Woman's altercation with Canara Bank staff over speaking Kannada goes viral
The woman is heard saying in the video that the bank official was unable to explain the issue to her in her Kannada
A video of a woman struggling to convey to a Canara bank staffer in Kannada that there has been an unexplained deduction of funds from her account has gone viral, once again bringing the language issue in Karnataka into sharp focus.
According to media reports, the video shows the Kannada-speaking woman trying to explain to the bank official about the unexplained deduction from her account but the bank official was unable to explain the matter to her due to the language barrier.
‘I don’t know English’
The incident took place at the Canara Bank AIT Circle branch in Chikkamagaluru, where the woman is heard saying in the video that the bank official, reportedly a Malayalam speaker, was unable to explain the issue to her in her Kannada, reported India Today. The woman is heard saying in the video, “I don’t know English”, voicing her frustration over not getting any assistance in the local language.
The Bank official is heard responding that the customer was unable to follow what she was saying, suggesting that there was a language barrier.
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‘Why is she here’
In the footage, the Kannada-speaking woman is also heard saying, “ Why is she here if she does not understand Kannada?”. According to a report by the Mint, the video shows the branch manager speaking in Malayalam to another employee as the customer demands an explanation for the unexplained deduction of funds from her account, which she has saved for hospital-related expenditure.
Also Read :SBI official transferred after her refusal to speak Kannada sparks protest
Social media backlash
The incident led to severe social media backlash against Canara Bank, with a local pro-Kannada group slamming the bank for deploying non-Kannada-speaking officials for customer-facing roles.
One such pro-Kannada group Kannada Sene stated the language issue is especially prominent in rural areas where residents are mostly earn their livelihood from agriculture and are likely not fluent in Hindi and English. They demanded that Canara Bank should immediately post Kannada-speaking employees in the state.
According to an India Today report, in the wake of the backlash, the bank issued a statement saying that Kannada was not just a language for them, but a pride.
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What Canara Bank said
“Kannada is our foundation, your support is our strength. For Canara Bank, Karnataka is not just a state, it is our birthplace. Kannada is not merely a language to us, it is a feeling, a pride. We are committed to providing services in the local language at every branch in the state,” the bank stated. However, the statement is no longer visible on the bank’s X handle.