Several cases have come to the fore where North Indians have highlighted alleged discrimination against non-Kannadiga speakers amid a push for the local language from the Congress-led dispensation in the southern state. A woman from the tech capital has stirred controversy after lashing out at the giant food delivery app Swiggy for not deploying Kannada-speaking delivery agents for service in Bengaluru. She questioned whether locals need to learn other states' languages. The Swiggy customer shared a screenshot of her order details and wrote, “Bengaluru is in Karnataka or Pakistan @swiggy? Your delivery guy is neither speaking nor understanding Kannada, not even English. Do you expect us to learn his state language Hindi in our land? Stop imposing things on us and make sure your delivery persons know Kannada.”
The woman's post has sparked a flurry of reactions.
Bengaluru is in Karnataka or Pakistan @Swiggy ?Your delivery guy is neither speaking nor understanding #kannada ,not even #English. Do you expect us to learn his state language #Hindi in our land? Stop imposing things on us and make sure your delivery persons know #Kannada. pic.twitter.com/smzQ6Mp7SV
— Rekha 🌸 (@detached_98) September 12, 2024
A user wrote, “Due to the ongoing language tensions in Karnataka, reports suggest that 53 companies have been approached by Surat, Lucknow, and Indore to relocate—14 of which are multinationals. This could significantly affect Bengaluru’s startup culture and global presence. Will the city’s tech hub status remain secure?”
Another user commented, “As long as the delivery is done on time, who cares about the linguistic skills of the delivery boy!”
“Is Bengaluru in Karnataka or England? As far as I know, English wasn’t originally a cultural language in Karnataka,” one user slammed the woman.
While a large section of users criticised the Bengaluru woman for her harsh comments about the delivery agent, a few also supported her, stating that people must learn the local language for basic communication in a different state. One user said, “I know the pain, at least you spoke about it in Kannada.”