An Instagram influencer in a now-deleted reel said that Bengaluru would lose its charm and become 'empty' if North Indians left the city amid the ongoing outrage of influence of 'Hindi' over Kannada and several incidents that have occurred in the past highlighting the rift between migrant workers and locals in the Silicon Valley of India.
The locals bashed the influencer in her comments leading her to delete it later and put another reel clarifying her intention and 'respect' of the culture and people of Bengaluru.
Travel influencer Sugandh Sharma in her viral reel stated, "You guys keep saying: 'you northies go back,' if we all really leave Bengaluru, your city would become empty. First, your PGs (paying guest accommodations) would become vacant, you won't get the money you are earning now, all the clubs in Koramangla would become empty. All the pretty girls you see dancing to Punjabi music in these clubs won't be seen anymore. You guys should think before you talk. In case your wish does come true, Bengaluru would lose all its glamour."
The video sparked outrage among the Bengaluru locals and even celebrities and it led to netizens bashing her left and right with some even asking her to 'leave'.
One of the social media users commented under the reel, "If you think this is cool, nope it isn’t. You need Bengaluru more than anything else and you leaving Bengaluru doesn’t make any difference to our OORU and for a fact that we all you can’t leave bengaluru – If you know you know."
Sharma in other videos of her has revealed that even though she was born in Delhi, she has roamed around the country since childhood and she believes that she belongs to 'India' rather than hailing from only one city. In a new video referring to her infamous reel she stated that she “loves Bengaluru” and requested people to stop spreading hate.
“I love Bengaluru. And to all those who are writing a lot of nasty comments on my funny, light-hearted comedy reels, feeling hurt, posting hate comments, or trying to spread a lot of hate by sharing my videos, I just want to say this: Look, I’m a traveller. Wherever I go, I try to learn the culture of that place,” Sharma said in the new video.
Other Incidents In The Past
Sharma's experience of outrage is not new as incidents related to rift between 'Kannadigas' and 'outsiders' has been a topic of debate and division since quite some time now.
Earlier in July, a woman talked about her difficult experience while working in Bengaluru. She mentioned how stressful it was to commute by auto from her flat to the office and back. She expressed frustration over local auto drivers who would ask why she was in Bangalore since she was from the North, whether she was learning Kannada, and if she liked anything other than the weather. She also noted that they often asked for more money because she was newly married and pretended not to understand her when she spoke in Hindi or English. She described her interactions with the locals as "very bad."
In another incident, a Reddit user recounted his terrifying experience during a cab ride in the city. He explained that after getting into the car, he asked the driver to turn on the AC to avoid dust. The driver responded in Kannada, questioning why he needed the AC and suggested he cancel the ride. The Redditor politely requested the driver to drop him off immediately, stating that he didn't want to continue the journey. This prompted the driver to become furious.
The Redditor noted that the driver then switched on the AC and began driving recklessly, with sudden brakes and rapid acceleration. He shared that he has a vertigo problem and was worried that the erratic driving would trigger his dizziness.
A man from Karnataka stirred up conversation online by posting a message aimed at non-Kannada speakers earlier this month where he stated that anyone who doesn’t speak or try to learn Kannada would be seen as an “outsider” in the city. He also declared that the IT capital of India “belongs to Kannadigas.”
“To, everyone coming to Bengaluru. You will be treated as outsiders in Bengaluru if you don’t speak Kannada or make an effort to speak Kannada. Write it down, Share it around. We ain’t joking. Bengaluru belongs to Kannadigas period,” he wrote on social media.
A social media user replied to his post stating, “To, all Kannadigas Going to other states for your livelihood. You will not be treated as an outsider in other states if you don’t speak their languages or make an effort to speak. Write it down, share it around. We ain’t joking. You will be treated as an Indian anywhere.”
An old video of Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath has gone viral on social media amid discussions about “outsiders” in Bengaluru.
The clip was part of Kamath's YouTube podacst 'WTF Is With Nikhil Kamath', where he spoke about the city's traffic with his team members. When one of the members named Bilal complained about traffic, Kamath responded by noting that traffic issues are common in major cities like Delhi and Mumbai.
He explained that Bengaluru's rapid growth has worsened the traffic problem compared to 30 years ago. Highlighting the significant influx of migrants, he jokingly pointed out that Bilal, a migrant himself, is contributing to the very traffic he is complaining about.
Bengaluru Urban Population Ratio Between Locals And Migrants
According to the 2011 census, Bengaluru had a population of 96.2 lakh, with 44.3 lakh classified as migrants, based on recent migration data from the Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner.
This means that nearly half of the city's residents - 50.6 per cent are migrants.
When focusing on Bengaluru's urban population of 87.5 lakh, the number of migrants has more than doubled since the previous census, which recorded 20.8 lakh migrants out of a total population of 65.4 lakh.
At that time, migrants made up 31.9 per cent of the population. The current figure of 44.3 lakh migrants is almost 175.8 per cent of the 25 lakh people who have migrated out of Karnataka, highlighting the significant influx of newcomers to the city and its growing status as a major destination for migrants.
(cited from TOI report from 2019)
