Bhavish Aggarwal, the CEO of ride-hailing giant Ola, recently ignited a heated discussion on social media with a provocative post about keyboard design. On August 24, Aggarwal took to X (formerly Twitter) to question why the keyboard’s dollar sign ($) has not been replaced with the Indian rupee symbol (₹) in products sold in India. He shared an image of a keyboard highlighting the dollar sign and posed the question, “Maybe this has something to do with it! Wonder why the $ is not replaced with ₹ in products sold in India.”
Maybe this has something to do with it! Wonder why the $ is not replaced with ₹ in products sold in India pic.twitter.com/LteKrcfd9b
— Bhavish Aggarwal (@bhash) August 24, 2024
This Post of Bhavish Aggarwal quickly garnered significant attention, reaching over 1.1 million views. While some users supported his sentiment, many took to the comments section to challenge his viewpoint. Critics pointed out several reasons why the dollar sign remains prevalent on keyboards.
One commenter noted, “Patriotism and jingoism have a very small gap… You are crossing that. Don’t know whether you are doing it intentionally or unintentionally?”
Shivam Bhadani highlighted the technical reasons for retaining the dollar sign, stating, “The $ symbol is not just a currency symbol. It is embedded in many programming languages. For instance, variables are written as ${} in JavaScript and $1, $2 in bash syntax. If you want to make changes, start with yourself and replace ‘OLA’ with an Indian language word.”
Another user, Roshan Rai, suggested, “Change begins at home. Next time you give a presentation, use ₹ instead of $. Then come back and moral police other brands.”
Others voiced concerns about the appropriateness of using nationalism as a business strategy. One user commented, “Bro, doing business by playing the nationalism card is a big danger for investors.”
Aggarwal’s post comes amid ongoing discussions about national symbols and their place in everyday technology. While the rupee symbol was officially adopted in 2010, its integration into global tech products has been slow. The dollar sign, on the other hand, remains a staple in international finance and programming languages.
The debate underscores the complexity of balancing national pride with practical and global considerations in technology design. As post of Bhavish Aggarwal continues to spark discussion, it highlights the broader conversation about cultural representation in technology and business.
Bhavish Aggarwal’s social media post has certainly stirred a conversation about the representation of national symbols in technology. While his suggestion to replace the dollar sign with the rupee symbol has met with mixed reactions, it has brought to light the various factors influencing keyboard design and the role of symbols in global technology.
