Bhubneshwar: BJD seeks withdrawal of Hindi circular, AIIMS defends action

BHUBANESWAR: The BJD on Saturday upped ante against the controversial circular of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Bhubaneswar. The circular advocates use of Hindi in official communication.
A BJD delegation, led by Puri MP and party’s leader in Lok Sabha Pinaki Mishra, met AIIMS director Gitanjali Batmanabane, seeking withdrawal of the directive, citing it arbitrary and discriminatory.
The delegation also submitted two memoranda, addressed to the director, AIIMS, and Union health and family welfare minister Harsh Vardhan.
The BJD memorandum said AIIMS Bhubaneswar, is a public institution. It said people receiving treatment from AIIMS speak Odia and by imposing Hindi on the people of Odisha, it is jeopardising the interests of patients, their attendants and the stakeholders of the society in Odisha.
“Such imposition of Hindi language is discriminatory, arbitrary and in gross violation of norms which will adversely affect thousands of people of Odisha, who seek healthcare in AIIMS,” read the memorandum.
Briefing reporters after meeting the AIIMS director, Pinaki said, “The AIIMS director clarified that the circular will not affect the patients visiting the premier healthcare institute.”
The patient care services will continue in Odia and English. The circular does not mean that the patients visiting AIIMS need to learn Hindi. The director clarified that since the language committee of Parliament pulls up them for not meeting the target (on using Hindi in official communication), they have issued such a directive for their internal communication. Those having proficiency in Hindi would use the language in their internal noting, said Pinaki.
The Puri MP said they have urged the AIIMS authorities to give priority to Odia and demanded three-language (Odia, Hindi and English) formula in all signages.
The AIIMS directive on use of Hindi was issued a day before the International Mother Tongue Day on Friday triggered controversy with opposition parties targeting the Centre.
Clearing the air, the AIIMS director said most of their signages are either in Odia or English.
“Whatever we are talking about (the directive) is an internal memo, which was circulated because there is something called as Official Language Act. We are supposed to comply with the law. The directive is meant for those people, who are proficient in Hindi,” said the AIIMS director.
She said the order clearly says that it is for persons concerned which means those people, who are conversant in Hindi and not meant for everyone. “Even I don’t know Hindi. I can’t read Hindi neither can I write. So, this circular is also not meant for me too. Somehow it has been misinterpreted,” she said.
On BJD’s demand for three-language formula, the AIIMS director said they have assured the ruling party that they will use Odia as the first language in all signages followed by Hindi and English.
She further said they have started teaching Odia language in first year of MBBS so that the students will be able to talk to patients in Odia by the time they reach the clinical years.