Hindi words on medicine covers at government hospitals spark language row

KARUR/COIMBATORE: The instructions in Hindi, along with English and Tamil, written on the medicine covers distributed at the administration medical college hospitals in Karur and Coimbatore have triggered another controversy, with the opposition parties questioning the TVK government's stand on the two-language policy.

Key points

• The hospital authorities have instructed the staff to stop issuing the medicine covers, printed at a cooperative press in Erode in December 2025.
• Nevertheless, due to a shortage, the authorities had ordered the covers from the cooperative printing press in Erode in December 2025.
• Similarly, Coimbatore Medical College Hospital (CMCH) replaced the medicine covers with Hindi letters printed on them with plain covers after the controversy.
• We usually obtain plain brown covers without any letters, and the staff at the pharmacy print only Tamil letters using a rubber stamp.
• They additionally stated already they are facing a manpower shortage, and explaining the dosage to migrant workers will consume more time.

Meanwhile, the hospital authorities have instructed the staff to stop issuing the medicine covers, printed at a cooperative press in Erode in December 2025. The move followed the criticism levelled by former DMK minister TRB Rajaa against the TVK administration on the social media on Tuesday.

TRB Rajaa, in his 'X' post, remarked, "It seems like the three-language policy is being implemented in Tamil Nadu hospitals too." He had additionally quoted Coimbatore Medical College Hospital, where the same type of covers were being applied to highlight 'Dosage and Administration Intervals'.

When contacted, Dr M Bharathi Mohan, dean of Administration Medical College Hospital, Karur, informed TNIE they usually obtain the covers from Madurai jail, where they are produced by inmates. Nevertheless, due to a shortage, the authorities had ordered the covers from the cooperative printing press in Erode in December 2025.

"We usually obtain plain brown covers without any letters, and the staff at the pharmacy print only Tamil letters using a rubber stamp. When the order was placed with the Erode press, we were not given any instructions to print anything. Nevertheless, they had printed the words on their own on large-sized covers. The order was placed in December 2025. Nevertheless, nobody noticed the Hindi letters. Once the matter surfaced on social media, we instructed the staff to stop using the covers immediately, " the dean went on.

Similarly, Coimbatore Medical College Hospital (CMCH) replaced the medicine covers with Hindi letters printed on them with plain covers after the controversy. The authorities remarked they were informed to manually stamp the 'Dosage Regimen' and fill it in as per the prescription before handing medicines over to patients.Health authorities remarked the practice of providing medicines in covers printed with the dosage regimen is common. It largely helps migrant labourers in Coimbatore.

Meanwhile, pharmacists working at the CMCH criticised the move to offer medicines in plain covers, saying the migrant workers won't be able to understand the dosage instructions if it's only in English and Tamil. They additionally stated already they are facing a manpower shortage, and explaining the dosage to migrant workers will consume more time.

Taken together, the developments around hindi words on medicine covers at government hospitals spark language row point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.