Kerala women MLAs walk out of workshop over Hindi-only sessions
Delegates protest language exclusion at Faridabad event
New Delhi: Kerala Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan has condemned the treatment of the state’s delegation of women MLAs at a National Commission for Women (NCW) workshop in Faridabad after the legislators walked out over the exclusive use of Hindi and the lack of translation facilities, saying, “India is not a monolithic entity.”
According to Kashmir Media Service, a delegation of women legislators from Kerala walked out of a two-day workshop organised by the National Commission for Women (NCW) in Faridabad, protesting the exclusive use of Hindi during the sessions and the absence of translation facilities for participants from non-Hindi-speaking states.
Tensions escalated after some Hindi-speaking delegates reportedly called Hindi the national language, questioned those who could not understand it and raised slogans, including “Bharat Mata Ki Jai”.
The capacity-building programme, inaugurated by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, was intended to provide guidance on legislative proceedings, but Kerala legislators said they were unable to properly follow or participate in the sessions, which were conducted entirely in Hindi.
Kerala Minister Bindhu Krishna, who also attended the workshop, said the delegation had come to Suresh Kund in Faridabad with “great expectation”, hoping that, as legislators, they would receive “more guidelines from the workshop”, which was titled “She Is a Changemaker.”
Kerala women MLAs walk out of workshop over Hindi-only sessions
She said women are “change makers” and that the delegation had come expecting “a great change on the positive side”, particularly information, ideas and guidance on “how we frame new laws or how we implement laws.”
Krishna said that although the posters and other materials were in English, “all the class was in Hindi. That too Khadi Boli Hindi.”
“We are coming from South India. We can understand to some extent, but we can’t respond properly. So we asked, ‘Let’s mix it with English. Then we can also understand.’ But nobody heard,” she said.
Krishna also said the agenda mentioned an open house in the evening, but “there was no open house or debate or discussion or something like that.”
She said the legislators also did not know who else had attended the programme, as there was “not even a single self-introduction”, and they had no opportunity to get to know the other women participants from different parts of the country.
She said the second day began with a session on self-help groups (SHGs), but the legislators had expected more from the workshop.
“Today’s workshop, we got nothing,” she said, adding that the discussions focused on issues such as “how to file a complaint before the police, how to call an ambulance” and SHG-related matters.
Krishna said legislators were expected to be lawmakers who would “redefine our area, our state and also the Centre”, rather than participate primarily in discussions on SHGs.
Krishna questioned the NCW’s intervention on the issue, saying, “You should have to intervene in the matter and implement the bill, implement the law.” She also expressed concern that the women’s reservation law appeared to be linked to delimitation and “One Nation, One Election”, saying, “That is not good.”
She said that when she and others attempted to raise these issues, the chairperson told them that “it is not the time for discussion” and that an open discussion could take place elsewhere. “We came for discussions, debates, and at this workshop, we expected all that, but nothing happened,” she said.
According to Krishna, other participants then raised the slogan “Bharat Mata Ki Jai.” She said the slogan had been used by freedom fighters and Congress leaders and that “we love it, we respect it,” but alleged that it has now become associated with the BJP. She said the slogan was raised while the delegation was debating the women’s reservation bill and alleged that they were “trying to heckle” them.
She said that the delegation was subsequently insulted, following which “we boycotted and came here.” Calling the incident “an unfortunate thing,” Krishna said the organisers should have included the Kerala legislators as part of “inclusive development, inclusive change making,” adding, “So, that did not happen.”
During the session, Kerala Deputy Speaker Shanimol Usman asked how the delegation could understand the proceedings and, “Why are you not speaking in English also?” Krishna said the question was raised repeatedly but received no response.
The Kerala 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.
Addressing a press conference, MLA Fathima Thahliya said the delegation respects Hindi but argued that the organisers should have considered the language barrier before inviting legislators from across the country.
MLA K.K. Rema said the NCW chairperson should have intervened when “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” slogans were raised, while MLA Uma Thomas said there was “no interaction or introduction” among participants and described the workshop as a poorly planned programme.
“Raising ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ while we were discussing inclusivity was insulting,” said Uma Thomas.
“The treatment meted out to Keralam’s delegation of women MLAs at the NCW workshop is deeply condemnable,” Chief Minister Satheeshan said, alleging that forcing Hindi at a national conclave and intimidating delegates from non-Hindi-speaking states “strikes at the core of our constitutional compact.”
He said India’s strength lies not in linguistic uniformity but in “the unity of its diversity”, arguing that different languages, cultures and identities should enrich rather than diminish the country’s national fabric.
The treatment meted out to Keralam’s delegation of women MLAs at the NCW workshop is deeply condemnable. Forcing Hindi at a national conclave and intimidating delegates from non-Hindi speaking states strikes at the core of our constitutional compact.
