- Thursday, April 25, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
INDIA’S notorious language barrier came to the fore at a time when the nation is fighting a serious battle against the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. A government hospital in Delhi recently faced a backlash from the medical fraternity, politicians and general people after it issued a circular asking the nursing staff members not to speak in Malayalam while on duty. The authorities revoked the controversial order later.
On Saturday, June 5, the nursing superintendent of Delhi government’s Govind Ballabh Pant Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education & Research (GIPMER) issued the circular asking the nursing staff to speak only in Hindi and English. It read: “A complaint has been received regarding Malayalam language being used for communication in working places in GIPMER. Whereas maximum patients and colleagues do not know this language and feel helpless causing a lot of inconvenience. So, it is directed to all nursing personnel to use only Hindi and English for communication. Otherwise, serious action will be taken.” But once the controversy exploded, the authorities backtracked.
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On Sunday, June 6, the order was revoked fast and an investigation was underway. Dr Anil Agarwal, the hospital’s medical doctor, issued an order that said: “The circular, which was issued by the nursing superintendent, G B Pant Hospital, without any instruction or knowledge of the hospital administration and the Delhi government, stands withdrawn with immediate effect.”
The Press Trust of India reported that the Delhi health department issued a memo to GIPMER related to the circular. Dr Agarwal told PTI that the matter was being investigated and strict action will be taken. According to one source, the health department has asked the hospital to give an explanation why such an order was issued.
Rahul Gandhi, a Kerala MP, slams move
The Congress slammed the move saying it was unconstitutional and breached the fundamental rights. The party’s leaders led by Rahul Gandhi lashed out at the hospital authorities saying discrimination based on language must end.
Gandhi, who is a Member of Parliament from Wayanad in the state of Kerala where Malayalam is spoken, said: “Malayalam is as Indian as any other Indian language. Stop language discrimination”. His sister and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi also criticised the incident and said in a tweet in Malayalam: “This order violates the basic values of our country”. She also said that the order was nothing short of an insult to nurses and health workers from Kerala who have been working to save others in these times while putting themselves at risk. She also demanded an apology.
Crude, offensive, says Shashi Tharoor
Shashi Tharoor, another Congress MP from Kerala from where he also hails, called the order “unacceptable, crude, offensive and a violation of the basic human rights of Indian citizens”. KC Venugopal, another general secretary of the party from Kerala, wrote a letter to India’s Central Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan requesting him to take action against the concerned hospital authorities. “I would urge you to look into this matter and take immediate measures to withdraw the atrocious and discriminatory circular. I would also urge you to take immediate disciplinary action against the persons who issued such a circular based on linguistic discrimination,” he said in his letter.
Nurses’ associations condemn circular
Delhi’s Malayali nurses’ union also expressed shock over the circular and sought a written apology and “serious action” against those who are behind the controversy. Fameer CK, representative of Delhi Action Committee of Malayali Nurses told ANI: “It was really shocking for us. We feel that it is a threat to our linguistic freedom. We need an apology from the concerned person as they have humiliated the whole state.”
An official at the hospital’s nurses’ association said out of 850 nurses working there, around 400 are Malayali. Liladhar Ramchandani, the president of the association, said the circular was issued on the basis of a complaint made by a patient to a senior officer in the health department about the use of Malayalam at the hospital, the PTI added. He said the union did not agree with the words used in the circular.
