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Amidst all this turmoil, signboards are being vandalized, buses are facing violent assaults, and financial resources for education are being withheld.
Amid this ongoing language war, billionaire Sridhar Vembu took a bold stand in favour of Hindi. Vembu, who hails from Tamil Nadu, took to X on Monday and shared his anecdote on how learning Hindi can benefit entrepreneurs.
Vembu recounted his meeting with an entrepreneur from Odisha, a Zoho customer who hailed from a small village. This businessman, though highly intelligent, struggled with English but was relatively comfortable speaking Hindi.
Despite this, he was compelled to use English to communicate with Vembu. The interaction left Vembu reflecting on how a conversation in Hindi, even if mixed with some English, would have been far more effective and natural for both parties. He emphasized that his goal was to move towards such a practical approach, where business discussions within India could take place in a language that was more accessible to a larger section of the population.
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Drawing from his own experiences in Tamil Nadu, Vembu pointed out that the state had embraced English primarily to engage with international markets. The fundamental business principle, he noted, is that one must speak the language of the customer rather than expect the customer to adapt. However, with globalization slowing down and domestic markets gaining prominence, he argued that businesses must now shift their focus to India’s rapidly expanding economy, which currently exceeds a $4 trillion GDP and continues to grow.
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In this evolving economic landscape, Hindi, he asserted, serves as a crucial link language across different regions, extending beyond traditionally Hindi-speaking states. Citing examples, he highlighted that Hindi is widely understood in cities such as Hyderabad, Bhubaneswar, and Kolkata, where it enables smoother business transactions. More importantly, he contrasted Hindi with English, pointing out that while people in India often feel self-conscious about speaking broken English, Hindi does not carry the same stigma. Instead, Indians tend to appreciate efforts to converse in Hindi, regardless of fluency.
From a business standpoint, Vembu framed the discussion as a matter of practical decision-making rather than ideological debate. He contended that a forward-thinking entrepreneur would recognize the strategic advantage of using Hindi to communicate with a broader customer base. Anticipating criticism for his stance, he remained firm in his argument, asserting that any businessperson with a pragmatic outlook would be wise to heed this advice.
His statement has added to the larger discourse on language politics in India, particularly regarding the role of Hindi in business and communication. While language debates in the country often evoke strong regional sentiments, Vembu’s perspective highlights the economic and practical considerations that businesses must take into account in an era of shifting global trends.
