CHENNAI: Faced with stiff opposition from various quarters, Southern Railway on Friday withdrew an earlier circular mandating that the communication between Station Masters and Divisional Control Office be only in English or Hindi. The circular wanted the usage of regional language to be avoided to prevent a situation where either side does not understand what is being said.
The issue, which has sprung up on the heels of protests against the proposed three language policy in school education, saw regional political parties raising their voice against ‘imposition of Hindi’. Major parties such as DMK, PMK and MDMK condemned the move to avoid Tamil in departmental communication. “Forcing not to speak in Tamil, but in Hindi is not only imposition of language but linguistic chauvinism,” said MK Stalin.
PMK chief S Ramadoss claimed there were many north Indians employed with Southern Railway and they must take the effort to learn Tamil.
According to media reports, the order was sent out after a collision between two trains was narrowly averted following a misunderstanding among officials speaking different languages.