Archive · 7 Oct 2026
Tamil Nadu Hospitals Halt Hindi-Printed Medicine Covers After Language Row
Some medicine covers at government hospitals in Coimbatore and Karur had instructions in Tamil, English and Hindi.
A DMK leader shared pictures of them and said this might mean Tamil Nadu was changing its language policy.
Health Minister KG Arunraj said the covers came from designs made during the previous DMK government.
He said the government stopped using those covers as soon as the issue was noticed.
Karur will use covers with Tamil instructions, and Coimbatore will use Tamil and English.
The minister said the government still supports using two languages.
The two parties disagree about who is responsible for the covers.
Government hospitals in Coimbatore and Karur stopped distributing medicine covers with instructions in Tamil, English and Hindi after a political controversy.
DMK leader T R B Rajaa posted photographs of the covers on X and questioned whether a three-language policy was being introduced in hospitals.
Health Minister KG Arunraj said the covers used existing designs introduced during the previous DMK government; the first report also said some covers had been in use for more than 18 months.
Arunraj said Karur would return to covers printed only in Tamil, while Coimbatore would use covers with Tamil and English instructions.
The minister said the TVK government remained committed to a two-language policy; the dispute prompted rival accusations between the ruling TVK and opposition DMK.
- Who
- Government hospitals in Coimbatore and Karur, DMK leader T R B Rajaa, and Health Minister KG Arunraj.
- What
- The hospitals halted the use of medicine covers carrying instructions in Tamil, English and Hindi.
- When
- The covers were withdrawn after the controversy; the reports give no exact date for the halt.
- Where
- Government hospitals in Coimbatore and Karur, Tamil Nadu.
- Why
- The covers prompted criticism that Hindi use might signal a shift toward a three-language policy in Tamil Nadu.
DMK criticism
TVK government response
Meaning of Hindi-language instructions
DMK criticism
T R B Rajaa questioned whether the covers meant a three-language policy was being implemented in government hospitals.
TVK government response
KG Arunraj said the covers used existing designs from the previous DMK government and that the current administration did not change their language.
Responsibility for the covers
DMK criticism
Rajaa's public criticism presented the covers as a concern under the current administration.
TVK government response
Arunraj said the templates originated under the DMK and accused the party of criticizing a practice established during its own tenure.
- Hospitals affected
- Government hospitals in Coimbatore and Karur
- Languages on disputed covers
- Tamil, English and Hindi
- Political figure who raised the issue
- DMK leader T R B Rajaa
- Health minister
- KG Arunraj
- Karur's stated replacement
- Covers with instructions only in Tamil
- Coimbatore's stated replacement
- Covers with instructions in Tamil and English
- Minister's account of cover origins
- Existing designs were introduced during the previous DMK government
