SBI Manager Sparks Language Flashpoint in Karnataka
A now-viral video captures a moment that feels both petty and profound: an SBI bank manager, posted in Karnataka, flatly refuses to speak Kannada to a customer. When reminded that Karnataka has its own official language — and that RBI guidelines encourage local language use — the manager responds curtly:
“I will never speak Kannada.”
She then walks off.
She has since been transferred, but not before the clip set off a digital firestorm.
This incident may seem minor — another viral tiff between state pride and bureaucratic indifference — but it exposes a deeper tension in India’s federal fabric. At its heart is a language question that never died: who accommodates whom in a multilingual republic? Full clip after the jump.