New Delhi: After coming under heavy criticism for asking its nursing staff not to use Malayalam at work as “maximum patients and colleagues do not know this language”, Govind Ballabh Pant Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education and Research (GIPMER) has withdrawn its circular. The circular had asked its nurses to use only Hindi and English for communication or face “strict action”.The hospital administration has claimed that the circular was issued without their knowledge.The circular issues by GB Pant hospital which asked its staff to refrain from speaking in Malayalam.Among those who criticised the circular for being discriminatory were Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Congress Lok Sabha MP from Thiruvananthapuram Shashi Tharoor. “Malayalam is as Indian as any other Indian language. Stop language discrimination,” wrote Gandhi.It boggles the mind that in democratic India a government institution can tell its nurses not to speak in their mother tongue to others who understand them. This is unacceptable, crude,offensive and a violation of the basic human rights of Indian citizens. A reprimand is overdue! pic.twitter.com/za7Y4yYzzX— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) June 5, 2021Congress MP K.C. Venugopal, in a letter to Union health minister Harsh Vardhan, also called for an immediate withdrawal of the “bizarre” and “unconstitutional” circular.The Delhi health department has also issued a memo to GB Pant hospital regarding the now-withdrawn circular.G.B. Pant nurses’ association president Liladhar Ramchandani claimed it was issued in pursuance of a complaint sent by a patient to a senior officer in the health department, while adding that “the union disagrees with the wordings used in the circular”.The circular read, “A complaint has been received regarding Malayalam language being used for communication in working places in GIPMER. Whereas maximum patient and colleagues do not know this language and feel helpless causing a lot of inconvenience. So it is directed to all nursing personnel to use only Hindi and English for communication. Otherwise serious action will be taken.”Ramchandani, also the secretary general of Delhi Nurses Federation said, “As a language’s name, Malayalam, has been inserted in the circular, many will take offence.”He also claimed that this circular was “consequent of the complaint filed by the patient” and “internally, there is no issue among the nurses and the administration”.Many nurses at various hospitals across India, hail from Kerala, with Malayalam being their native language.The circular drew sharp criticism from other nursing unions too.(With inputs from PTI)