Overview

• Abhijit Chakraborty, a Delhi-based entrepreneur, described the ongoing Kannada language debates in Bengaluru as 'terrible PR' for the city in a LinkedIn post.
• Chakraborty emphasized that language should serve as a means of communication rather than fuel cultural conflicts, citing his own experiences in adapting to local languages in Delhi.
• He argued that people will naturally learn Kannada over time if they live in Bengaluru and feel drawn to the language, opposing forced language adoption.
• The controversy follows a viral incident involving an SBI manager in Bengaluru who refused to speak Kannada, prompting his transfer and public apologies from both him and the bank.
• While language advocates stress the importance of learning Kannada as a sign of respect for local culture, critics contend that such expectations are exclusionary in a diverse, cosmopolitan city.