State-run insurer Life Insurance Corporation or LIC Tuesday blamed “technical downside” as Tamil Nadu protested the web site’s swap to Hindi within the state, terming it a “linguistic tyranny” and pushed for its quick rollback.
“Our company web site was not shuffling the language web page on account of some technical downside. The challenge is resolved now, and the web site is out there in English/Hindi language. Inconvenience brought on is deeply regretted,” the LIC mentioned in a clarification because the row escalated.
Soon after the information of the swap unfold, MK Stalin termed LIC a “propaganda instrument for Hindi imposition”.
“The LIC web site has been diminished to a propaganda instrument for Hindi imposition. Even the choice to pick out English is displayed in Hindi,” complained Mr Stalin on X.
“We demand a right away rollback of this linguistic tyranny,” he mentioned.
Be it central authorities or LIC, they need to realise that they belong to all individuals and never solely to Hindi talking individuals, mentioned Dr S Ramadoss, founding father of Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK).
“A sudden desire for Hindi alone is just not acceptable when all of the language talking individuals in India are clients of LIC. Even shopper items value Rs.10 are despatched to Tamil Nadu on the market, the title of which is printed in both Tamil or English. But LIC, which has an enormous buyer base in Tamil Nadu, has solely the primary web page of its web site in Hindi and has created an surroundings the place they’ve to look and select English language companies, which is an insult to Tamil Nadu clients,” mentioned Dr Ramadoss, including that the “residence web page of LIC web site needs to be modified to English instantly”.
Most just lately, in October, Chief Minister MK Stalin had posed a collection of inquiries to Governor RN Ravi concerning a lacking line from Tamil Nadu’s state anthem throughout its rendition in an occasion the place the Governor was the chief visitor. Mr Stalin criticised the Governor for “vilifying the Dravidian race” and attempting to “impose Hindi in all places”.
Tamil Nadu has an extended historical past of anti-Hindi agitation courting again to the Nineteen Thirties. The huge protests in opposition to Hindi imposition within the Nineteen Sixties had catapulted Mr Stalin’s celebration, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), to energy. The then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had assured persevering with English as a hyperlink language so long as non-Hindi-speaking states settle for Hindi.
The state has additionally been vehemently opposing the three-language formulation as a part of the brand new training coverage, which states like Tamil Nadu suspect would push college students to study Hindi as a 3rd language.
Tamil Nadu BJP Vice President Narayanan Thirupathy too batted for English because the default language.
“I request @LICIndiaWithout end to vary its web site from current kind which is in Hindi. Those who cannot learn Hindi are unable to transform it in to English. Hence the quilt could have English and those that wish to use Hindi could go for it,” Mr Thirupathy posted on X.
Last 12 months in March, a directive from India’s meals security authority to rename curd packets as “Dahi” in Hindi was modified after it sparked a backlash from Tamil Nadu’s Chief Minister and milk producers, who noticed it as an try to impose Hindi on non-Hindi talking states.