As Tamil Nadu and the Central government lock horns over the National Education Policy (NEP) and the three-language formula, Zoho chief scientist Sridhar Vembu has urged Tamil-speaking engineers and entrepreneurs to learn Hindi for business growth.
Vembu, speaking in the context of Zoho’s operations, highlighted how engineers in rural Tamil Nadu often struggle while working with clients in Mumbai and Delhi, making Hindi a valuable skill.
“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 from 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,” he said.
Vembu, who has himself been learning Hindi, said acquiring the language is a practical move, not a political one.
“It is smart for us to learn Hindi. I have learned to read Hindi haltingly in the last five years, and I can now understand about 20% of what is spoken,” he said. “As India is a fast-growing economy, engineers and entrepreneurs in Tamil Nadu will be smart to learn Hindi.”
Concluding his post, he urged people to look beyond politics, writing, “Ignore the politics, let us learn the language! Aayiye Hindi seekhein (let’s learn Hindi).”
Vembu’s remarks come at a time when Tamil Nadu is witnessing protests over the alleged imposition of Hindi. DMK MLA Sankarankovil and his supporters recently blackened Hindi words on railway station name boards in Sankarankovil, Kadayanallur, and Pavoorchatram.
The language row escalated after Tamil Nadu’s government claimed that funds were withheld by the Centre due to its non-implementation of NEP. However, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan dismissed the allegation, asserting that there was no compulsion to learn Hindi.
“There is no imposition of Hindi or any other language on students in Tamil Nadu,” Pradhan said. “But what is wrong if a student in Tamil Nadu learns multilingual aspects in education?”
Pradhan further stated that Tamil, English, and other Indian languages are part of the NEP framework, and accused some political factions in Tamil Nadu of playing politics over the issue.