CISF officer asked her – if she could not speak Hindi, is she an Indian: Kanimozhi

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) MP Kanimozhi on Sunday alleged that when she could not speak in Hindi at the Chennai airport, a CISF official asked her “is she an Indian”.

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) MP Kanimozhi on Sunday alleged that when she could not speak Hindi at the Chennai airport, a CISF official asked her “is she an Indian”. At this, the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), while ordering the investigation of the case, said that it is not their policy to insist on any particular language. 

DMK Lok Sabha member Kanimozhi thanked the CISF for assuring immediate response and action on the incident. Kanimozhi, the secretary of the DMK women’s branch, tweeted, “Today at the airport when I asked a CISF official to talk to me in Tamil or English because I don’t know Hindi, they asked me ‘Am I Indian?’ ‘.’ 

Party sources said that the incident happened at the Chennai airport when Kanimozhi reached there in the afternoon to board a flight to Delhi. Kanimozhi has reached the national capital and she will stay there for the next few days to attend some official programs. She wrote on Twitter with the #hindiimpose, “I would like to know that since when being an Indian has become equal to knowing Hindi.” 

Immediately, the CISF asked her for the full details of the incident. CISF tweeted, “Best wishes to you from CISF Headquarters. We have taken a serious note of this distasteful experience that you had. Please send us information such as the name of the official, location of the airport, and the date and time of the incident, so that appropriate action can be taken in this matter. “Soon the CISF said that it has ordered an inquiry into the matter. It is not their policy to insist on any particular language. Note that the  CISF comes under the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.

This is not the first incident of its kind and may not be the last. Time and again many officials have tried to shame citizens for not knowing Hindi. It has to be kept in mind that Hindi is not the national language of the country, and to be a citizen one does not need to be proficient in it.