Not knowing Hindi in Tamil Nadu is a handicap to techies: Zoho’s Sridhar Vembu
Zoho Chief Scientist Sridhar Vembu stressed that the workforce in Tamil Nadu must learn the language to better serve its clients across major northern markets.
Zoho boss Sridhar Vembu has sparked a fresh debate on the importance of Hindi proficiency for engineers and entrepreneurs in Tamil Nadu. As the SaaS major expands its footprint in India, Vembu stressed that the state's workforce must learn the language to better serve its clients across major northern markets.
In his latest post on X, the newly appointed chief scientist said that not knowing Hindi is often a “serious handicap” for professionals in Tamil Nadu.
“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,” Vembu stated.
Recalling his journey of learning to read Hindi over the past five years, he added, “It is smart for us to learn Hindi. I have learned to read Hindi haltingly in the last 5 years and I can now understand about 20% of what is spoken. As India is a fast-growing economy, engineers and entrepreneurs in Tamil Nadu will be smart to learn Hindi. Ignore the politics, let us learn the language!”
This is not the first time Vembu has weighed in on the language debate. In November 2024, he opined that newcomers to Bengaluru should make an effort to learn Kannada.
“Not doing so after living many years in Bengaluru is disrespectful. I often request our employees in Chennai coming from other states to make an effort to learn Tamil after they come here,” he stated.
The Chennai-based firm has been valued at Rs 1,03,760 crore, marking a 58% jump from its previous valuation of Rs 65,700 crore, according to the 2024 Burgundy Private Hurun India 500 report.
Vembu, who built the SaaS giant in 1996, recently stepped down as chief executive officer and took on the role of chief scientist. In this position, he will take on the firm’s deep R&D initiatives while continuing to focus on his personal rural development mission.
Edited by Kanishk Singh