'You don’t get to dictate what customers speak...': Sridhar Vembu makes a case for Hindi in business

When Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu says Hindi is the “link language” of the Indian customer, he’s not making a political statement—he’s offering practical business advice. In a country where multilingualism is the norm, Vembu argues that Hindi holds a unique position, not just in the north but across urban and non-Hindi-speaking regions. For business leaders, he says, fluency isn’t the point—effort is.

“You can get by with Hindi in Hyderabad or Bhubaneswar or in Kolkata,” Vembu wrote on X. “Unlike English, no one in India judges you for speaking broken Hindi—they appreciate your effort.”

Vembu’s post emerged from a real business interaction. “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 shared. “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.”

For Vembu, business is about meeting the customer where they are. “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.”

Now, with globalization “going in reverse,” he says India’s $4+ trillion domestic market takes center stage—and Hindi, in his view, is the bridge. “This is how a practical business person thinks,” he wrote. “You can attack me all you want but if you are a business person, you would be smart to take this advice!”

Vembu also addressed critics directly: “I am generally immune to being mercilessly attacked, so thank you for wasting your time rather than figuring out how to get ahead in life.”

Author and philanthropist Sudha Murty echoed a similar view recently. “We knew Hindi… we enjoyed beautiful movies… I never faced difficulties,” she told NDTV about her time in Tamil Nadu.

For Murty, language isn’t a battleground—it’s a bridge. “Children can learn any number of languages… all of us are islands and the only bridge is language. So I want to have many bridges—and it’s good for my work.”