UNESCO chairperson on International Water Cooperation Ashok Swain is drawing massive backlash on social media after a tweet that has been deemed offensive by many. Swain wrote on Twitter, “When Bengalis try to speak Hindi, it is an insult to everyone and everything!” The tweet invited a torrent of outrage; and debates on everything from nationalism, language, culture to pluralism were triggered across Twitter.

While some Twitter users said that Bengalis speaking Hindi is an attempt to be inclusive which should not be disparaged, others said that there is no one perfect way to speak a language. There were more people who claimed there were double standards in the scenario, as when equal criticism is not often meted out to Hindi-speaking people attempting to speak Bengali.

Language and discrimination based on it have been subjects of discussion on Indian Twitter for a long time.

(With inputs from agencies)