‘Teach Hindi to your staff, not our students’: DMK fires back at Zoho’s Sridhar Vembu over language remark

Teach Hindi to your staff if your business needs it.
Why should students in Tamilnadu study Hindi because your business needs it.
Inversely you can request the Union Govt to ensure rudimentary knowledge of English to school kids there, which would solve the problem.
The only… https://t.co/p5Jwvbg2Oo

— Saravanan Annadurai (@saravofcl) February 26, 2025

Annadurai further argued that if linguistic accommodation was necessary for business, the federal government should instead ensure basic English proficiency among students across the country. “The only issue with these types is that they imagine ‘they are twice as smart’ than others. Pathetic,” he added.

‘Ignore the politics, let us learn the language’

Vembu, a prominent tech entrepreneur, had defended his stance by pointing out the practical benefits of learning Hindi in a nation where inter-state business is expanding. Sharing his own experience, he said, “I have learned to read Hindi haltingly in the last 5 years and I can now understand about 20% of what is spoken.” Encouraging others to adopt the language, he added, “Ignore the politics, let us learn the language!”

As Zoho grows rapidly in India, we have rural engineers in Tamil Nadu working closely with customers in Mumbai and Delhi – so much of our business is driven form these cities and from Gujarat. Rural jobs in Tamil Nadu depend on us serving those customers well.

Not knowing Hindi…

— Sridhar Vembu (@svembu) February 25, 2025

The debate took another turn as DMK Rajya Sabha MP Pudukkottai MM Abdulla, challenged Vembu’s argument by pointing to his business expansion in Saudi Arabia. “Dear Mr. Vembu sir, congratulations on expanding your business in Saudi Arabia! It’s impressive how you achieved this WITHOUT LEARNING ARABIC. So, why are you insisting that Tamils must learn Hindi?” Abdulla posted on X (formerly Twitter), quoting Vembu’s recent update about his meeting with Saudi officials.

Dear Mr. Vembu sir, congratulations on expanding your business in Saudi Arabia! It’s impressive how you achieved this WITHOUT LEARNING ARABIC. So, why are you insisting that Tamils must learn Hindi? 🤔 https://t.co/hVWqZZqbaz

— Pudukkottai M.M.Abdulla (@pudugaiabdulla) February 26, 2025

Vembu defended his position saying, “Today our engineers in villages in Tamil Nadu are working closely with customers in the North implementing Zoho products. This part of our business is growing rapidly. In a similar way, we also have engineers working with Middle East-based companies, and our counterparts in those companies are very often Indians too (Malayalees and Tamils often, and also Hindi/Urdu speakers). Hindi/Urdu are actually extremely helpful in the Middle East too, apart from Malayalam and Tamil. We also have Arabic speakers in Chennai to work with those Middle East customers who need Arabic support. I am sure you know all this Sir but I am sorry your politics forces you not to see the truth. We invite you to visit our rural office near your constituency and check this out yourself. ”

Today our engineers in villages in Tamil Nadu are working closely with customers in the North implementing Zoho products. This part of our business is growing rapidly.

In a similar way we also have engineers working with Middle East based companies and our counterparts in those…

— Sridhar Vembu (@svembu) February 26, 2025

The exchange comes amid an intense language row in the state, with the DMK alleging that the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre was trying to impose Hindi through the the three-language formula in the National Education Policy (NEP), a charge denied by the union government. Recently, pro-Tamil activists blackened Hindi portions of railway signboards at Pollachi Junction and Palayankottai, triggering legal action against six DMK workers under the Railways Act.

What is the ‘language war’?

Tamil Nadu’s resistance to the three-language formula is not new. The state, since the 1960s, has consistently upheld its two-language policy of Tamil and English, resisting impositions of Hindi as a third language.

The “language war” refers to the DMK’s anti-Hindi agitation in 1965, when the Dravidian party successfully campaigned against the alleged imposition of the language on the Tamil people.

The Navodaya Vidyalayas, a network of central schools implementing the three-language policy, have not been established in Tamil Nadu due to widespread opposition.