Kanimozhi’s experience not unusual, have faced similar taunts, says P Chidambaram

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Monday came out in support of DMK MP Kanimozhi who was asked whether she was an Indian by a CISF officer at the airport here for not knowing Hindi, saying he had also experienced “such taunts” from government officers and citizens.

In a series of tweets, Chidambaram, who was Union Finance and Home Minister in the UPA-I and UPA-II, asked why cannot recruits to Central Government offices learn “functional English” when non-Hindi speaking recruits quickly learn “functional and spoken Hindi.”

Also read — Asked if I was an Indian for not knowing Hindi at airport: Kanimozhi

His reaction came a day after Kanimozhi complained that a CISF officer asked her if she was Indian for not knowing Hindi. The DMK Lok Sabha MP from Thoothukudi had told DH that the incident took place at the security check area of the Chennai Airport on Sunday afternoon when she told the officer to make announcements in Tamil or in English and not in Hindi.

After the incident, the CISF expressed regret and ordered an enquiry into the issue.

“The unpleasant experience of DMK MP Ms Kanimozhi at Chennai airport is not unusual. I have experienced similar taunts from government officers and ordinary citizens who insisted that I speak in Hindi during telephone conversations and sometimes face to face,” Chidambaram tweeted.

If the Central government is genuinely committed to both Hindi and English being the official languages of India, it must insist that all central government employees are bilingual in Hindi and English, he added.

“Non-Hindi speaking recruits to central government posts quickly learn functional, spoken Hindi. Why cannot Hindi-speaking recruits to central government posts learn functional, spoken English?” the former Union Minister asked.

Kanimozhi’s complaint triggered a fresh debate on “Hindi imposition” in institutions and installations managed by the Centre in non-Hindi speaking states.

Kanimozhi’s allegations of “Hindi imposition” came close on the heels of the DMK viewing the three-language policy proposed in the New Education Policy (NEP) as an attempt to bring Sanskrit via the “back door.”

DMK, which was at the forefront of the anti-Hindi agitation in the 1960s and came to power in 1967 riding high on the wave, has been consistent in its stand on “Hindi imposition” as language is a highly emotive issue in Tamil Nadu.