'No point in learning languages of poorer economies': Post on Kannada, Tamil sparks fury

A social media post questioning the value of learning Indian languages like Kannada and Tamil has stirred sharp reactions online, especially from users in southern cities such as Bengaluru and Chennai.

The post, made by an X user named Toka, argued that it makes more sense to learn languages of stronger economies. “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.”

Toka also suggested that companies should restrict their investments in these cities to small-scale industries to avoid what they described as “language harassment” of migrants.

The remarks drew widespread criticism for being dismissive of regional languages and cultures. “There are enough people who act civil, learn and respect local languages. Even foreigners do it fluently and proudly,” one user responded. Another commented, “Cities like Chennai and Bengaluru have enough locals to do most of the jobs. They don’t need many migrants.”

The debate also rekindled ongoing tensions between Hindi and southern languages. One reply stated, “We’re happy to speak in English. Just don’t expect us to learn Hindi,” shifting the focus to broader language politics in urban India.

While the majority of responses condemned the post as elitist, a few defended it, claiming that language expectations can be exclusionary. “Language harassment is getting out of hand. People should live how they want,” one user said. “If city dwellers have a problem with it, then it’s not a proper city—just an overgrown town.”

The post has since been widely circulated, with many urging for greater respect toward linguistic diversity and cultural context in India’s rapidly urbanizing regions.