Govt officers insisted that I speak in Hindi: Chidambaram

After DMK Lok Sabha member Kanimozhi alleged that a CISF official asked her if she was an Indian as she could not speak Hindi, senior Congress leader and former Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Monday (August 10) said he had also experienced similar taunts from government officials.

In a series of tweets, Chidambaram said the unpleasant experience of Kanimozhi at the Chennai airport was 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,” he 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,” Chidambaram said, asking why cannot Hindi speaking recruits to central government posts learn functional, spoken English.

On Sunday (August 09), Kanimozhi tweeted, “Today at the airport a CISF officer asked me if ”I am an Indian” when I asked her to speak to me in Tamil or English as I did not know Hindi,”. “I would like to know from when being Indian is equal to knowing Hindi,” she tweeted with the hashtag “hindiimposition.”

The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) sought details from her soon after. According to party sources, the incident occurred in Chennai when the was at the airport to board a Delhi flight in the afternoon. She has reached the national capital and she will be there for a few more days and has official engagements.