The circular was withdrawn after the DMK in Tamil Nadu took it up with Southern Railway officials, with the opposition slamming it as another attempt at "imposing" Hindi
Chennai: A row erupted in Tamil Nadu on Friday over a circular of the Southern Railway making English and Hindi mandatory as the languages of communication between divisional control officers and station masters.
The circular was withdrawn after the DMK took it up with officials with the opposition slamming it as another attempt at "imposing" Hindi.
The circular, issued in May and published in a section of media on Friday, had come days after a reported language issue between two station masters in Madurai district leading to two trains running on the same track surfaced. Three officials were suspended over the incident.
Calling the move "arrogant", DMK president MK Stalin alleged that the circular amounted to imposing Hindi and destroying the local language.
"They are repeatedly playing with the sentiments of Tamils. If such cheap orders are not stopped immediately, we will put a full stop to them," Stalin posted on Facebook in Tamil.
On the DMK chief's instructions, party MP Dayanidhi Maran presented a memorandum to Southern Railway general manager Rahul Jain and chief operations manager S Anantharaman against the circular. The officials assured them of withdrawing the circular with "immediate effect".
Maran later told reporters that the DMK would "make any sacrifice" to prevent what he said was the imposition of Hindi in Tamil Nadu.
Officials in the Southern Railway clarified that the circular was "purely internal" and issued to avoid any communication problem.
The controversy comes close on the heels of the row over the alleged imposition of Hindi in the draft of the new education policy, which was revised later. The DMK had said that only two-language formula should exist in the state.
"We had come with the intention of staging a protest if our demand was not heeded to, but they have assured us of cancelling the circular and Stalin has ensured a good solution to the matter," Maran said, "(The) DMK will make any sacrifices to prevent attempts of Hindi imposition."
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