'Tamil Nadu's Hindi backlash in 1960s was a trap': Former bank officer backs Zoho's Sridhar Vembu on Hindi 

A former bank officer, Ramanujam Sridhar, on Monday said the anti-Hindi sentiment in Tamil Nadu during the 1960s was a “political trap” that cost him professionally later in life.

“Many of us who grew up in Tamilnadu in the sixties were part of the anti-Hindi agitation and ridiculed the language. We fell into the political trap. I struggled as a bank officer in Bombay and Ahmedabad in banking and as an advertising professional without knowing Hindi,” Sridhar wrote in a post reacting to Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu.

Ramanujam's post came after Vembu stressed the need for Hindi proficiency as a business advantage in India’s growing domestic market. Sharing his own recent experience, Vembu had written: “Last week I met a smart Odiya entrepreneur (and Zoho customer) hailing from a small village, and he spoke halting English but his Hindi is quite decent. He was forced to use English to speak to me. My speaking halting Hindi mixed with English words would have been easier for us to do business. That is what I am aiming to get to.”

Vembu continued, “In Tamil Nadu we learned English to do business globally, because you speak the language of your customer, you don't get to dictate what the customer speaks.”

He argued that with globalisation slowing down, India's internal market — which he described as "$4+ trillion GDP and growing"—has become central. “The link language of the Indian customer is Hindi and this is not just in Hindi-speaking states. You can get by with Hindi in Hyderabad or Bhvaneshwar or in Kolkata,” he said.

Vembu also pointed out the cultural difference between Hindi and English in India: “Unlike English, no one in India judges you for speaking broken Hindi – they appreciate your effort.”

“This is how a practical business person thinks. You can attack me all you want but if you are a business person, you would be smart to take this advice!” he wrote. “I am generally immune to being mercilessly attacked so thank you for wasting your time rather than fighting out how to get ahead in life.”

Sridhar’s comments also come at a time when the Tamil Nadu government continues to push back against what it calls the Centre’s “imposition” of Hindi.