Kerala CM slams Delhi hospital circular on use of Malayalam by staff

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday deplored the controversial circular issued by a Delhi government-run hospital, barring the use of Malayalam language by its nursing employees at work, and called it an ''assault on our diversity''. 

However, he lauded the hospital authorities for withdrawing the order following criticism from various quarters. 

''Malayalam is one of the official languages of India which has a classical language status. 

Although it was a delayed decision, the authorities did a commendable job by withdrawing the circular which was against the cultural and democratic set up of our country,'' Vijayan posted on his Facebook page. 

The CM hailed officials of GB Pant hospital for taking corrective measures by revoking the circular and said it was ''unacceptable for a civilised society to divide the employees on the basis of language and culture''. 

The Delhi health department has issued a memo to Govind Ballabh Pant Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education and Research (GIPMER) in connection with the controversial circular, sources said. 

According to the circular issued by the hospital on Saturday, a complaint had been received regarding Malayalam language being used for communication in working places in GIPMER. 

It stated that maximum patients and colleagues do not know the language and feel helpless causing a lot of inconvenience. 

The order then directed all nursing personnel to use only Hindi and English for communication. 

The circular has drawn flak from the medical fraternity, political leaders and the public.