A Bengaluru-based tech founder is packing up and heading to Pune. Kaushik Mukherjee, co-founder of the startup Slyce, has announced he’ll move his company’s office out of Bengaluru within six months—because of what he bluntly calls the city’s “language nonsense.”
His reason? He doesn’t want his non-Kannada-speaking employees to become the “next victim” of rising linguistic tension in Karnataka’s capital.
Language politics in Bengaluru aren’t just about culture anymore. They’re starting to hit businesses. In Mukherjee’s case, the decision followed staff complaints.
His team—many of whom come from outside Karnataka—no longer feel comfortable working in a place where language could become a flashpoint.
“It’s a warning sign,” said Mukherjee. “When your employees start worrying about the language they speak in a cab, at a bank, or in a store, you know it’s time to listen.”
This decision wasn’t made in a vacuum. It came just days after a heated incident at an SBI branch in Chandapura, Bengaluru. A manager reportedly refused to speak Kannada to a local customer, saying, “This is India, I’ll speak Hindi, not Kannada.”
The video went viral. Kannada groups erupted. Politicians jumped in.
Today I took a decision to wind up our Bangalore office in the next 6 months and move it to Pune. If this language nonsense is to continue, I do not want my non Kannada speaking staff to be the next “victim”.
This idea was mooted by the staff themselves.
I agreed to their POV. https://t.co/M9abD2OYOD— Kaushik Mukherjee 🇮🇳 (@kush07) May 22, 2025
BJP MP Tejasvi Surya called the manager’s actions “not acceptable.” Karnataka’s Chief Minister Siddaramaiah demanded the Finance Ministry train all bank staff in local language sensitivity.
The SBI manager was quickly transferred. An apology followed. The manager even released a statement—in Kannada—promising to do better.
Bigger Picture: Bengaluru’s Language Friction
This wasn’t an isolated incident. The Kannada Development Authority says more and more non-Kannadigas are being assigned to public-facing roles in banks. That’s causing tension in a city where locals expect to be served in their own language.
Even the RBI’s own rules require services in English, Hindi, and the state’s regional language—Kannada, in this case. Source: RBI guidelines on regional languages
To some, Mukherjee’s move might feel like an overreaction. To others, it’s just realism. Bengaluru may be India’s tech capital, but if the workplace becomes a cultural battlefield, founders will vote with their feet.
And that’s exactly what he’s doing.
“Pune might not have the same vibe,” he admitted, “but at least my team can work in peace.”
When a startup CEO publicly ditches Bengaluru over a language dispute, it’s not just a relocation. It’s a warning bell. You can build the next unicorn, but if your team’s walking on eggshells over what language they use, maybe it’s not the ecosystem you thought it was.
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