Irked by repeated official letters in Hindi from a BJP minister, CPI(M)’s Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas wrote back in Malayalam to register his protest. In a statement released on November 3, Brittas said that with regard to official communications, Minister of State for Railways Ravneet Singh Bittu “makes it a point to write exclusively in Hindi”. He added that he was “compelled” to reply in Malayalam.
In the Malayalam letter, the CPI(M) MP said that Ravneet had been repeatedly sending replies in Hindi, to questions raised in Parliament regarding the Railways Ministry. He added that as a South Indian, his knowledge of Hindi was minimal and that he cannot read the language. He also alleged that Ravneet had done the same to other ministers, adding, “Neither I nor my colleagues intend at this stage to learn Hindi in order to read and understand your letters.”
He further alleged in the letter that the repeated responses in Hindi appear to be a “deliberate policy”. Brittas further added that Hindi is “only one of the 22 languages in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution in our country with a diverse linguistic culture. It is our policy and practice to use Hindi along with English (mandatory for south Indians) for all official communications. Under Section 3 of the Official Languages Act, 1963, it is stipulated that the Union government shall continue to use English for all official purposes and googfinal shall be used for communications related to parliamentary proceedings.”