Delhi woman in Bangalore tweets she didn’t understand Kannada ads, outrage follows

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A student from IIIT-Delhi, who currently lives in Bengaluru, has faced backlash for taking exception to Google Ads in Kannada. Amisha Aggarwal, a computer science graduate, tweeted her opinion of Kannada-language ads this Thursday, pointing out that even though she lives in Bangalore, she does not speak or understand Kannada and hence should not show Kannada ads on YouTube.

His tweet sparked a massive row on social media, as language is a contentious issue in Karnataka. The state has seen a pro-Kannada movement in recent years, where some locals have been calling for booking of jobs for Kannada speakers. Several cases of non-Kannada speaking attacks have also surfaced in India’s Silicon Valley.

Dear Google, Just because I stay in Bangalore, doesn’t mean I will understand ads in Kannada, wrote Aggarwal in his post which started a heated debate on Twitter.

Dear Google, Just because I stay in Bangalore, doesn’t mean I will understand ads in Kannada. Amisha Aggarwal (@awwmishaaa) July 20, 2023

Her post was immediately inundated with comments, especially from Karnataka residents asking her to leave the state if she failed to learn the language.

Dear non-Karnatakas, just because you’re in Bangalore, doesn’t mean locals have to learn your language to converse with you, wrote one person. Just because you speak Hindi, in Bengaluru it can’t be everything in Hindi. Learn Kannada or sit down, said another.

One day these Northies will make me a Kannada activist even though I don’t want to become one. The arrogance and attitude they display is beyond the normal level, posted a third Twitter user in response to Aggarwal’s tweet.

If you plan to live in Bangalore, be grateful to the great Kannada people who allow people from other states to come and work and for God’s sake stop imposing Hindi on Kannada speakers. If ads in Kannada language will not show in Karnataka, where will Kannada people go.

Hat (@amcamk2) July 20, 2023

It’s nice to see such kind messages from other Indians. Made my day pic.twitter.com/3cP3xxJj43

Amisha Aggarwal (@awwmishaaa) July 22,

Aggarwal later issued a clarification after receiving sharp criticism, saying he just wanted to provide feedback to Google on its algorithm that suggests ads to users. This tweet was mostly feedback to the ad algorithm. They should take into consideration that just because someone switches seats, doesn’t mean they should get all ads in that language, he wrote.

While the comments on her post have been largely negative, some people have come to her defense.

I don’t know what mental gymnastics you have to do to do this on language when it clearly comes to Google’s algorithms, agreed one Twitter user. They are misunderstanding the point you wanted to make, said another.

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