A post on social media platform X (formally Twitter) has triggered a fierce backlash after dismissing Indian regional languages like Kannada and Tamil as “not worth learning,” sparking outrage, particularly in southern cities such as Bengaluru and Chennai.
The now-viral post argued that while learning Japanese or Chinese was logical when moving to countries like Japan or China, there was “no point” in learning Kannada or Tamil when relocating to Bengaluru or Chennai.
“If I moved to Japan, I would learn Japanese. If I moved to China, I would learn Chinese. If I moved to Bangalore, I would rather speak English. If I moved to Chennai, I would rather speak English,” the post read.
“No point in learning languages of poorer economies and poorer quality of life.”
The remarks drew swift criticism, with many users calling them elitist, ignorant, and disrespectful toward regional cultures. Residents from southern states highlighted the rich historical, cultural, and literary heritage of these languages, several of which hold classical language status in India.
In a follow-up post, the user claimed regional language debates are often “overhyped” and suggested that major companies should limit investments in cities like Bengaluru and Chennai to avoid what they described as “language-based harassment of migrants.”
This suggestion further inflamed reactions, with critics accusing the user of seeking to delegitimise the role of local languages in Indian cities and workplaces.
Social media has since been inundated with responses, ranging from scholars underscoring the global significance of Tamil and Kannada to tech professionals in Bengaluru who stressed that embracing local languages fosters inclusivity rather than division.
“Languages don’t define economic status — they define identity, history, and belonging,” one user wrote.
Another user posted, “Indian: We mastered your tongue to survive; you mock ours to feel taller, yet your world still stumbles at ‘Namaste’, while ours once whispered the Vedas to the stars. A rich man who mocks language is still poor in thought, for even gold needs a tongue to be praised.”
“You talk like some rich globetrotter who’s seen it all, but you’re just another keyboard tourist sitting in a place where real progress hasn’t even knocked yet. Flexing English like it’s a VIP pass doesn’t make you superior, it just makes you sound painfully insecure,” read another comment.
