Full Breakdown
Hindi on Medicine Packets Sparks Political Row in Tamil Nadu
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The Medicine-Cover Controversy
Government hospitals in Karur and Coimbatore have distributed brown-paper pill covers that list dosage instructions in Tamil, English and Hindi. The presence of Hindi has prompted the ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kaz hagam (TVK) health ministry to accuse the opposition Dravida Munnetra Kaz hagam (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)) of “cheap politics.” Health Minister K.G. Arunraj said the issue was identified on October 7, 2026 and that the covers were immediately withdrawn from both hospitals.
Historical Language Policy and Prior Issuance
Former Chief Minister C.N. Annadurai’s two-language policy—Tamil and English—has been a longstanding norm in the state. Arunraj noted that during the DMK’s previous administration, a shortage of covers from the Central Prison in December 2025 led the DMK to issue an emergency order on December 31, 2025 to print 400,000 covers through the Erode District Printing Industrial Co-operative Society. Those covers entered circulation in January 2026. A similar design was approved three years earlier and printed by the Chinthamani Co-operative Society for use in Coimbatore hospitals. Arunraj asserted that the Hindi text on the current covers originated from those earlier DMK-era templates.
Official Statements & Responses
- K.G. Arunraj (Health Minister, TVK) – “It has become necessary to clarify the stark reality of this issue to the people of Tamil Nadu and to DMK members who are eager to completely conceal the truth and systematically create false confusion among the public.” “It has become necessary to clarify the stark reality of this issue to the people of Tamil Nadu and to DMK members who are eager to completely conceal the truth and systematically create false confusion among the public,” — G. Arunraj, health minister
- B. Rajaa (Former Minister, DMK) – “It seems like the three-language policy is being implemented in Tamil Nadu hospitals. Earlier it was in Karur government hospital. Today, this is in Coimbatore (government hospital).” “It seems like the three-language policy is being implemented in Tamil Nadu hospitals. Earlier it was in Karur government hospital. Today, this is in Coimbatore (government hospital),” — B. Rajaa, including former minister
- Rama Srinivasan (State BJP Leader) – “You see in Tamil Nadu no one worries about the quality of the hospitals… Their only problem is prescription cover in which there is one Hindi word. Is this a huge problem?” “You see in Tamil Nadu no one worries about the quality of the hospitals... Their only problem is prescription cover in which there is one Hindi word. Is this a huge problem?” — Rama Srinivasan
Political Reactions
The DMK, through Rajaa, framed the episode as an implementation of a three-language policy, implying no breach of the two-language tradition. The BJP’s Srinivasan dismissed the controversy as a minor issue compared with broader hospital quality concerns.
The dispute underscores how language policy, a legacy of Annadurai’s administration, remains a flashpoint in Tamil Nadu’s partisan politics.