Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram slammed the Union government "increasing practice" of using Hindi words, written in English script- in the titles of Bills introduced in Parliament, calling it an “affront” to non-Hindi-speaking citizens and states.
In a post on X, the former Union minister said that such titles make it difficult for non-Hindi speakers to identify, understand, or even pronounce the names of Bills and Acts.
“I am opposed to the increasing practice of the government using Hindi words written in English letters in the title of Bills introduced in Parliament,” Chidambaram said.
He pointed out that for nearly 75 years, parliamentary practice had been to use English titles in the English version of Bills and Hindi titles in the Hindi version, without causing any difficulty.
“When no one found fault with this long-standing practice, why change it now?” he asked.
Chidambaram argued that the shift undermines linguistic diversity and disregards states whose official languages are not Hindi. He also warned that the government’s move could threaten the long-standing assurance that English would continue as an Associate Official Language.
“Successive governments have reiterated this promise. I fear it is now in danger of being broken,” the Congress MP said.