Chennai, Oct 7:
The appearance of Hindi alongside Tamil and English on medicine covers used at government hospitals in Karur and Coimbatore has triggered a fresh political controversy in Tamil Nadu, with DMK leader T R B Rajaa questioning whether the three-language policy is being introduced in the State’s healthcare institutions.
Rajaa, a former minister and DMK IT wing secretary, shared photographs of medicine covers on social media and alleged that the Tamil Nadu government was allowing Hindi to be used in government hospitals despite the State’s longstanding two-language policy.
“First Karur, now Coimbatore,” Rajaa said in his social media post, questioning the presence of Hindi on the covers used to distribute medicines to patients. He alleged that the development amounted to another attempt at Hindi imposition and criticised the TVK government over the issue.
The issue assumes significance against the backdrop of the long-standing political opposition in Tamil Nadu to the Centre’s three-language formula. The State has traditionally followed a two-language policy involving Tamil and English, while successive governments have opposed the introduction of Hindi as a compulsory additional language.
The latest controversy emerged after medicine covers used at the Karur Government Medical College Hospital and Coimbatore Medical College Hospital were found carrying instructions in Tamil, English and Hindi. The matter has drawn comparisons with a recent controversy over Hindi appearing on a State Highways Department signboard in Thoothukudi district.
However, reports from the hospitals have provided a different perspective on the origin of the covers. The dean of Karur Government Medical College Hospital, M Bharathi Mohan, said the covers appeared to have been printed in December last year and had surfaced only now. He said the covers had been distributed unknowingly and that instructions had been issued to stop using them.
The Coimbatore Medical College Hospital administration also stopped the distribution of the trilingual covers following the controversy. The hospital’s resident medical officer, B Saravanapriya, however, said the same covers had been in use for more than 18 months, including during the previous government. She said the covers were printed at the Chinthamani Cooperative Society using funds provided by sponsors.
The differing explanations have added another dimension to the political dispute. While the DMK has linked the appearance of Hindi to concerns over the three-language policy, the hospital-level explanation indicates that the covers were not necessarily introduced as part of a new government language policy.
The controversy comes days after Hindi lettering on a newly installed signboard on the Sathankulam-Nazareth State Highway in Thoothukudi district triggered criticism. The Hindi lettering was subsequently removed, and the State government said its inclusion violated Tamil Nadu’s two-language policy. Two officials associated with the signboard were also suspended and departmental action was initiated.