The Hindu

• India Post, BSNL, Andhra Bank have implemented it well
• Non-Hindi-speaking States are categorized as ‘C’ region
• Members of 111 TOLICs in the region have done well, says official

Mangalore, Jan 18: Three government organizations/undertakings — India Post, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited, and Andhra Bank at Kurnool in Andhra Pradesh — have utilized the platform offered to them by the Town Official Language Implementation Committee (TOLIC) to good effect. An informal arrangement reached among them helped one another’s business prospects and their cause in combating the competition from private players.

The TOLIC is a platform to propagate use of Hindi among Central Government offices in different cities.

This came to the fore at a national seminar for TOLICs in ‘C’ region organized by Mangalore TOLIC here on Thursday. (Most of the southern States are in C region, with States with predominantly Hindi speaking people being classified as A region and their neighbouring States as B region).

Bishwanath Jha, Deputy Director (Implementation), Department of Official Language, Ministry of Home Affairs, said: “The three bodies informally decided to support each other. The net result was they took on competition from private courier, telephone companies, and banks. Cash-rich organizations such as banks are at liberty to choose service providers of their choice. TOLIC helped these organizations utilize the forum in a more constructive manner.”
There is no rule for government departments to encourage monopolistic tendencies, even if it meant patronizing a sister government undertaking or organization.

Efforts lauded

Lauding the efforts of member organizations of 111 TOLICS in ‘C’ region for promoting Hindi as official language in their respective organizations, Jha advised chairpersons of the committees to conduct regular meetings. “In the present service-oriented society, demand fuels supply. TOLICs should create conditions necessary for propagation of Hindi. This will allow the language to flourish as the official language,” he said.

P V Valsala G Kutty, Joint Secretary, Department of Official Language, said: “It is not necessary for one to be a scholar in the language to use it. A language is learnt by using it, either spoken or written. TOLICs should adhere to a calendar of events given by the department. We will provide necessary support to any organisation, and TOLIC is keen on working in this direction.”