'Smart for us to learn Hindi': Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu's advice to Tamil Nadu engineers sparks debate

Recent advice by Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu to Tamil Nadu's workforce has sparked a fresh debate on language in India. In a post on X, Vembu advised Tamil Nadu's engineers to learn Hindi to better serve customers across northern markets, particularly in Mumbai, Delhi, and Gujarat. The Zoho founder claimed that not knowing Hindi often created barriers in business communication. "Not knowing Hindi is often a serious handicap for us in Tamil Nadu," Vembu stated. He further said that he has personally begun learning Hindi, now understanding about 20% of spoken Hindi after five years of study.

He urged Tamils to set aside political considerations and embrace Hindi learning as a smart business strategy in India's rapidly growing economy. He concluded his message with the same encouragement in both Tamil and Hindi: "Let us learn Hindi!": 

"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 is often a serious handicap for us in Tamil Nadu. It is smart for us to learn Hindi. I have learned to read Hindi haltingly in the last 5 years and I can now understand about 20% of what is spoken. As India is a fast growing economy, engineers and entrepreneurs in Tamil Nadu will be smart to learn Hindi. Ignore the politics, let us learn the language!" Check out his tweet here:

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

How netizens reacted

Netizens shared mixed reactions online. Some supporters agreed that Hindi should serve as India's common denominator and business language of choice. Others supported English as it is a global language.

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