Salman Yusuff Khan, choreographer and actor, who was seen in films like Street Dancer 3D and Wanted, took to his Instagram handle to share that he was harassed at the Bengaluru airport by an immigration officer.

He also asserted that he is 'angry' and had to prove his loyalty towards the city because he was asked to speak in Kannada. The officer claimed he could 'suspect' him of anything because he didn't know Kannada.

Salman Yusuff Khan
Instagram

Here's what he wrote:

"On my way to dubai and I meet this immigration officer who speaks to me in Kannada .. and I in my broken Kannada try to tell him that I understand the language but can't speak so well to which he continues to speak in Kannada and shows me my passport and points out my name and my birth place and my fathers name and his birthplace and has the audacity to tell me that .. you and your father are born in bangalore and u can't speak Kannada .. to which I replied .. that being born in bangalore doesn't mean I'm born with the language ... I could be born in Bangalore and travelled the world like I have been always a Saudi child bought up in Saudi .. (ps: I have never had Kannada as a language as I never lived in the country during my schooling .. what ever little that I know is through my friends )
to which he goes to the extent of saying that .. if u can't speak Kannada I can suspect you ...

I told him that I know my nations official language Hindi and my mother tongue is Hindi why should I know Kannada ..
I asked him again suspect me for what ..?and he says . I can just suspect you for anything ...
I told him ... TRY ME .
And got a little louder and repeated TRY ME .. thrice ...

To which he kept quiet ..
I told him that if uneducated people like you continue to live in this country this country will never grow ...
To which he just kept his head down and murmuring ...
Trying to report this incident to the airport authorities but no one seems to be guiding me ..
well this is wht I get to represent my city and win national accolades.. that I have to prove my self to these uneducated Brutes ..
@blrairport

Ps: I am a proud bangalorean but what I've faced today is unacceptable ... you should always encourage people to learn any local language not demean them for not knowing it .. and pulling your parents name into it." [sic]


Many Netizens came out in support of Salman and dropped comments like, "So many are commenting with the same attitude as that airport official. Expecting ppl to learn kannada as a survival skill and accusing ppl of not knowing kannada are two extremely different things. In Bangalore ppl accuse. Their attitude changes loud and rude if you don't speak the native slang of kannada. Other cities don't make you feel so out of place. I understand how irritated you must feel. Let this go, you have better things to do!"

Another user wrote, "Very common thing that happens to everyone in Karnataka or in south...." [sic]

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