'Ignore the politics, let us learn the language!': Zoho CEO's advise to learn Hindi sparks debate

Amid the ongoing language war in Tamil Nadu, Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu, in a post on X, advised all engineers and entrepreneurs to learn the language Hindi, as not knowing the language could pose a "serious handicap" in the business field, sparking a massive debate on social media.

The CEO in his post said, "As Zoho grows rapidly in India, we have rural engineers in Tamil Nadu working closely with customers in Mumbai and Delhi, so much of our business is driven from these cities and from Gujarat. Rural jobs in Tamil Nadu depend on us serving those customers well."

He further said, “Not knowing Hindi is often a serious handicap for us in Tamil Nadu. It is smart for us to learn Hindi. I have learned to read Hindi haltingly in the last 5 years and I can now understand about 20 per cent of what is spoken".

“As India is a fast growing economy, engineers and entrepreneurs in Tamil Nadu will be smart to learn Hindi. Ignore the politics, let us learn the language!” he said.

Netizens questioned his views, wanting to understand the need to prioritise Hindi in a business setup.

Amid the series of backlashes, the response given by MP MM Abdulla, who taking a dig asked the CEO how he was able to expand the business in Saudi Arabia without having known Arabic.

Abdulla replying to the post said, "Dear Mr. Vembu sir, congratulations on expanding your business in Saudi Arabia! It’s impressive how you achieved this without learning Hindi. So, why are you insisting that Tamils must learn Hindi?"

To this Vembu said, “We also have Arabic speakers in Chennai to work with those Middle East customers who need Arabic support.” He also laid stress on the languages Hindi and Urdu stating that they are actually “extremely helpful in the Middle East, apart from Malayalam and Tamil”.

“I am sure you know all this Sir but I am sorry your politics forces you not to see the truth,” Vembu said in the post replying to Abdulla’s remarks.

The MP responding to this said, “If Zoho requires its engineers to know Hindi or Arabic, why can’t you train them like every other major company does? Why should millions of Tamil students be burdened with a third language they don’t need?”

“Your argument exposes the real intent.. forcing Hindi on Tamil Nadu in the guise of PRACTICALITY. Business needs should be addressed with training, not by dictating what an entire state must study,” he added.

Vembu stating that there was no political agenda hidden behind his remarks replied, “Sir, Given the economic growth in India and the prospects for further rapid growth (and given the demographic reality of that growth), smart people and smart businesses make smart bets. I would like our Tamil brothers and sisters to take advantage of that rapid growth while being able to stay near their family and friends. That is why we are hiring so many in rural areas. I am sorry you see a political agenda in this.”

Several other users too reacted to the CEO’s post said, wherein one user said, “ To communicate with Hindi clients, just 3 month training of some employees in ur company is enough. Why all students from tamilnadu need to study 12 years hindi?”

Another user wrote, “ This is the first time I hear from an cyber tech biggie to say a verbal language is important than a computer language for the IT sector.”

However another user supporting Vembu's stance said, "Thanks for bringing up this sir. I find all non Tamil folks interacting in Hindi in my Bangalore office. Not knowing Hindi is a real disadvantage for most Tamil folks here. And, my struggle in Delhi when I worked there for a few months was so painful."