A silent campaign is on demanding major corrections in the official Malayalam language used in government and related spheres in the State. At the helm is a WhatsApp group, titled Sauhruda Bhasha Group, pushing for an overhaul of the language being used in official records and applications.
As many as 40 panchayats in Palakkad and neighbouring districts have been approached with the demand for changes. The Mathur grama panchayat will hold a special meeting on August 31 to discuss the demand. Sources say that the panchayat is likely to drop the use of words such as ‘sir’ and ‘apeksha’ (meaning request) as part of joining the language modernisation drive.
The idea, which germinated from Boban Mattumantha, a young social worker based at Malampuzha, has gained momentum with more and more youngsters joining the campaign. “A few government and court orders inspired us to launch the campaign,” said Boban.
He said many words being used in Malayalam were rooted in colonial and monarchical background. “Those in power treated the people like subjects or slaves during the British Raj. Hence we had so many words showing too much humility in people’s requests to the government. Gone are those days. Today, people are in power. They don’t have to be at the mercy of those in governance. To get or know something from the government is their right. Therefore, words like ‘apeksha’ (request), ‘thazhmayayi’ (humbly), ‘tiyan’ (referring to the person) should go,” said Boban.
‘Remnants of Raj’
The group raised many words which, though are still being used in officialese, have acquired a colour of being archaic. The group targeted the Police Department for the use of ‘pretha vicharana’ in Malayalam for police inquest of a human body. “We are living in a modern age. How stupid it is to call a body ‘pretham’. It is time that we started changing,” said A.C. Sidharthan, a campaigner in Puthupariyaram.
In a memorandum he submitted to Puthupariyaram panchayat president the other day, Sidharthan demanded that the civic body stop using such words as ‘bahumanappetta’, ‘vineethamayi’, ‘angekku’, ‘avarkal’, ‘dayavundayi’, ‘thazhmayode’, and ‘apekshikkunnu’. “All those words are remnants from the British Raj. We don’t need them any more,” he said.
‘Right, not request’
The campaign demands that the ‘apeksha form’ meaning request form should be changed to ‘avakasha patrika’ meaning rights form. “We don’t insist that what we suggest should be used. Let the government work on it and come up with suitable alternatives,” said Boban.
