A staff member of the State Bank of India (SBI) has caused a controversy in Karnataka by refusing to speak in Kannada with a customer. The incident happened at the SBI branch in Surya Nagar, Anekal Taluk.
A video of the argument has gone viral on social media. In the video, a customer asks the SBI officer to speak in Kannada, the official language of the state. The officer replies, “This is India,” and says, “I will not speak Kannada for you… I will speak Hindi.” She ends the conversation by saying, “I will never speak Kannada,” and walks away.
INDIA ಅಂದರೆ HINDI ಅಲ್ಲ ಎನ್ನುವುದನ್ನು ಉತ್ತರ ಭಾರತದ ರಾಜ್ಯಗಳ ಈ ಹಿಂದಿಯವರಿಗೆ ಮತ್ತು ಕೆಲವು ಬೆರಕೆ ಖನ್ನಡಿಗರಿಗೆ ಅರ್ಥ ಮಾಡಿಸಬೇಕು.
ಕನ್ನಡ, ತಮಿಳು, ತೆಲುಗು, ಮರಾಠಿ, ಒಡಿಯ, ಭೋಜಪುರಿ, ಮಾರ್ವಾಡಿ ಈ ಭಾಷೆಗಳನ್ನು ಮಾತನಾಡುವವರು ಕೂಡ INDIAN ಗಳೇ.
ಭಾಷೆಗಳ ಆಧಾರದ ಮೇಲೆಯೇ ಈ ಒಕ್ಕೂಟ ಇಂಡಿಯಾದಲ್ಲಿ ರಾಜ್ಯಗಳು ರಚನೆಯಾಗಿರುವುದು.… https://t.co/u67DiNsdAo— ಗುರುದೇವ್ ನಾರಾಯಣ್ 💛❤️ GURUDEV NARAYAN🌿 (@Gurudevnk16) May 20, 2025
People on social media reacted strongly, accusing the officer of forcing Hindi on the customer and being rude. Many tagged the Union Finance Minister and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), saying the officer ignored RBI rules and disrespected the Kannada language.
Later, the officer shared an apology video, speaking in Kannada with help from a colleague. She said, “If I have hurt anyone, I sincerely apologise. I will try to use Kannada while working in the future.”
The arrogant SBI manager who was saying She will never speak Kannada now apologised. #ServeInMyLanguage #StopHindiImposition #KannadaInKarnataka https://t.co/8rvQjGVEls pic.twitter.com/Kn4ChBjw4D
— Safa 🇮🇳 (@safaspeaks) May 21, 2025
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah also responded. He said the SBI officer’s behaviour was “strongly condemnable” and praised the bank’s action of transferring her. In a post on social media, he wrote, “Such incidents must not happen again. All bank staff must treat customers respectfully and try to speak in the local language.”
He also asked the Finance Ministry to make cultural and language training mandatory for all bank employees across India. “Respecting the local language is respecting the people,” he said.
