After drawing much ire on social media and by politicians, a Delhi government hospital on Sunday withdrew its circular asking its nursing staff not to talk in Malayalam at work.
The controversy began after an order was issued by Govind Ballabh Pant Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (GIPMER), barring nursing staff from communicating in Malayalam, stating that it was causing inconvenience to patients and colleagues.
The order, issued on Saturday, read: “A complaint has been received regarding Malayalam language being used for communication in working places in GIPMER. Whereas maximum patients and colleagues do not know this language and feel helpless, causing a lot of inconvenience. So, it is directed to all nursing personnel to use only Hindi and English for communication, otherwise serious action will be taken.”
Former Congress president and now Lok Sabha MP from Kerala, Rahul Gandhi was amongst the first ones to slam the order, saying the Malayalam was as Indian as other languages and order must be withdrawn.
Echoing similar sentiments, Shashi Tharoor, who represents Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram in the Lok Sabha, termed the hospital’s order a violation of human rights. He said that it is offensive to direct nurses not to speak in their native language in a country like India.
Several prominent people also started campaign on social media, calling out order as biased and demanding that it demeans the spirit of Kerala’s nursing fraternity, which can be easily described as backbone of the country’s health infrastructure.
Following sharp reactions from all quarters, the hospital’s circular was finally revoked on Sunday evening after the hospital administration intervened, saying it was issued without any instructions or knowledge of the hospital administration or Delhi government.
Meanwhile, Malayali Nurses Union in Delhi demanded a written apology and “serious action” against those responsible for issuing the controversial order.
“It was really shocking for us. We feel that it is a threat to our linguistic freedom. We need an apology from the concerned person as they have humiliated the whole state,” Fameer C.K., representative of Delhi Action Committee of Malayali Nurses, said. He added that a “serious action” should be taken against such “misconduct”.