The video shows two women in a verbal spat near a metro ticket counter. (Videograb)
A heated argument between two women at a Bengaluru Namma Metro station has gone viral on social media. The clash, which started over the choice of language, has reignited the Kannada vs Hindi debate online.
The video shows two women in a verbal spat near a metro ticket counter. One of them insisted on speaking Kannada, while the other refused and continued responding in Hindi. The scene quickly escalated, drawing reactions from commuters and now, netizens.
In the viral clip, a woman in a black burqa can be heard saying, “Hindi mathadri (Speak Hindi).” She further taunts the other woman, asking sarcastically, “You, Chief Minister? Chal nikal (Get lost).”
When the saree-clad woman mentioned Kannada, the argument grew louder. The burqa-clad woman made derogatory remarks, asking, “Aurat hai (tu) Siddaramaiah ki? (Are you Siddaramaiah’s woman?)”
Meanwhile, the other woman kept repeating, “Kannada… Kannada,” in response to the heated remarks.
The video has been widely circulated across X, Reddit, and Instagram. Reactions have been mixed, with many questioning the growing intolerance around language in Bengaluru.
One Reddit user wrote, “Every day there is a fight for Kannada & not sure why so much intolerance nowadays!”
Another X user commented, “The identities are so messed up here that it doesn’t qualify for outrage and a hullabaloo by language warriors. Time & energy saved.”
Bengaluru has often witnessed debates over the use of Kannada versus Hindi and English in public spaces. With millions of migrants living in the city, language clashes have become a recurring topic of discussion.
The latest viral metro video has once again highlighted the sensitive nature of language identity and the cultural challenges in India’s tech capital.
