Hindi vs Kannada: Viral video shows Bengaluru autos charging Hindi-speaking woman more money – Hindustan Times

Amid the ongoing Hindi vs Kannada debate, an Instagram video shows two women trying to hail autos in Bengaluru while talking to the autorickshaw drivers in Hindi and Kannada. In the video, the women attempt to hail the autos for various locations across Bengaluru with just one difference: One of them approached the auto drivers in Hindi while another spoke Kannada.

The reel shows one auto driver reject the woman who was speaking Hindi while he agreed to ferry the Kannada-speaking woman even though both asked to go to the same location. Another auto driver asked to be paid ₹300 for Indiranagar when the Hindi-speaking woman approached him, but reduced the fare to ₹200 when asked in Kannada by the other woman. One driver completely ignored the Hindi-speaking woman when she approached him but agreed to ferry the Kannada speaker. (Also read: Bengaluru auto driver’s unique initiative to bridge language gap goes viral)

However, there were exceptions too as some drivers charged the same amount irrespective of language. The two women ended the video by advising their viewers to learn Kannada.

Take a look at the video here:

‘Learn Kannada, save money’

The video has a staggering 4.7 million views and was flooded with comments from surprised users who were shocked to see the disparity in prices and discrimination by the auto drivers.

“Real heights of stupidity and discrimination happens only here,” wrote one user while another asked, “Why do peeps glorify regional disparity and discrimination without any shame?”

Others compared them to auto services in Indian cities like Mumbai and Hyderabad. “Come to Hyderabad, no one will force you to learn any language and auto drivers will work for their living,” said one user.

(Also read: Bengaluru auto driver gets abused by a woman for confronting her for cancellation)

Another user wondered why the auto drivers were not using their fare metres. “Metre is showpiece? Thank god at least in Mumbai auto runs on metre irrespective of Hindi/Marathi,” they wrote.