Kaushik Mukherjee, a tech entrepreneur based in Bengaluru, has revealed plans to shift his company’s office to Pune within the next six months. This move comes in the wake of a recent controversy at an SBI branch in Bengaluru’s Chandapura locality, where a bank manager reportedly declined to speak in Kannada, asserting, “This is India, I’ll speak Hindi, not Kannada.” The incident drew sharp backlash from Kannada activists and political figures, including MP Tejasvi Surya and Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. Following public outrage, the manager was transferred, and both the individual and the bank issued formal apologies.
Mukherjee pointed to the rising linguistic tensions in Karnataka as the reason behind the relocation, expressing concern for his non-Kannada-speaking employees and their potential to face similar situations. He said the suggestion to move originated from his team, and he supported the idea. His decision has sparked a wider discussion about language use in public services and how it affects businesses operating in linguistically diverse areas.
The situation underscores the complexities companies face in multicultural regions and highlights the need for greater cultural and linguistic awareness in customer-facing environments.
