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‘Hindi only’: Kerala women MLAs walk out of NCW workshop

The situation went tense at the event when some participants claimed that Hindi is the national language and raised “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” slogans

Faridabad/Thiruvananthapuram: A Kerala delegation of women legislators walked out of a National Commission for Women (NCW) workshop in Faridabad on Tuesday after protesting the exclusive use of Hindi and the lack of translation services, triggering a sharp political backlash from the state government.

The two-day national workshop, inaugurated by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, was intended to provide guidance to women legislators on lawmaking and legislative procedures. However, the Kerala delegation alleged that sessions were conducted entirely in Hindi, leaving participants from non-Hindi-speaking states unable to properly follow or contribute to the discussions.

The situation reportedly became tense when some Hindi-speaking participants asserted Hindi’s status as the national language and raised slogans including “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” while the Kerala legislators were discussing women’s reservation and constitutional issues.

Kerala Minister Bindu Krishna said the delegation had expected meaningful discussions on lawmaking, the implementation of legislation, and women’s representation, but instead found the programme poorly organised and largely focused on basic subjects. She also alleged that requests to include English in the proceedings were ignored.

The delegation responded with slogans emphasising constitutional values and India’s linguistic diversity before leaving the workshop, allegedly after being insulted.

The delegation included Deputy Speaker Shanimol Osman, Ministers Bindu Krishna and K.A. Thulasi, and MLAs K.K. Rema, Fathima Thahliya, Vidya Balakrishnan, Uma Thomas and Usha Vijayan.

Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan condemned the treatment of the Kerala legislators, accusing the organisers of imposing Hindi at a national forum and intimidating delegates from non-Hindi-speaking states. He stressed that linguistic diversity is fundamental to India’s constitutional framework and said national institutions must uphold equality, accommodation and respect for different languages.

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