A simmering language row in Karnataka has taken a sharper turn. What began as outrage over a Bengaluru bank manager refusing to speak Kannada has snowballed into broader concerns about the sidelining of the state’s official language.
The manager’s comment — “This is India, I’ll speak Hindi, not Kannada” — ignited protests led by pro-Kannada groups and drew a stern response from Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. State Bank of India reacted swiftly, transferring the manager and issuing an apology. But the language war isn’t cooling off.
Fueling the fire, a new flashpoint has emerged — this time over ATM language options. A customer took to social media to call out Union Bank of India for not offering Kannada as a language choice at an ATM outside its Nagarbhavi branch near the NLS campus.
“Hello, @UnionBankTweets at ur ATM outside the Nagarbhavi Branch near the NLS campus, had literally wasted so much time searching for My language Kannada., after reading ‘Select Your Language’ but only to find English and another alien language Hindi. What’s the whole point of Giving Hindi and not providing Kannada?” the user posted on X (formerly Twitter).
The backlash was immediate. Critics questioned the tone and intent of the post.
“You could have just said English and Hindi but you have to use a derogatory word, ‘alien,’ before it. Your fight is for Kannada language or it is to insult other languages?” a user replied.
Another scoffed, “If you post this \[in] English, you can use ATM in English as well! Next what? Why Microsoft Windows is not in Kannada? Morons… disgrace to History of Karnataka!!”
One more added, “Only people like you find Hindi as an alien language while typing all these nonsense in a language which was imposed by your colonial rulers. Typical brown sepoy. Unfit for countries like India.”
These tensions aren’t isolated. In September 2024, Prof. Purushottama Bilimale, Chairman of the Kannada Development Authority, warned against the growing influence of Hindi and called for collective resistance. Around the same time, the 87th Kannada Sahitya Sammelana in Mandya amplified voices opposing the centralisation of Hindi.
The wave of protests and pushback reflects a broader cultural struggle — between preserving local linguistic identities and accommodating a national language framework. Language, as Karnataka’s recent events show, is not just a means of communication but a marker of identity. And for many, the perceived erasure of Kannada from public platforms is a battle too personal to ignore.
