Learn Kannada or face termination: Karnataka authority warns bank employees

Last month, social media was abuzz with hashtag #NammaBankuKannadaBeku which means 'Our banks need Kannada'

Bengaluru: It is now mandatory for all bank employees in Karnataka to learn local language Kannada within the next six months or face termination from work.

A new circular, issued by Kannada Development Authority (KDA) on Monday, asked regional heads of all nationalised, rural and scheduled banks to make it compulsory for all non-Kannada speaking staff to learn Kannada within six months.

"If employees who do not know Kannada fail to learn the language within six months, they should be relieved of their services in accordance with the recruitment rules," said KDA chairman SG Siddaramaiah.

KDA further directed that everyday business of banks should be carried out in local language Kannada, so that locals are not excluded from banking services, especially in rural areas.

Last month, social media was abuzz with hashtag #NammaBankuKannadaBeku which roughly translates to 'Our banks need Kannada', a movement started by various outfits and political parties demanding all banks allow consumers to use their facilities in the local language.

Over the past few days, Hindi signboards were also blackened in the Bengaluru Metro.

KDA also wants all bank branches in Karnataka to have a Kannada unit similar to the Hindi units which were opened across the country during the implementation of Hindi.

Siddaramaiah further added that bank authorities must adopt the three-language formula in all advertisements and reports published. Whether KDA has the authority to sack bank staff or not is unclear so far. 

Earlier this year, a customer took ICICI bank to court after his cheque was dishonoured on the grounds that its written in Kannada.