Job posts often talk about salaries, perks and bonuses, but a company is looking to hire people because they’re unable to speak a language.
Used cars portal Cars24 is looking to woo back engineers from Delhi who’re working in Bengaluru but are unable to speak Kannada. The job ad comes amidst shrill online campaigns from a section of Benglauru’s local population who insist that outsiders who come to work in their city must make an effort to learn their language.
“Still can’t speak Kannada after years in Bengaluru?” the ad asks. “It’s okay. Aa jao Dilli (Come to Delhi),” it adds. “We are looking for kickass engineers who wish to stay close to home,” the ad says.
“We are not saying Delhi NCR is better,” wrote Cars24 founder Vikram Chopra on X. “Only that it really is. If you wish to come back, write to me at [email protected] with the subject – Delhi meri jaan,” he said.
It’s an unusual message, but it could be compelling for some jobseekers. There are lakhs of engineers from north India who work in tech companies in Bengaluru. Most of them have to stay away from their families and friends, and often take several trips back home per year. If they could get a comparable job in Delhi, it’s likely that many people would want to work closer to home.
The light-hearted dig over not speaking Kannada, though, is well-timed. Over the last few months, there has been much chatter on social media over how people working in Bengaluru must learn to speak Kannada. While most of the noise has been made online, there have been some videos too where outsiders have been accosted in the streets over not knowing the language, and there has also been the odd incident of vandalism against signboards in Hindi. As such, it’s not inconceivable that someone from north India could factor this into their calculations in deciding where to work.
It’s unclear how such campaigns could affect the city. Bengaluru has become India’s IT capital largely because it’s a melting pot of tech talent from all over India. If Bengaluru decides to give the cold shoulder to knowledge workers who’re unwilling to put in the effort to learn a new language, it could end up losing top talent to other locations. And as Cars24 has shown, there might be companies out there ready to welcome them with open arms.