Bengaluru tech founder's BIG move after SBI manager faces backlash over language row: ‘Do not want my non-Kannada…'

Mint

23-05-2025

A Bengaluru based tech founder has had enough of what he calls the city's 'language nonsense' and he's decided to shift his company from Bengaluru to Pune. The reason? He does not want his staff to become a 'victim' of the Kannada language row that refuses to die down.
"Today I took a decision to wind up our Bangalore office in the next 6 months and move it to Pune. If this language nonsense is to continue, I do not want my non Kannada speaking staff to be the next "victim". This idea was mooted by the staff themselves. I agreed to their POV," wrote the founder. The founder's post
The incident reportedly took place in Chandapura, a southern suburb of Bengaluru. A video of the episode quickly made its rounds on social media, drawing widespread attention and sparking conversation.
The founder's decision to shift from Pune to Bengaluru to save his staff from becoming 'victims' of the langugae uproar, however, did not go very well with netizens.
Several X users pointed out that he and his staff should have learned the Kannada language instead.
'Sir you earn profits in Karnataka but no effort to learn their language?? Not a good gesture,' commented one user.
' At least some efforts should be made to learn kannada. Learning few sentences in kannada will help a lot for comfortable stay in karnataka. Leaving Bengaluru is not a wise decision. Anybody can work/live anywhere in this country. Nobody has any right to push a person out of a region,' added a second person.
The SBI manager's now viral video sparked widespread outrage, with sharp criticism pouring in from Kannada activists and political leaders. Among them was Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya, who called the manager's remarks 'not acceptable' in a post on X.
'If you're working in customer-facing roles in Karnataka—especially in sectors like banking—you must be able to communicate with customers in the language they understand,' Surya wrote. He reiterated his long-standing call for banks and public institutions to deploy staff fluent in Kannada for roles involving local interaction.
Responding to the uproar, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah also condemned the manager's conduct, urging the Union Finance Ministry to introduce cultural and language sensitivity training for banking staff across the country.
In the wake of the backlash, the manager was transferred, and both the bank and the individual have since issued formal apologies. In a statement issued in Kannada, the manager reportedly promised to be more mindful and respectful in future interactions with customers.