‘Bengaluru is Bengaluru because of North Indians’: Woman’s comment elicits mixed reactions; Netizens say: “I don’t see anything wrong”

A video in which a woman claims that “Bengaluru is Bengaluru because of North Indians” has sparked an online debate about the city’s culture and its interactions with migrants. The clip, shared on X, shows the woman responding to a question about the “culture shock” she faced after moving to Bengaluru from north India.

Sharing her perspective, she said, “I don’t know about culture shock, but people here hate North Indians. That’s what I noticed.”

The woman also alleged that North Indians in Bengaluru are often treated differently, with some locals referring to them as “those Indians”.

“I notice that people behave differently when they know that someone is from North India. Car companies charge us higher prices, and people call us ‘those Indian people.’ We have been addressed as Indian people many times,” she explained.

“I absolutely love this city, and I would love to visit it again, but the truth is that when they see strangers, they behave differently with you. Especially when Bengaluru is the way it is now largely because of North Indians coming here. And they still do,” she added. People find it difficult to accept that.

The clip, which was shared on the microblogging platform on Saturday, has since received a lot of attention, garnering more than 691,000 views and nearly 5,000 likes. The comments section reflects a variety of opinions, with some users supporting the woman’s viewpoint, while others highlighted the importance of the situation in shaping perceptions.

“I don’t see anything wrong with her statement! And that’s the way it should be! Kannadas travel to other places too – inside and outside the country – and they don’t face this kind of hatred in the north! Even if they find it difficult to speak Hindi, most people adapt With them,” one user wrote in agreement.

Another commented: “Most of the established companies or startup founders and employees in Bangalore are from other parts of India. She is not wrong. This should not be a point of discussion in the first place. Why this unwanted division in society? Language name? I see “It is the local Kannadigas who have fallen prey to this divisive politics since the Karnataka elections.”

A third user echoed similar sentiments, saying: “I mean the number of North Indians running Bangalore is amazing. She’s not wrong.”

One user argued, “Attitude! This is the main reason why people call them strangers and treat them differently. The utwalas charge more, and the bajiwalas do the same. A bihari friend of mine is very humble, has learned some Kannada, and reacts in broken Kannada – He gets lower prices than me.”

Another commented, “I completely agreed with her until the last sentence. You can’t give credit to only North Indians for what Bengaluru is today. At the same time, it cannot be denied that there is animosity from the locals towards non-Kannadigas.”