backlash from pro-Kannada activists and politicians. The manager was later transferred, and both he and the bank issued apologies.
Language advocates say learning Kannada is a matter of respect. Critics argue it’s not that simpl, especially in a city as diverse and cosmopolitan as Bengaluru.
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