India does not have a national language. Despite what many think, the Constitution of India does not have any language of the country set as the national language. Hindi and English are used in official, governmental work sure, but that still doesn’t make either as the national language of the country.
However, this does not stop people from fighting over which language is more ‘Indian’ and should be spoken across the country. For many years now, people from South India have not just disliked but actively been against the supposed ‘Hindi imposition’ on them.
This recent clip of a heated exchange between a Bengaluru autorickshaw driver and a female passenger going viral is once again bringing up the topic.
The Viral Video
The 26-second clip was first uploaded by a Twitter user called @WeDravidians captioned “Why should I speak in Hindi? Bangalore Auto Driver”.
Why should I speak in Hindi?
Bangalore Auto Driver pic.twitter.com/JFY85wYq51
— We Dravidians (@WeDravidians) March 11, 2023
In the clip, an argument can be heard between a Hindi-speaking woman and the Bengaluru auto driver who refused to speak in Hindi. In the video, the auto driver is agitated and berating the woman for not speaking in Kannada while in Bengaluru and asking him to speak in Hindi.
Read More: As A Telugu & Hindi Speaking Student, I Feel English Might Be A Better Official Language Than Hindi For India
Reports have not yet been able to verify how authentic the video is, with it starting abruptly in the middle of the conversation and having cuts and edits made to it, seemingly not having much context to the conversation going on in the video.
The verbal dialogues spoken in the video go somehow like this:
Driver: Why should I speak in Hindi?
Woman: Okay, okay, okay.
Driver: This is Karnataka. You have to speak in Kannada. You people are north Indian beggars.
Woman: Why. We will not speak in Kannada.
Driver: This is our land, not your land. You have to speak in Kannada. Why should I speak in Hindi.
However, this did leave people in the comments and reactions divided, where some supported the driver and others supported the passenger.
One user commented “The fact that video is in the public domain recorded by the passenger tells you the entitlement these lot have. They think the auto driver is in the wrong while they’re the victims when they’re simply too arrogant to respect the land they’re in,” while another said that “Salute to the auto driver for standing up for his identity and giving back. Imposing your language on others is plain high-headedness. Respect for dravidians.”
Rejimon Kuttappan, an author, also wrote that “Please find that lady who intimidated that autodriver and advise her to read Indian Constituion Preamble 10 times.”
Another said “Both speak English very well. Then why the rift? No need to force any language upon anyone. Everyone should learn a common language like English if they are not comfortable in regional languages.”
And yet another added that “How will Bangalore become Asia’s Silicon Valley when we can’t get over trivial issues even tho both natives and migrants understand a common language?”
Image Credits: Google Images
Feature Image designed by Saudamini Seth
Sources: NDTV, Hindustan Times, India Times
Find the blogger: @chirali_08
This post is tagged under: Bengaluru Auto Driver, Bengaluru Auto Driver, autorickshaw driver bangalore, bengaluru viral, bangalore police, bengaluru police, bangalore, kannada vs hindi, language, india language
Disclaimer: We do not hold any right, copyright over any of the images used, these have been taken from Google. In case of credits or removal, the owner may kindly mail us.
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