THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Information and Public Relations Department (I&PRD) has decided to avoid the use of the terms ‘Harijan,’ ‘Girijan’ and ‘Dalit’ in all the publications under it. An internal circular in this regard was issued by I&PRD director K Ampady earlier this month. The circular was issued based on a directive from the Kerala State Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
The commission had issued a notice to the government following a complaint filed by Jithin R S claiming the terms in questions were insulting to people belonging to the SC communities. I&PRD has banned the use of the three terms from its publications, including Samakalika Janapatham and Kerala Calling and the visual and audio media under it. According to the I&PRD director, there was nothing extraordinary in the move since the government had issued orders in 2003 and 2008 in this regard.