Coimbatore Medical College Hospital changes medicine covers after instructions in Hindi spark controversy
Coimbatore Medical College Hospital replaced medicine covers featuring Hindi instructions following public backlash and criticism from political leaders. The hospital administration stated the covers were supplied by a cooperative society and were intended to assist the city's large migrant worker population.
Why it matters
The incident highlights the ongoing sensitivity surrounding language policy and regional identity in Tamil Nadu, where the imposition of Hindi is often viewed as a challenge to the state's two-language policy.
The Coimbatore Medical College Hospital (CMCH) administration on Tuesday replaced the brown paper covers used to dispense medicines to patients with fresh ones after instructions printed in Hindi on the former triggered a row, with many criticising it as contradicting the two-language policy of Tamil Nadu.
DMK leader and former Minister for Industries T.R.B. Raja was among those who criticised the inclusion of Hindi instructions on the covers.
“(It) seems like the three-language policy is being implemented in Tamil Nadu hospitals too! First Karur... Now the same situation in Coimbatore as well”, he posted on X, along with a photo of a pharmacy cover purportedly issued by CMCH, with instruction in Tamil, English and Hindi. He had posted earlier that similar covers with instructions in three languages were being used in Karur.
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