Language row: Be it Noida or Bengaluru, 'Hindi mein baat karo...' man tells auto driver, video goes viral

While the reason behind the clash between the two remains unknown, this incident has paved the way for fresh rounds of debate over the language in the city.

In a recent incident, a video from Bengaluru showing a heated argument between a man and an autorickshaw driver has been making the rounds on the internet. The non-Kannadiga man is seen threatening the auto driver and telling him to speak in Hindi.

In the video, the man can be seen telling the auto driver, “Noida mein raho ya Bangalore mein raho, tum bhi Hindi mein baat karo (Doesn’t matter if you are in Noida or Bengaluru, speak in Hindi).”

To this the auto driver said, “You have come to Bengaluru, you speak in Kannada. I won’t speak in Hindi.”

Although the reason behind the clash between the two still remains unknown, this incident has paved the way for fresh rounds of debate over the language in the city.

The video, widely circulated on the internet, has gathered several reactions from netizens.

One user wrote, “The arrogance and hatred comes with Hindi! No other language speakers has the Audacity to ask other language speakers to speak on their own language. Adaptability should be the nature of any language but Hindi only knows to engulf others.”

A second user wrote, “How does one will feel if karnataka people go to other state and force them to talk in kannada? Sounds unfair right? This exactly how that man speaking kannada is feeling in this video(sic)”

“Although Bengaluru is fast turning into a Delhi's southern version, the arrogance is exactly the reason why the locals feel the need to pushback on the North Indians who have come to geographical south india and a state with majority Kannadigas, and demand others to speak in Hindi which is not widely known. This is complete foolishness on the guy's part,(sic)” said the third user.

Earlier, a similar incident had come to light wherein a Bengaluru auto driver won support for standing his ground against a woman passenger who insisted he speak Hindi.

The viral video puts the spotlight on what many in the southern states see as Hindi dominance.

With DHNS inputs