Delhi woman in Bengaluru tweets about not understanding Kannada ads, outrage follows

A woman asked Google to stop showing her ads in Kannada, sparking outrage (Representational image)

An IIIT-Delhi student, currently living in Bengaluru, has copped backlash for taking exception to Google ads in Kannada. Amisha Aggarwal, a computer science major, tweeted her take on Kannada-language ads this Thursday, pointing out that even though she lives in Bengaluru, she doesn’t speak or understand Kannada and should therefore not be shown Kannada ads on YouTube.

Her tweet sparked a massive row on social media, given that language is a contentious issue in Karnataka. The state has witnessed a pro-Kannada movement in the last few years, where some locals have demanded reservation in jobs for Kannada speakers. Several cases of non-Kannada speakers being attacked have also come to light in the Silicon Valley of India.

“Dear Google, just because I stay in Bangalore, doesn't mean I'll understand ads in Kannada,” Aggarwal wrote in her post which started a heated debate on Twitter.

Dear Google, just because I stay in Bangalore, doesn't mean I'll understand ads in Kannada.

— Amisha Aggarwal (@awwmishaaa) July 20, 2023

“Dear non-Karnataka people, just because you are in Bangalore, doens't mean localites have to learn your language to converse with you,” wrote one person. “Just because you speak Hindi, everything can’t be in Hindi in Bengaluru. Learn Kannada or sit down,” another said.

“One day these Northies will make me a Kannada activist even if I don't want to become one. The arrogance and attitude they display is beyond normal level,” a third Twitter user posted in response to Aggarwal’s tweet.

If you plan to live in Bangalore, be grateful to the great Kannada people who allow people from other states to come and work and for god's sake stop imposing Hindi on Kannada speakers.If Kannada language ads will not be shown in Karnataka, where shall Kannada people go.

— Hatt (@amcamk2) July 20, 2023

Good to see such kind messages from fellow Indians. Made my day pic.twitter.com/3cP3xxJj43

— Amisha Aggarwal (@awwmishaaa) July 22, 2023

While comments on her post were largely negative, some people did come to her defence.

“I don’t know what mental gymnastics do you have to go through to make this about language when it’s clearly about Google’s algorithms,” one Twitter user agreed. “They are misunderstanding the point you wanted to make,” another said.