Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu urged Indian residents to make the effort to learn the local language when moving to a new state, saying that doing so reflects an expression of "true nationalism".
Globalisation has made many Indians from urban areas see themselves as "global citizens" and they were losing touch with their roots, the cloud-based software company's chief scientist said while speaking to a publication on Monday.
He called patriotic spirit "essential" and said that the "educated elite" should have a sense of belonging to the nation. He said that development would be "meaningless" without patriotic spirit.
He championed having cultural and linguistic pride, and encouraged people to learn the region's language when they move to a new region.
"Within Tamil Nadu, I speak Tamil as much as possible. And I tell people, if you are going to move to Bengaluru, learn Kannada. If you're going to move to Mumbai, learn Marathi. All our languages are important,” he said.
Vembu said that the "spirit of belonging" was strong in rural areas such as villages and small towns as contrasted with urban areas where he said that feeling was fading away.
“If you see rural India, if you see our smaller towns, there is that sense of belonging to the nation. Unfortunately, it has gone missing in our hyper-educated elite. Because of exposure, we think, 'I'm a global citizen. I'll live wherever.' That attitude has to change,” he said.
Vembu named countries who embody such as Japan, Korea and China where their national languages are given utmost importance, crediting their national pride and self-dependence with their development.
"They developed because they had that spirit. Without that spirit, all these questions about growth or brain drain become meaningless," he said.
He also credited this spirit with Zoho's endeavour to build offices and training centres in rural areas to keep local talent.
"They developed because they had that spirit. Without that spirit, all these questions about growth or brain drain become meaningless," Vembu said.
Watch LIVE TV, Get Stock Market Updates, Top Business, IPO and Latest News on NDTV Profit.
