Follow Us "SBI Bank_Bengaluru Employee")
Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah has urged language sensitisation programmes for all central government employees.
The viral video of an SBI bank manager in Karnataka refusing to speak Kannada despite the customer’s repeated requests has re-ignited conversation around language imposition in the state. The woman apologised, but was transferred, following the incident. Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah urged language sensitisation programmes for all central government employees.
“I only speak Hindi. I will not speak Kannada. Where is the rule that says I must speak Kannada?” Priyanka Singh, manager at the State Bank of India (SBI) branch in Chandapura, had asked. Several recent incidents highlight how tensions over language simmers in the state.
What are the other incidents?
The most controversial of these was the one in which playback singer Sonu Nigam was booked by Bengaluru police for comparing a Kannada song request to the Pahalgam terror attack. “Kannada, Kannada…this is the reason why the Pahalgam terror attack happened,” Sonu Nigam said during a concert. He issued an apology later, but the damage was done.
In April, a video showing a heated argument between a non-Kannadiga man and a Bengaluru auto rickshaw driver went viral. “You have come to Bengaluru, you speak in Kannada. I won’t speak in Hindi,” the auto driver is heard saying, visibly agitated. In response, the man insists, “Speak in Hindi in Bengaluru,” while others in his group attempt to defuse the tension.
Related Articles
In the same month, a call centre employee Vikas Kumar was attacked by an Indian Air Force (IAF) officer Shiladitya Bose in Bengaluru over a road rage incident on linguistic lines. In a video shared on social media, Shiladitya alleged that Vikas had approached him and his wife near CV Raman Nagar and abused him in Kannada without any provocation. He further claimed that Vikas had assaulted him. However, police said that CCTV footage later revealed both men had physically attacked each other, though it remained unclear who had initiated the confrontation.
On February 2, an altercation erupted at Gabru Bistro and Cafe near Hesaraghatta Road in Bengaluru after a food delivery worker asked the cafe staff to speak in Kannada. The food delivery partner later alleged that he was assaulted for making the request. The police registered two FIRs in connection with the case. A video of the confrontation quickly went viral, fueling a heated debate on social media, underscoring the rising sensitivity around language identity in the state.
In March, Kannada organisations in the state held a series of protests following an alleged assault on a bus conductor in Belagavi, which borders Maharashtra, on February 22.
The bus conductor was allegedly assaulted by a group of people after he asked a couple of passengers to speak in Kannada as he could not understand Marathi. The incident turned into a controversy, with Karnataka and Maharashtra suspending inter-state bus services for several days fearing violence.
Last year, an Instagram influencer, Sugandh Sharma shared a video claiming that if North Indians (Northies) were to leave Bengaluru, the city would be empty. This statement sparked outrage among locals, with many calling her remarks disrespectful to the city's culture and heritage.
