Tamil Nadu - Erode   

‘Police must use Tamil in their day-to-day work’

PHOTO: M. GOVARTHAN

On use of Tamil: District Revenue Officer, Erode, M. Mayakrishnan, speaking at a seminar in Erode on Monday. —

ERODE: Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board (TWAD), Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) and police have fared poorly in using Tamil in administration, M. Rajendran, Deputy Director, Tamil Development Department, Salem, has said.

“While the first two can be shown some leniency on account of the technical nature of their jobs, the police must be held responsible because right from last person in the constabulary to the officer, there is a reluctance to use Tamil,” he said while participating at a seminar-cum-workshop in Erode on Monday on using Tamil in administration.

The police justified the use of English citing court proceedings, though the Tamil Nadu Government clearly mentioned that lower judicial administration ought to be in Tamil.

The police must resort to Tamil in their day-to-day work, he said.

The TWAD Board was the worse of the three as almost all the proceedings were in English, he said and added that the Tamil Development Department to address the needs of such technical departments, wings of the Government had come up with a separate supplementary glossary for technical departments.

This was in addition to the glossary (aatchi sol agarathi) the Department had published for employees of all departments, he said and added that the glossary’s seventh edition was underway.

Even after the Department published the glossary and technical supplement, many departments were reluctant to use Tamil as administrative language, he said and pointed out that it had to also come up with English-Tamil dictionary and handbook glossary.

It was in the hope that people would start using Tamil in office.

Mr. Rajendran said the Tamil Development Department had a realistic approach and understood the challenges in using Tamil in administration, because of which it had granted exemptions to Government departments.

Letters to foreign governments, embassies or High Commissions, other state governments, Union Government, high courts and higher judiciary and private organisations were permitted to be in English, he pointed out and added that even after so much the Departments task remained only half accomplished.

He, however, conceded that use of English, which was due to the impact of 250-plus-year rule of English, could not be undone in 50 years.

District Revenue Officer, Erode, M. Mayakrishnan, who presided over the function, said it was important for every Government employee to use Tamil in office.

He pointed out that how other state governments that had followed Tamil Nadu in enacting legislation to use the respective regional languages in administration had surpassed the State in implementing the same.

He asked Government employees to ensure that the State was not only first in enacting the legislation but also in implementation.

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‘Police must use Tamil in their day-to-day work’

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